Protecting your privacy
The Statistics Act specifically requires that information about individuals be protected and kept strictly confidential. The federal Privacy Act also protects personal information held by Statistics Canada.
Statistics Canada has strict rules to safeguard all its data holdings, and these rules meet or exceed the requirements of the Statistics Act and the Privacy Act.
Security of the online questionnaire
Statistics Canada takes great precaution to protect your information and employs technologies and practices to ensure that its strict security and confidentiality requirements are met.
Encryption technologies ensure that the transmission of information passing between respondents’ computers and the agency’s web server meets the required standards of security.
Census data are processed and stored on a high-security network. Firewalls, intrusion detection systems and access control procedures limit access to computer systems and databases. For more information, please refer to Statistics Canada's Trust Centre.
Confidentiality of completed questionnaires
Statistics Canada places the highest priority on protecting your privacy as well as maintaining the confidentiality and security of completed questionnaires. Your answers are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act and are kept strictly confidential.
- Only Statistics Canada employees whose job requires them to work with the questionnaires see individual completed questionnaires—and they have all taken an oath of secrecy under the Statistics Act to protect your information. This oath remains in effect for life—even after employment has ended.
- Selected researchers may have limited access to census information to conduct statistical work. Their research must be approved by Statistics Canada, and they have all taken the oath of secrecy. No information that could be used to identify respondents will ever be provided to other departments, agencies, contractors or researchers.
- Access to Statistics Canada buildings is controlled by a combination of physical measures and access procedures.
- Statistics Canada uses advanced security tools, software, hardware and procedures to protect your information.
- Information is encrypted on Statistics Canada’s web servers and remains encrypted until it is securely transferred to the high-security network.
- All work-related information and documents are protected and secured according to Statistics Canada Security Classification Standards, whether employees are working from Statistics Canada buildings or other secure locations such as their private residence.
- Any suspected breach of the confidentiality of census questionnaires is a serious matter that is investigated immediately and thoroughly, and would be subject to the full force of the Statistics Act.