The 1906 Canadian Census

The 1906 Canadian census included only the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Manitoba was still considerably smaller than it is today, although it was a little larger than in prior censuses. Saskatchewan and Alberta had been separated out of the North West Territories, and now were provinces in their own right.

Map of Canadian provinces and territories, 1906.
Source: Wikipedia Commons

The 1906 census was an agricultural census, intended to keep an eye on the "exploding" population in the Prairie provinces. After the completion of the coast-to-coast railway in 1885, which opened up the Prairie provinces for settlement, the population had increased by leaps and bounds. For example, Manitoba's population grew as follows:

The 1906 census is an adapted version of the national census occurring in the “01” years (1891, 1901, etc.), to account for the rural, agricultural nature of the environment.

The questions asked on the 1906 census were as follows:

• Number of family in order of visitation
• Name of each person in the family
• Relation to head of family
• Sex
• Married, single, widowed, or divorced
• Age
• Country or place of birth
• Year of immigration to Canada
• Post office address
• Location
• Section
• Township
• Range
• Meridian
• Livestock
• Horses, all ages
• Milk cows
• Other horned or meat cattle, all ages
• Sheep and lambs, all ages
• Hogs and pigs, all ages.

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