Canada to Include Question on Religion in 1951 Census; No Objections

Once again in the 1961 census the Government of Canada plans to include questions pertaining to the racial characteristics and religious affiliation of individual Canadians. No objections are anticipated to this procedure from any public body in Canada. Because of local conditions, the procedure is welcomed in that it gives these bodies much desired information on the racial and religious origins of Canada’s population.

For example, on the basis of 1951 census it is known that Canada had 181, 670 Canadians of Jewish origin. This information is further broken down by provinces, cities and towns. The same applies in a classification known as “official language and mother tongue.” Here in 1951 the number of Canadians who claimed Yiddish as their mother tongue was 103,593 of which 52,473 were males and 51,120 females. In 1931 Yiddish-speaking Canadians numbered 149,520 and in 1941 the figure was 129,806. On a percentage basis Yiddish was 1.4 in 1931; 1.1 in 1941 and 0.7 in 1951.