January 22, 2016 – The next Census of Population will take place in May 2016. The previous Harper government scrapped the twice-a-decade mandatory census in favour of a voluntary national household survey, but the new Trudeau government undid that change.

Many statisticians argued the voluntary survey provided lower-quality data that was not comparable with the higher-quality data from earlier censuses. In some communities, the response rate to the voluntary survey was so low that no data exists on these locations from the 2011 survey. "We need good, reliable data," Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, said last fall when announcing the return of the census.

Census information is important for all communities and is vital for planning services such as schools, daycare, family services, housing, police services, fire protection, roads, public transportation and skills training for employment.

Statistics Canada will be hiring approximately 35,000 people across the country to assist in the collection of the census. The census jobs will begin their tenures in April or May. But StatsCan is also planning to hold early enumeration in some rural parts of the country, and those jobs have to be in place by February. The agency is offering a pay rate of $16.31 to $19.91 per hour. To apply for a job, visit www.census.gc.ca/jobs.