Manitoba's chief statistician hopes for return of long-form census

Wilf Falk, chief statistician of Manitoba, says he believes Justin Trudeau will restore the mandatory long-form census in time for the next census.

"I think it's got to be one of the first things they do," said Falk. "It is a cheap way to illustrate difference from the previous government."

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The prime minister-designate promised to restore the mandatory long-form census in an open letter to public servants before being elected.

"A Liberal government will immediately restore the mandatory long-form census and make Statistics Canada fully independent. We will ensure evidence-based decision-making is once again a guiding principle of the Canadian government," Trudeau's letter stated.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper ended the mandatory nature of the long-form census in 2010. When Statistics Canada conducted its National Household Survey in 2011, information gathered was less reliablebecause the response rate was significantly lower than in years when Canadians were under threat of a fine or jail time if they did not complete the survey.

"The response rate to that was 70 per cent nationally.However, in smaller communities it was as low as 14 per cent," Falk said.

Manitoba's response rate was 68 per cent, Statistics Canada reported. In 2006, when the census was mandatory, Manitoba's response rate was 95 per cent.

More federal money for Manitoba

That drop in participation cost the province money, Falk said.

"In terms of transfer payments, Manitoba Finance has just provided me with an estimate for 2016 which basically says, for every Manitoban who is missed in the census,thatcost the province $46,000 over a five-year period," he said.

Additionally, the lower participation rate in the census means Manitobans may not be getting their fair share of national programs that rely on the census to determine how to allocate funds, Falk said.

The next long-form census is scheduled for May 2016.