2024 Census Test: Form 2A

Complete online: www.census.gc.ca

Ce questionnaire est disponible en français (1-833-739-2024)

Secure access code

  • Prov.
  • CD
  • CU
  • VR line No.
  • CLD
  • Forms 3
  • Questionnaire No.

Message from the Chief Statistician of Canada

Thank you for taking the time to participate in the 2024 Census Test. The information you provide is converted into statistics used by communities, businesses, and governments to plan services and make informed decisions about employment, schools, public transportation and hospitals.

Preparations for the 2026 Census have begun, and Statistics Canada is seeking your participation in this important test.

Your answers are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act and kept strictly confidential. By law, your household must complete a 2024 Census Test questionnaire.

Statistics Canada makes use of existing sources of information such as immigration, income tax and benefits data to ensure the least amount of burden is placed on households.

The information that you provide may be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes or may be combined with other survey or administrative data sources.

Make sure you count yourself into Canada's statistical portrait, and complete your census test questionnaire today.

Thank you,
Anil Arora
Chief Statistician of Canada

Complete your census questionnaire:

  • Online: at www.census.gc.ca by using the secure access code printed above.
  • or
    • On paper: please print using CAPITAL LETTERS.

Any questions?

  • www.census.gc.ca
  • Call us free of charge at 1-833-835-2024
  • TTY: 1-833-830-3109

Confidential when completed

This information is collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. S-19.

Step A

1. What is your telephone number?

2. What is the address of this dwelling?

  • Number (and suffix, if applicable)
    (e.g., 302, 151 B, 16 1/2)
  • Street name, street type (e.g., DR = Drive), direction (e.g., N = North)
  • Apartment or unit
  • City, municipality, town, village or First Nations reserve
  • Province or territory
  • Postal code

3. What is the mailing address of this dwelling, if different from above?

(e.g., Rural Route, PO Box, General Delivery)

Step B

1. Including yourself, how many persons usually live at this address on May 14, 2024?

Include: all persons who have their main residence at this address, even if they are temporarily away.

See the instructions on page 3 (joint custody, students, landed immigrants, secondary residence, etc.).

  • Number of persons

2. Including yourself, list all persons who usually live here on May 14, 2024.

Important: Begin the list with an adult followed, if applicable, by that person's spouse or partner and by their children. Continue with all other persons who usually live at this address.

  • Person 1: Family name(s), Given name(s)
  • Person 2: Family name(s), Given name(s)
  • Person 3: Family name(s), Given name(s)
  • Person 4: Family name(s), Given name(s)
  • Person 5: Family name(s), Given name(s)
  • Person 6: Family name(s), Given name(s)
  • Person 7: Family name(s), Given name(s)
  • Person 8: Family name(s), Given name(s)
  • Person 9: Family name(s), Given name(s)
  • Person 10: Family name(s), Given name(s)

Step C

Did you leave anyone out of step B because you were not sure the person should be listed?

For example, a student, a child in joint custody, a person temporarily away, a person who lives here temporarily, a resident from another country with a work or study permit, a refugee claimant, etc.

  • No
  • Yes
    • Please refer to the instructions on page 3 to determine if this person should be listed.
      If they should be listed, please add them to step B.

Step D

Copy the names in step B to question 1, at the top of page 4.

Keep the same order.

If more than six persons live here, you will need an extra questionnaire; call 1-833-739-2024.

  1. Whom to include in Step B
    • All persons who have their main residence at this address on May 14, 2024, including newborn babies, roommates and persons who are temporarily away
    • Canadian citizens, landed immigrants (permanent residents), persons who have claimed refugee status (asylum seekers), persons from another country with a work or study permit and family members living here with them
    • Persons staying at this address temporarily on May 14, 2024 who have no main residence elsewhere.
  2. Where to include persons with more than one residence
    • Children in joint custody should be included in the home of the parent where they live most of the time. Children who spend equal time with each parent should be included in the home of the parent with whom they are staying on May 14, 2024.
    • Students who return to live with their parents during the year should be included at their parents' address, even if they live elsewhere while attending school or working at a summer job.
    • Spouses or partners temporarily away who stay elsewhere while working or studying should be listed at the main residence of their family, if they return periodically.
    • Persons in an institution for less than six months (for example, in a home for the aged, a hospital or a prison) should be listed at their usual residence.

If this address is:

  • a secondary residence (for example, a cottage) for all persons who stayed here on May 14, 2024 (all these persons have their main residence elsewhere in Canada), mark this circle. Print your name and your telephone number. Do not answer other questions.
  • a dwelling occupied only by residents of another country visiting Canada (for example, on vacation or on a business trip), mark this circle. Print your name and your telephone number. Do not answer other questions.
  • the home of a government representative of another country (for example, an embassy or a high commission) and family members, mark this circle. Print your name and your telephone number. Do not answer other questions.
  • Name
  • Telephone number

Mail this questionnaire in the enclosed envelope today.

1. Name

In the spaces provided, copy the names in the same order as in step B. Then answer the following questions for each person.

Person 1

  • Family name
  • Given name

The following questions refer to each person's situation on May 14, 2024, unless otherwise specified.

2. What are this person's date of birth and age?

If exact date of birth is not known, enter best estimate. For children less than 1 year old, enter 0 for age.

  • Day
  • Month
  • Year
  • Age

3. What is this person's gender?

Gender refers to an individual's personal and social identity as a man (or a boy), a woman (or a girl), or a person who is not exclusively a man (or a boy) or a woman (or a girl), for example, non-binary, agender, gender fluid, queer or Two-Spirit.

  • Man (boy)
  • Woman (girl)
  • Or please specify this person's gender:

4. What was this person's sex at birth?

Sex at birth refers to the sex recorded on a person's first birth certificate. It is typically observed based on a person's reproductive system and other physical characteristics.

  • Male
  • Female

5. What is the relationship of this person to Person 1?

Cohabiting refers to two people who live together as a couple and who are not married, regardless of the duration of the relationship.

Person 1

  • No answer required for Person 1

Person 2

  • Married spouse of Person 1
  • Cohabiting partner of Person 1
  • Child of Person 1 and another person living at this address
  • Child of Person 1 only (mark if no other legal parent of this person lives at this address)
  • Stepchild of Person 1
  • Parent of Person 1
  • Grandchild of Person 1
  • Spouse or partner of child of Person 1
  • Parent of spouse or partner of Person 1
  • Sibling of Person 1
  • Foster child of Person 1
  • Roommate, lodger or boarder of Person 1
  • Other relationship — specify:

Persons 3-6

  • Married spouse of Person 1
  • Cohabiting partner of Person 1
  • Child of Person 1 and Person 2
  • Child of Person 1 and another person living at this address
  • Child of Person 1 only (mark if no other legal parent of this person lives at this address)
  • Stepchild of Person 1
  • Parent of Person 1
  • Grandchild of Person 1
  • Spouse or partner of child of Person 1
  • Parent of spouse or partner of Person 1
  • Sibling of Person 1
  • Foster child of Person 1
  • Roommate, lodger or boarder of Person 1
  • Other relationship — specify:

Questions 6. and 7. are asked only for persons aged 15 years and older (born before May 14, 2009).

6. Is this person currently married or living with a partner?

If this person is widowed, divorced, legally separated or in the process of legally separating from their married spouse, and has not repartnered, mark "No".

Living with a partner refers to two people who live together as a couple and who are not married, regardless of the duration of the relationship.

  • No
  • Yes, currently married
    • Go to question 8.
  • Yes, currently living with a partner

7. a) Has this person ever been married?

  • No
    • Go to question 8.
  • Yes

7. b) Is this person separated, divorced or widowed from their most recent marriage?

  • Separated but still married
  • Divorced
  • Widowed

8. Can this person speak English or French well enough to conduct a conversation?

Mark "x" one circle only.

  • English only
  • French only
  • Both English and French
  • Neither English nor French

9. a) What language(s) does this person speak on a regular basis at home?

  • English
  • French
  • Other language(s) — specify:

If this person indicates only one language in question 9. a), go to question 10.

9. b) Of these languages, which one does this person speak most often at home?

Indicate more than one language only if they are spoken equally at home.

  • English
  • French
  • Other language — specify:

10. What is the language that this person first learned at home in childhood and still understands?

If this person no longer understands the first language learned, indicate the second language learned.

  • English
  • French
  • Other language — specify:

The following questions collect information in accordance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to support education programs in English and French in Canada.

11. Is this dwelling located in Quebec?

  • No
    • Continue with question 12.
  • Yes
    • Go to question 15.

12. Did this person do any of their primary or secondary schooling in French in Canada (including immersion)?

Mark "x" one circle only.

  • Yes (previously or currently attending)
  • No
    • Go to step E

13. In which type of program was this schooling in French done?

  • A regular French program in a French-language school
  • A French immersion program in an English-language school
    • Go to step E
  • Both types of programs
  • Other program — specify:

14. For how many years did this person attend a regular French program in a French-language school in Canada?

  • Number of years in primary schooling (including kindergarten and middle school)
    • Number of years
      • Go to step E
  • Number of years in secondary schooling
    • Number of years
      • Go to step E

15. Did this person do any of their primary or secondary schooling in an English-language school in Canada (including French immersion)?

Mark "x" one circle only.

  • Yes (previously or currently attending)
  • No
    • Go to step E

16. For how many years did this person do their schooling in an English-language school in Canada (including French immersion)?

  • Number of years in primary schooling (including kindergarten)
    • Number of years
  • Number of years in secondary schooling
    • Number of years

Step E

Comments

Please use the space provided below if you have concerns, suggestions or comments to make about:

  • the steps to follow or the content of this questionnaire (for example, a question that was difficult to understand or to answer)
  • the characteristics of the questionnaire (for example, the design, the format, the size of the text).

Step F

If more than six persons live here, you will need an extra questionnaire; call 1-833-739-2024.

You have now completed your questionnaire. Please mail it today. If you have lost the return envelope, please mail the questionnaire to:

Statistics Canada
PO BOX 99994 STN FED-GOVT
Ottawa, ON K1A 9Z4

Thank you for your cooperation.

Reasons why we ask the questions

Steps A to C and question 1 are used to collect contact information and determine who should be included on the questionnaire. They help us ensure that we have counted everyone we need to count and that no one is counted twice.

Questions 2 to 7 provide information about the demographic characteristics of people in Canada. This information is used by all levels of government to make important decisions, such as planning community services and social programs, including Old Age Security and the Canada Child Benefit. It is also used by municipalities to plan a variety of services, such as child care, schools, hospitals and emergency services.

Questions 8 to 10 are used to provide a profile of the linguistic diversity of Canada's population. This information is used to estimate the need for services in English and French, and to better understand the current state and the evolution of Canada's various language groups, including official languages, Indigenous languages and other non-official languages.

Questions 11 to 16 collect information in accordance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to support education programs in English and French in Canada.

The law protects what you tell us

The confidentiality of your responses is protected by law. All Statistics Canada employees have taken an oath of secrecy. Your personal information cannot be given to anyone outside Statistics Canada without your consent. This is your right.