Canada's 'enthusiasm' for census brings down StatsCan website
John Bowman | CBC News | Posted: May 3, 2016 1:39 PM | Last Updated: May 4, 2016
#Census2016 trends across the country one week before Census Day
On Monday, Statistics Canada began mailing out access codes to Canadians to complete the 2016 census online by May 10.
But for some eager citizens, waiting one whole week for Census Day to come was too much to bear.
Not only did some people open their census letter right away, they posted it to Twitter.
How about a #CensusSelfie?
Canadians on Twitter were nerding out so hard about the census that the hashtag #Census2016 trended nationwide
But even after you get your letter from Statistics Canada, one question remains. Are you one of the lucky Canadians to be picked to fill out the newly restored long-form census?
One in four randomly selected households in Canada will receive the 36-page long-form questionnaire known as the National Household Survey. For the rest, the census is a mere 10 questions long.
Is all this census love a little too much?
Um, not quite.
Both versions of the census are mandatory. Failing to provide census information could result in a fine of up to $500, imprisonment of up to three months, or both.
For this reason, not everyone was so enthusiastic about filling out the questionnaire.
Many people tweeting about the census noted errors on the Statistics Canada website, and most of them attributed this to high traffic volume.
Statistics Canada confirmed Tuesday morning that the website was down for 45 minutes because of Canadians' "enthusiasm" for the census.