Who is (not) counted? Ethno-racial and Indigenous identities in the Census of Canada, 1871-2021

Finding published data on race, racialized populations, indigenous populations, and anti-racism in Canada is a challenge when conducting research. A major source of data is the Census of Canada which has been collecting socio-demographic data since 1871 and availability of data on racial, ethno-cultural, and indigenous populations is not consistent from Census to Census, and nor is the terminology that is used by each Census. To help researchers and information professionals, this team of researchers has created an online research guide, Data on Racialized Populations, guide to assist information professionals and researchers in finding Canadian data sources. The guide includes a Census of population timeline, which has detailed information about the terminology used for Indigenous and racialized identities for each Census and guidance on where to find published data. Recently, we published a journal article entitled, Who is counted? Ethno-racial and indigenous identities in the Census of Canada, 1871-2021 (IASSIST Quarterly, 46(4), 2022). In the article, we discuss the evolution of how ethno-racial origin identities are reflected in the Census, and review the ongoing changes to sociocultural perceptions impacting the Census. In this presentation, we talk about our research outputs, discuss challenges we have faced in our research project, and our next stage of our research within a context of evaluating data through a lens of decolonization, indigenization and social justice.

Recording: https://youtu.be/jydL948TFrg