Documents & Records
1901 Census of Canada
The 1901 census was held on March 31, 1901. Important additions to the information collected in the 1881 and 1891 censuses included month, date and year of birth, year of immigration to Canada, and year of naturalization.
Personal information about each enumerated individual was recorded under the following column headings in the 1901 federal census returns:
- Name of each person in family or household on 31st March, 1901
- Sex
- Colour
- Relationship to head of family or household
- Single, married, widowed or divorced
- Month and date of birth
- Year of birth
- Age at last birthday
- Country or place of birth
- Year of immigration to Canada
- Year of naturalization
- Racial or Tribal origin
- Nationality
- Religion
- Profession, occupation, trade or means of living of each person
Finding the Records
At the Vancouver Public Library
The Vancouver Public Library collection includes microfilm copies of all 1901 Canadian census records. The census microfilm collection is located in Fine Arts and History on Level 6. 1901 British Columbia census records are on films T-6428, T-6429, T-6430, and T-6431.
On the microfilms, records are arranged by census district and subdistrict. In 1901, B.C. was divided into five census districts:
- Burrard
- New Westminster
- Vancouver
- Victoria
- Yale / Cariboo
As in the 1881 census and the 1891 census, these district names do not reflect modern B.C. political divisions. For example, the Vancouver District was on Vancouver Island, while Vancouver City was in the Burrard District.
A searchable Catalogue of Census Returns on Microfilm 1666-1901 (Library and Archives Canada) may be useful in identifying the subdistrict in which a particular city or town was located and finding it on the microfilms.
Online
The original records of the 1901 census have been digitized and are available online. However, they are not indexed, and can only be searched geographically. The records can be accessed through the Library and Archives Canada Census of Canada, 1901 database.
A large amount of transcribed and indexed Canadian census information is freely available online. Individuals of Chinese origin have been identified in the following databases:
5% Sample of the 1901 Census of British Columbia (Malaspina University-College and the University of Victoria)
Provides a searchable indexed transcription of a 5% sample from the British Columbia portions of the 1901 Canadian census. There are 691 records for individuals born in China.1901 Census: Vancouver Island: District #3 Vancouver; Sub district B (Campbell River Genealogy Society)
Provides transcriptions of census records for the Vancouver District, Sub-District 3. The sub-district included Union Bay, Courtenay, Comox, Denman & Hornby Islands, Union Village, and Sayward. Of particular interest are the returns for Polling Sub-div.#3 - Part 2 - Union Village (China Town). However, Chinese households are also found in other parts of the sub-district. Note that this is a transcription and is unindexed. It can be browsed electronically, but there is no search engine.1901 Census Victoria, British Columbia and Southern Vancouver Island (BC GenWeb)
This database provides a transcription of 1901 census records for the Victoria enumeration District and part of the Vancouver enumeration District. The area covered comprises Victoria City and southern Vancouver Island, including the communities of Port Renfrew, Sooke, Metchosin, Colwood, Langford, Oak Bay, Saanichton, Sidney and the southern Gulf Islands. The database is a browsable electronic transcription, but cannot be searched. Large numbers of Chinese people lived in Division 14 (Victoria City) but many Chinese people worked as domestics, living in their employers' homes elsewhere in the enumeration area.Automated Genealogy: Index to the 1901 Census of Canada
Represents the efforts of a massive volunteer project aimed at transcribing and providing free access to the entire 1901 Canadian census. The records can be searched by province, or through a National Surname Index. Special care needs to be taken when searching for Chinese individuals, as the transcribers appear not to have applied consistent standards when transcribing the unfamiliar names. For example, there are 685 entries for the Surname Wong in the National Surname Index, but there are also separate index headings, with just 1 entry each, for the surnames Wong Hong, Wong Jin, Wong Look, Wong Paw, Wong Tai, and several others. In other cases, Wong is recorded as a Given name.Victoria 1901 Census (Malaspina University-College and the University of Victoria)
This database provides a searchable indexed transcription of the 1901 census of the City of Victoria. There are 2658 records for individuals of Chinese Nationality.
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