Long form Census is back

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Canadians should find something extra in their mailboxes this week.

It’s a census form, 1 in 4 households will be asked to fill out the long form version of it which was restored by the Liberals after 2015 Fall’s election.

Canadians eager to fill out their 2016 census online overwhelmed Statistics Canada’s website Monday night shutting it down for up to 45 minutes.

While Canadians waited for the site to reboot, census-crazed-canucks expressed their excitement on Twitter, particularly those25% who received the now mandatory long-form census.

Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined in on the party to celebrate Canadians shutting down his Government’s site.

The Prime Minister brought back the mandatory long-form census after it was eliminated in 2006 and made voluntary in 2011 resulting in diminished participation.

Michael Veall, Economics Professor at McMaster University says it’s return is valuable

‘Planning for Government is an incredibly difficult task and if you don’t have responses and good information then you’re not going to make very good planning decisions” said Veall

The short-form, 10-question census has always been mandatory.

If Canadians do not complete their 2016 census or give false information, they could face fines of up to $500 or jail time, for up to 3 months or have both punishments combined.

Luckily for procrastinators, Stats Can says those punishments will only be done as a last resort.

Everyone will receive a 16 digit access code to fill out the survey online. A hard copy can also be mailed to your home.