Calgary’s census goes online this spring

Like buying airline tickets, registering for races and voting for your favourite contestant on The Voice, you’ll be able to go online to fill out the 2015 Calgary census.

For the annual spring census, Calgary will join the rapidly growing list of Alberta cities and towns that offer online forms — using secure technology that limits demand for in- person census takers.

Airdrie was an online census Alberta pioneer, starting it in 2005 and then sharing its technology with Fort McMurray, Canmore and more than two dozen other Alberta municipalities. Edmonton launched its own online feature for its 2014 census.

Airdrie reported more than half of households used the Internet form, while in other communities the online uptake ranges around one- third or higher.

Airdrie hires about one- third fewer census takers than it would need if it used paper forms only, said online census program manager Corey Halford.

Twenty- three other Alberta communities

The city will send census takers door- to- door to reach anyone who doesn’t or cannot use the website.

will use the Airdrie technology this year, netting the small city about $ 300,000 in hosting fees, he said.

Airdrie’s system keeps up to date with a key Internet security standard, and is tested by a third party.

“People try to penetrate it by available means, and when that works we harden the system,” Halford said.

Calgary is not using the Airdriemade system, but will similarly give all households a pin code to fill out the online census, from April 1 to 24.

The city will send census takers door- to- door to reach anyone who doesn’t or cannot use the website, starting in May. The hired staff will be armed with digital tablets, which Calgary has used instead of paper forms since 2013.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi and census staff will show off the new online form Friday, 12 days before the census website goes live.

City officials would not answer questions on the online census program before Friday’s media event.

Alberta municipalities are motivated to conduct their own censuses — rather than wait for Statistics Canada’s count every five years — so they can submit the most- uptodate population numbers for provincial grants. Calgary holds an annual census, while Edmonton counts heads every two years.