Historically, there have been two mandatory census forms: the short form, which was sent to all Canadian households, and the long form, which was sent to 20% of Canadian households. Starting with the 2011 Census, there is only a mandatory short form. The questions that have traditionally been asked in the mandatory long form have been moved to a new voluntary National Household Survey (NHS). (The exception to this is the language questions, which were added to the mandatory short form.)
There are differences in methodology between a mandatory census and a voluntary survey, and students, researchers, and policy makers need to be aware of the following when using and interpreting NHS data. The first two bullets are quoted from an e-mail from a Statistics Canada official.
As you review the above links, think about the implications for your geography. For instance, if your geography has a global non-response rate of 49.9, you might want to discuss possible issues with the data in your report. The nature of your community (for instance, the extent of homogeneity of the population) will have a bearing on how serious these issues might be.
Note: If you have chosen a geography where the data has been suppressed due to a global non-response rate of 50 percent or higher, it is still possible to access the data. Whether or not you will want to do so will depend upon your conclusions regarding the quality of the data based on the above information.
Some links for those interested in the history of the decision to move from a mandatory long-form census to a voluntary survey:
Consequences:
Since the Oct. 19, 2015 election:
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