Missing your census mail? StatCan official says ‘there’s no reason to panic’

Geoff Bowlby, assistant chief statistician for Statistics Canada, says people have 'no reason to panic' if they still haven't received their census mail.

A Statistics Canada official says those who haven’t received their mail for the 2026 census still have time to fill out the questionnaire.

Some individuals have reported they’re still waiting to get the information to complete the census, something Geoff Bowlby, assistant chief statistician for Statistics Canada, called “relatively rare.”

While there isn’t a “hard deadline” for the mandatory census, he said, people may face fines of up to $500 by July.

“If you didn’t receive one or you’re waiting for a paper questionnaire or you just got back from an extended absence and you’re finding this in your mailbox today, it’s OK to still respond to the census,” Bowlby said in a Zoom interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. “In fact, please do. We want you to.”

Since early May, StatCan has been collecting demographic, social and economic information for the Census of Population from every household.

The federal agency mailed information about the questionnaires, including access codes to complete them. It said the census mail should’ve arrived on May 4.

People across the country were asked to complete the census forms by May 12.

“In fact, we’ll be collecting census data right through till July of this year,” Bowlby said.

For people missing the census mail, Bowlby advises them to call the Census of Population Help Line at 1-833-852-2026 to obtain information on how to fill out the questionnaire and get an access code.