By Daryl Major

StatsCanada boasting record Census numbers

Aug 30, 2016 | 11:33 AM

NANAIMO — A lot of data from the 2016 Canadian Census is still being broken down, but we are already hearing it was a success.

Statistics Canada says this year’s census had a best ever 98.4 percent response rate. 

Director Mark Hamel says the response to the mandatory long form census exceeded previous years.

“The response to the long form, the form that went to one-in-four households was 97.8. That’s the best we’ve ever had for a long form in the Canadian census. It’s going to give us very good quality results across Canada,” said Hamel

The federal agency also had, what they claim, is a world record 68 percent response rate for online completion of the census.

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“All countries are doing censuses. Some of them are using administrative records, such as you have in Scandinavian countries. But most countries around the world do a census the way we do here in Canada. And all of those right now, we have the best record as far as internet response.”

Hamel says the first numbers, to be released in February, will be population based.

“So how many Canadians there are by various locations. And the throughout 2017, at about six week intervals, we will release another set of information about particular aspects of Canadian society.”

The response rate to the last census in 2011, was 97.1 percent.

In 2006, it was 93.5.