Statistics Canada takes second look at ethnicity question on census
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OTTAWA — Statistics Canada officials estimate the number of people identifying as Jewish in the 2016 census could have been double what it was if not for a small change on the questionnaire.
The number of people identifying themselves as ethnically Jewish on the census has been on a decline since 2001, but the drop between 2011 and 2016 far outpaced the declines between previous census cycles.
A newly released review by Statistics Canada says the census could have identified between 270,000 and 298,000 Jews in Canada in 2016 if response patterns remained steady, instead of the almost 144,000 captured in the population count.
The review says the decline is most likely linked to the removal of Jewish from a list of examples that goes along with the question about ethnic and cultural origins.
