1916 Census of the Canadian Prairie Provinces is Now Online

The following was written by Library and Archives Canada:

Ottawa, December 16, 2010 - Library and Archives Canada is pleased to make the 1916 census of the Prairie provinces available online.

In order to track the high rates of population growth in western Canada during the early years of the 20th century, the Canadian government called for a special census of the Prairie provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta). The first census was conducted in 1906, followed by another in 1916.

Access to the digitized images of the 1916 census is available online in two different ways:

Through a database that is searchable by Province, District Name, District Number, and Sub-district Number. The database is available at:

www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-1916/index-e.html

Through the research tool "microform digitization," you can browse the microfilm reels page by page. The tool is available at:

www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/microform-digitization/index-e.html

It should be noted that Ancestry.ca has had the 1916 Census available online since 2009.  Currently, only the Ancestry.ca images are indexed.