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Geocoding and Mapping Historical Census Data: The Geographical Component of the Canadian Century Research Infrastructure

The Canadian Century Research Infrastructure (CCRI) aims to build historical data sets from the 1911-1951 Canadian census manuscripts. To enhance the meaning of the microdata, and to enable users to apprehend the spatial dimension of the phenomena they study, the CCRI integrates as much geographical information as the census can provide and also provides users with resources to map selected data or the results they get. A framework to conduct basic or sophisticated spatial analyses is also provided. The integration of geographical information necessitates the reconstitution of the entire geography of census taking, as well as of census dissemination, through the first half of the twentieth century. The raw material of the census manuscript is organized according to enumeration areas, whereas the basic spatial unit of dissemination is the census subdivision listed in the published aggregate census returns. [Ed. Census bureau terminology (from 1911 to 1951) used census district and census subdistrict for the two basic spatial units for census taking as well as compilation and dissemination. Hereinafter, we will use the present-day terminology—census division and census subdivision—favored by the CCRI and Statistics Canada.] To spatially process and map the microdata as entered and the aggregate data as published, polygon files are being created for nearly 32,000 subdivisions and managed within a geodatabase. The files form the fundamental fabric to which microdata and aggregate data are both linked. The authors address the unexpected challenges that arise from the realities of historical census data and provide an overview of the limitations and the technical framework of the overall geographical component of the CCRI.