The next census is 2016.
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The new Liberal government is acting fast on one of its promises. The Tories had replaced it with a voluntary National Household Survey, which critics felt had significant shortcomings. Government and its information must be open by default, and it is time to shine more light on government to make sure it remains focused on the people it was created to serve.
Navdeep Bains, the newly named Minister of Innovation, Science and Development, confirmed the news to reporters on Parliament Hill, declaring that the country needed access to high quality data.
“Without accurate and reliable data, Canada’s communities can not plan ahead”.
A poor response rate in a few geographic areas and among a few segments of society has lead to problems with the data.
The decision to do away with the mandatory long-form census met a wave of criticism in 2010, from a wide range of voices.
Canada’s new Liberal government has started rolling back Conservative policy by resurrecting the mandatory long-form census survey cancelled by the previous administration for ideological reasons.
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Former chief statistician Munir Sheikh resigned over the census debacle, after then-industry minister Tony Clement publicly suggested that bureaucrats supported the idea of a voluntary survey as an adequate replacement for the mandatory questionnaire. This is integral to implementing our plan for a strong and growing middle class.
