StatsCan to stop asking for income level on 2016 census; will rely on tax, benefits data

Signage mark the Statistics Canada offices in Ottawa on July 21, 2010. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press)

OTTAWA -- Statistics Canada is predicting the most accurate picture yet of Canadians' income in the 2016 census.

The national statistical agency says it will no longer ask census participants to volunteer their income level.

Rather, it will rely on more precise tax and benefit data for all Canadians, made available to the agency from government records.

Chief statistician Wayne Smith says the change means the 2016 income information will be the most accurate in the history of the census.

More than 14 million households are expected to participate in the mandatory 2016 census and the voluntary National Household Survey.

The survey is designed to measure how Canadian society is evolving by providing information on Canadians' occupations, educational attainment, languages spoken, ethnic origin, citizenship and economic health.

Most of the questions are identical to those asked in the 2011 survey, to ensure the information from the two years can be compared.

However, the 2016 survey will not ask participants to identify their religion, a question that is only asked every 10 years.