Enough non-citizens to fill the city of Halifax were likely missed

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

First Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

In the latest example of Ottawa having sketchy figures on the number of non-citizens in the country, Statistics Canada has confirmed that it likely missed several hundred thousand non-permanent residents in the most recent census.

The term “non-permanent residents” refers to anybody living in Canada as a student, a temporary foreign worker or an asylum seeker. And a new report estimates that 38 per cent of non-permanent residents were “missed” by the 2021 census.

This newsletter tackles hot topics with boldness, verve and wit. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Platformed will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.

The report does not attempt to estimate the precise number of people this represents, and even cautions that “missed rates cannot be interpreted as a certain number of individuals who should be added to the census figures.”

This is because the “missed” rate might include people who were miscounted or had already left the country at the time of the census.

Nevertheless, the official count of the 2021 census was that there were 924,000 non-permanent residents in the country. As per a 38 per cent missed rate, this means there were about 576,000 names of........

© National Post