40 Million Cases, 18 Students and 1 Pandemic: Preparation of the 100% Canadian Census Files for Research

Lisa Dillon, Université de Montréal
Marilyn A. Gentil, Université de Montréal

From 2019 to 2021, the PRDH has worked with The Canadian Peoples project, a multi-institutional CFI-funded initiative led by Kris Inwood (University of Guelph), to prepare a series of Canadian census microdata files for research. The files extend from 1852 to 1921, and the census data has been transcribed by Ancestry. This paper will describe the process of coding and transforming these very large data files in the context of three main challenges: training and co-ordinating a large team of research assistants, maintaining confidential work procedures in the midst of a pandemic, and managing and interpreting data which was not transcribed in-house but rather by our genealogical partner. We will discuss particular features of the data, how the census questions compare from year to year, as well as research opportunities.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 104. New Complete Count Canadian Census data