Vancouver Island Historical Census Data

In the 3rd decennial Census of Canada (1891), the province of British Columbia was divided into five districts. Two of the districts — District No. 3 (Vancouver) and District No. 4 (Victoria) — covered the geographical area of Vancouver Island and adjacent Gulf Islands. Our 1891 census of Vancouver Island is based on information recorded by enumerators in those two districts.

Even in the 1890s, the name of District No. 3 — Vancouver — caused some confusion. District No. 3 (Vancouver) embraced Vancouver Island north of Victoria, while the new (1886) city of Vancouver on the mainland of British Columbia was enumerated in District No. 2 (New Westminster). The enumeration divisions and sub-divisions for Vancouver Island are described in a separate page dealing with census districts.

The target date for the 1891 census was April 6th. That is, although the enumeration process took several months to complete, enumerators were instructed to record the population as it existed on 6 April 1891.

In the 1891 Dominion census, information was recorded on nine separate "schedules" relating to population, agricultural production, manufacturing, investments, natural resource industries (forestry, fisheries, and mining) and shipping. Of the nine schedules, only Schedule 1 (Nominal Return of the Living) has survived in manuscript form. For details on the information recorded on Schedule 1, see the Notes on Enumeration categories for 1891.

Census Districts

In the 1891 census of Canada, Vancouver Island was enumerated in two large census districts: District No. 3 (Vancouver) and District No. 4 (Victoria). Vancouver (District No. 3) took in all of Vancouver Island north of Victoria District and adjacent Gulf Islands. District No. 4 consisted of the City of Victoria, Victoria district (i. e. Oak Bay, Saanich and Lake district), Esquimalt district and Metchosin district.

The boundaries of the two principal enumeration districts (Nos. 3 &4) corresponded with federal electoral districts. The electoral districts were sub-divided into polling divisions, which served as census sub-districts in 1891.

The definitions of the census sub-districts are taken from the records of the Chief Census Officer for British Columbia. The names of enumerators are taken from census schedules and from official government reports published in the Canada Sessional Papers.

Vancouver (District No. 3) — consisted of 23 sub-districts. In the 1891 census, the population of the district was 18,208.

Census District No. 3 - Vancouver

Sub Districts

No. 1 - Nanaimo City (North Ward) - W. F. Norris, enumerator

Is contained within the following boundaries, viz: - all that portion of the Provincial District known and marked on the Official Plan of Vancouver Island and its Dependencies in the Land Office at Victoria, as Nanaimo District, together with all that portion of the Municipality of Nanaimo lying North of a line drawn due west from the end of Bastion and Fitzwilliam streets, in the City of Nanaimo to the boundary line of Mountain District, and including Lasqueti Island.
1891 population: 1,319

No. 2 - Nanaimo City (Middle Ward) - H. Stewart, enumerator

Includes all that portion of such District and Municipality lying between polling division No. 1 last above described and the Old Victoria Road to the boundary line of Mountain District.
1891 population: 1,535

No. 3 - Nanaimo City (South Ward) - A. Gibbs, enumerator

Includes all those portions of land contained within the said District of Nanaimo and Municipality of Nanaimo lying the south of the Old Victoria Road.
1891 population: 1,732

No. 4 - Mountain - H. Campion, enumerator

Comprises the unsurveyed Provincial Districts of Wellington, Nanoose, Englishman's River and Qualicum, as generally known or marked on the official plan of Vancouver Island in the Land Office, Victoria.
1891 population: 1,624

No. 5 - Englishman's River, Nanoose & Wellington - J. Love, enumerator, Div. 1; H. Campion, enumerator, Div. 2

Comprises the unsurveyed Provincial Districts of Wellington, Nanoose, Englishman's River and Qualicum, as generally known or marked on the official plan of Vancouver Island in the Land Office, Victoria.
1891 population: 148

No. 6 - Cedar, Oyster, & Cranberry - J. A. McKenzie, enumerator

Comprises the surveyed Districts of Cranberry and Cedar and the unsurveyed Districts of Oyster and South Cranberry.
1891 population: 593

No. 7 - Gabriola, Mudge & DeCourcy Islands - D. S. R. Roberts, enumerator

Comprises Gabriola, Mudge, and the DeCourcy Group of Islands.
1891 population: 125

No. 8 - Alberni - F. McQuillon, enumerator

Comprises the District of Alberni.
1891 population: 191

No. 9 - Comox, North & Nelson- Eric Duncan, enumerator

"Includes the surveyed portion of Comox on the [Official Plan of Vancouver Island] and the unsurveyed lands of the said Comox District which lie to the northward of Courtney River, and including Nelson District." This district included the settlements of Comox and Courtenay. Most of the settlers were farmers. In the 1891 census, a portion of the Comox District known as "Comox West" was enumerated separately as "Union Mines" [Sub-District No. 19].
1891 population: 547

No. 10 - Comox, South - Robert Swan, enumerator

Includes all that portion or part of Comox District aforesaid between Nelson District and the Big Qualicum River, and to include Denman and Hornby Islands.
1891 population: 140

No. 11 - Cowichan, North - H. O. Wellburn, enumerator

Includes the municipality of North Cowichan, including all of Chemainus, Somenos and Comiaken Districts, on the said map mentioned, and that part of Cowichan and Quamichan lying to the North of Cowichan Main River, together with all land west of the districts above named, and between the extensions westward of the northernmost and southernmost boundaries respectively of such district.
1891 population: 798

No. 12 - Cowichan, South - J. E. Norcross, enumerator

Includes all that part of Cowichan and Quamichan South of Cowichan Main River, and not included in the Municipality together with the district of Shawnigan, on the said map, and all lands unsurveyed to the west and south of Cowichan Main River in all its courses.
1891 population: 411

No. 13 - Salt Spring Island, North - J. W. Mouat & Alex Wilson, enumerators

Includes all that part of Salt Spring Island commonly called the North Division of Salt Spring Island, situate and lying to the north of the dividing line which forms the southern boundary right across the Island of Section 14, North Division, as on the said map delineated, together with the Islands adjacent thereto, namely: Thetis, Kuper and Hall Islands.
1891 population: 196

No. 14 - Salt Spring Island, South - Alex Wilson, enumertor

Includes all that part of Salt Spring Island called the South Division of Salt Spring Island, lying to the south of the last mentioned dividing line, and including Moresby and Portland Islands which are adjacent thereto.
1891 population: 240

No. 15 - Mayne Island - Washington Grimmer, enumerator

Includes Mayne Island and all the Islands to the east of Trincomalee Channel, namely: Galiano, Pender, Saturna, Prevost and Gossip Islands.
1891 population: 197

No. 16 - Saanich, North &South - Henry Brethour, enumerator

Saanich Districts, North and South, and the Islands east of same and adjacent thereto.
1891 population: 610

No. 17 - Highland &Lake Districts - Frederick E. Heal, enumerator

1891 population: 335

No. 18 - Sooke &Goldstream - Edward Gordon, enumerator

1891 population: 261

No. 19 - Union Mines - William R. Gilchrist, enumerator

[This sub-district contained the newly-established (1888) coal mining settlement of Cumberland.]
1891 population: 576

No. 20 - West Coast - Harry Guillod, enumerator

"West Coast of Vancouver Island from Point San Juan to Cape Cook forming part of [Vancouver] District and known as West Coast." Mainly Nuu-chah-nulth people in the West Coast Indian Agency.
1891 population: 2,096

No. 21 - Cowichan Lake - J. E. Norcross, enumerator

1891 population: 121

No. 22 - North End of Vancouver Island - W. F. Rothwell, enumerator

"North end of Vancouver Island, from Campbell River to Cape Cook forming part of [Vancouver] District, and known as North End of Vancouver Island." Mainly First Nations in the Kwawkewlth Indian Agency.
1891 population: 682

No. 23 - East Coast &Southern Straits - W. H. Lomas, enumerator

"East Coast of Vancouver Island", from Point San Juan to Campbell River, and known as East Coast of Vancouver Island." Mainly First Nations in the Cowichan Indian Agency.
1891 population: 1,748

Victoria (District No. 4) — consisted of 13 sub-districts. In the 1891 census, the population of the district was 17,998.

Census District No. 4 - Victoria

Sub Districts

James Bay Ward (a)

a-1 - James Bay Ward - J. Hersch, enumerator
Bounded by a line commencing at the Custom House, and thence running along the Southern boundary of Polling District No. 6 to the Eastern Boundary of the City; thence Southwardly and Westwardly along the City Boundary to Cook Street; thence Northwardly along Cook Street to Southgate Street; thence Westwardly along Southgate Street and Humbolt Street to James Bay Bridge, at the southern end of Government Street; and thence Northwardly along the shore of Victoria Harbour to the point of commencement.
1891 Population: 1538

a-2 - James Bay Ward - G. G. O'Driscoll, enumerator
Bounded on the North and East by Polling District No. 7; on the South by the City Boundary; and on the West by Menzies Street and James Bay.
1891 population: 1200

a-3 - James Bay Ward - A. W. Hardie, enumerator
Bounded on the East by Menzies Street; and on the South, the West, and the North by the City Boundary.
1891 population: 1134

Johnson Street Ward (b)

b-1 - Johnson Street Ward - T. T. Wilson, enumerator
Bounded by a line commencing at the Northern end of Store Street, on Rock Bay, and thence running to and Eastwardly along Pembroke Street to Blanshard Avenue; thence Southwardly along Blanchard Avenue to Pembroke Avenue; thence Eastwardly along Pembroke Avenue to Chambers Street; thence Northwardly along Chambers Street and Cedar Hill Road to the City Boundary; and thence along the City Boundary Westward and to the point of commencement.
1891 population: 2356

b-2 - Johnson Street Ward - B. W. Ward, enumerator
Bounded by a line commencing at the Northern end of Store Street, on Rock Bay, and thence running to and Eastwardly along Pembroke Street; thence Southerly, along Douglas Street; thence Westwardly along Johnson Street to the City Boundary; and thence Northwardly along the City Boundary to the point of commencement.
1891 population: 1847

b-3 - Johnson Street Ward - Noel F. Townsend, enumerator
Bounded by a line commencing at the intersection of Pembroke Street and Douglas Street, and thence running Eastwardly along Pembroke Street and Pembroke Avenue to Quadra Street; and thence running Southwardly along Queens Avenue; and thence running Westwardly along Johnson Street to Douglas Street; and thence Northwardly along Douglas Street to the point of commencement.
1891 population: 1534

b-4 - Johnson Street Ward - R. Dudgeon, enumerator
Bounded by a line commencing at the intersection of Quadra Street and Pembroke Avenue, and thence running along the line of Polling District No. 1 Eastwardly and to the City Boundary; thence Southwardly along the City Boundary to Cadboro Bay Road; thence Westwardly along Cadboro Bay Road and Yates Street to Quadra Street to the point of commencement.
1891 population: 2439

Yates Street Ward (c)

c-1 - Yates Street Ward - F. J. Stannard, enumerator
Bounded by a line commencing at the Public Landing at the Western End of Johnson Street, and thence running Eastwardly along Johnson Street to Douglas Street; thence Southwardly along Douglas Street to Broughton Street; thence Westwardly along Broughton Street to the Custom House; and thence Northwardly along the City Boundary to the point of commencement. [Includes the newly incorporated (December 1890) district of Victoria West.]
1891 population: 1339

c-2 - Yates Street Ward [with Victoria West] - G. G. O'Driscoll, enumerator
Bounded by a line commencing at the Public Landing at the Western End of Johnson Street, and thence running Eastwardly along Johnson Street to Douglas Street; thence Southwardly along Douglas Street to Broughton Street; thence Westwardly along Broughton Street to the Custom House; and thence Northwardly along the City Boundary to the point of commencement. [Includes the newly incorporated (December 1890) district of Victoria West.]
1891 population: 773

c-3 - Yates Street Ward - E. A. Bickmore, enumerator
Bounded by a line commencing at the intersection of Douglas Street and Johnson Street, and thence running Eastwardly along Johnson Street to Quadra Street; thence Southwardly along Quadra Street to Yates Street; thence Eastwardly along Yates Street and Cadboro Bay Road to the City Boundary; thence Southwardly along the City Boundary to Belcher Street; thence Westwardly along Belcher Street to Cook Street; thence Northwardly along Cook Street to Meares Street; thence Westwardly along Meares Street to Quadra Street; thence Southwardly along Quadra Street to Kane Street; thence Northwardly along Douglas Street to the point of commencement.
1891 population: 2083

Esquimalt (d)

Esquimalt - N. F. Townsend, enumerator
Those tracts of land as defined on the official map of that district, designated "Esquimalt District Official Map, 1858."
1891 population: 739

Metchosin (e)

Metchosin - William Fisher, enumerator
Those tracts of land as defined on the official map of that district designated "Metchosin District Official Map, 1858."
1891 population: 739

Victoria District (f)

Victoria District - Edward Day Twiss, enumerator
"Those tracts of land, other than and except Victoria City District hereinbefore mentioned, comprised within the Victoria, Lake, North Saanich, and South Saanich Districts, as defined on the official maps of those districts now deposited in the Land Office, Victoria, and which maps are designated respectively "Victoria District Official Map, 1858," "Lake District," "North Saanich, 1859," "South Saanich Official Map, 1859."
1891 population: 742

You can also view census districts on an interactive page.

Schedule 1 (Nominal Return of the Living) of the 1891 Dominion census consisted of twenty-five questions. Enumerators were issued with manuals, explaining the purpose of the questions and showing the correct way of entering answers. Here is a list of the categories and a summary of the instructions given to enumerators:

Record of vessels and shanties

"Every vessel which is the abode and domicile of a family or person...not having a domicile on shore is to be registered [here]." Vessels were indicated by the letter 'V' in Column 1 of the schedule.
Shanties were described as "all dwellings of a temporary character, inhabited only for a part of the year, such as lumbering shanties, public works' shanties, fishermen's huts, Indian wigwams, etc." They were indicated by the letter 'S' in Column 1. On Vancouver Island, most aboriginal dwellings — even the substantial longhouses of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations on the west coast — are recorded as "shanties." The term was not intended to be pejorative or derogatory.

Houses under construction/Uninhabited houses

Uninhabited houses and homes under construction were to be recorded as they were met with by the enumerator. Information was entered in Columns 2 &3 of the Schedule.

Inhabited houses

Enumerators were supposed to note the number of rooms, the number of stories and the type of material (stone, brick, wood, or composite) used in the construction of the house. For example, "S 2/6" signified a house built of stone, with two stories and six rooms. "W 1/1" indicated a wooden structure with one story and one room.
Houses were counted as being "separate" if they had separate outside entrances. In cases where several families resided in the same house, the house was entered as single unit.

Number of families within a house

This category related to census families or households.
"A family, as understood for the purposes of the census, may consist of one person living alone or of any number of persons living together under one roof and having their food provided together. For example: One man, say a shopkeeper, or one woman, say a seamstress, living alone in a separate house, or in a distinctly separate part of a house, would constitute a census family; but any number of persons living together in a boarding house, several of them being parents, having children and servants, would only consitute one census family, provided they have no home elsewhere."

Names of inhabitants

Family names were entered first, followed by Christian or given names.

Sex

"The sex is inscribed...by writing the letter M for masculine and F for feminine."

Age

Infants less than a year old were supposed to be entered as a fraction of 12 — e.g. 2/12 for a two month old baby. Infants less than one month were supposed to be entered as "0." In this database, infants less than a year old are entered as "0" and their age, if it was recorded as a fraction, is displayed in the Comments field.

Civil condition

Whether a person was married (M) or widowed (W). In the manuscript census, a dash [—] was used to denote persons who were unmarried or single. We have used the letter S instead of a dash in this database for individuals who had never been married.

Relation to head of family

According to the enumerators' manual, this category "needs no explanation, the letters to be used being W for wife, S for son, D for daughter; "Dom." for domestic, whether man-servant or maid-servant; L for lodger, etc." In point of fact, this category was quite confusing for many enumerators — and for modern transcribers and coders. The manual did not provide any guidance on how to enter the in-laws, nephews, nieces, cousins or any number of other persons who were related to the head of family. So, in some cases, the information recorded in this category is questionable.

Country or Province of Birth

Over 60 nations, British colonies, and Canadian provinces were recorded.

French Canadians

In nearly all cases this category was used to indicate francophones from the province of Quebec.

Birth place of father and mother

"Columns 13 and 14 need no explanation."

Religion

"In writing down the religion the enumerator must be very careful to enter with precision the information given by the person questioned; and to be sure that the denomination is well defined...." Fifty different denominations and creeds were mentioned, as well as non-religious terms such as heathen, infidel, and sceptic. Enumerators were, however, rather arbitrary in recording the religion of Chinese people. In Victoria, most Chinese were entered as Confucians. In Nanaimo and Wellington, they were returned as Pagans.

Occupation, profession or trade

Enumerators were instructed to give fully descriptive designations for each occupation and to classify trades and professions as fully as possible. However, when the census schedules were transcribed and coded, some job titles and descriptions were adapted to conform to titles used in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (1968). More than 500 distinct occupations were recorded in the 1891 census of Vancouver Island.

Employer or wage earner

"Columns 17 and 18 are intended to separate people into two classes — the employers and the employed."

Unemployed during the week preceding the census?

This category was supposed to indicate "the condition of the labour market during the 1st week in April, 1891." The variables Y or N are used in the database.

Instruction: Ability to read or write

"Columns 21 and 22 are for the purpose of procuring knowledge of the condition of education. The figure "1" will be used in each column when "yes" is the answer. A dash — will indicate that the person cannot read, or write, or neither, as the case may be."

Infirmities

Officially, the categories were "deaf &dumb, blind, or of unsound mind." However, several enumerators also used the term "helpless" and it has been included here.

Comments

Schedule 1 included a column headed "Dates of operations and remarks." Occasionally enumerators used this field to record additional information about persons they had met or places they had visited. We have noted the enumerators' remarks, whenever they were recorded, in this database.

In 1891, the aboriginal population of Vancouver Island was administered by federal government Indian Agents. The Indian Agencies and corresponding enumeration districts were as follows:

Western Coast

Harry Guillod, Indian Agent & enumerator
Census District 3, sub-district 20 (n): "West Coast"

Extending from Otter Point to Cape Cook on the west coast of Vancouver Island, this agency embraced 18 Nuu-chah-nulth tribes, from Point San Juan in the south to Cape Cook at the northern end of the agency. In the 1891 census, all of the tribes -- with the exception of the Pacheena band -- were identified separately.

Kwawkewlth Agency

Reginald H. Pidcock, Indian Agent; W. F. Rothwell, enumerator
Census District 3, sub-district 22 (g-3): "North End of Vancouver Island"

The Kwawlewlth Indian Agency extended from Quatsino Sound on the northwest coast to Cape Scott and along the northeast coast down to the entrance of Johnstone Strait. The Kwakwakwakawakw people (also referred to as Kwawkewlth or Kwakiutl people) lived here. In 1891, the agency was responsible for 17 bands or tribes. In the 1891 census, the aboriginal population was included within Census District 3, sub-district G-3 (North End of Vancouver Island.) Regrettably, the enumerator did not identify the tribes separately, as George Blenkinsop had done in 1881.

Cowichan Agency

W. H. Lomas, Indian Agent & enumerator
Census district 3, sub-district 23 (g-4): "East Coast of Vancouver Island"

The Cowichan Agency embraces the Hul'qumi'num-speaking people on the eastern side and southern end of Vancouver Island. It extended from Comox on the Gulf of Georgia down to Otter Point on the Straits of Juan de Fuca. In the 1891 census, Lomas did not identify separate bands within the agency, as he had done in the census of 1881. However, many members of the Nanaimo band can be identified because they were enumerated as Methodists. In contrast, the majority of aboriginal people in the Cowichan agency were Catholics.

A note on spelling

We have spelled the names of Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations — Clakquot, Oiat, etc. — as they were written by the Indian Agent, Harry Guillod. Likewise, we've recorded the names of aboriginal persons as they were written by Guillod, Lomas and Rothwell.

First Nations Search

You can also search for more information on First Nations bands.

Like its companion, the 1881 viCensus, this application was created by faculty and students at the University of Victoria and Vancouver Island University — with assistance from experts outside the academy!

The project began in 1991 when nominal census schedules for the City of Victoria were transcribed and digitalized by the Public History Group at the University of Victoria. The 1891 Victoria City census project was directed by Dr. Peter Baskerville and Dr. Eric Sager.

At UVic, data entry and database design work was carried out by Darryl Green, Chris Roberts, George Young and Jennifer Molony, with assistance from Rolly Hollowaty. Seed funding for the work came from the Office of the Vice-President at the University of Victoria. Additional funds were provided by the Government of British Columbia through the British Columbia Heritage Trust and British Columbia Lotteries.

In 1994 census records for Vancouver Island communities outside Victoria — from the Malahat to the north end of Vancouver Island and adjacent Gulf Islands — were transcribed. The 1891 Vancouver Island census project was organized and directed by Dr. Patrick Dunae in the Department of History at Vancouver Island University.

Ron Apland, in VIU's Faculty of Social Sciences, provided technical assistance and advice on designing the database. Christine Meutzner transcribed many of the records and ensured that data entry fields corresponded with fields used by coders at UVic. Rick Geddes transcribed the First Nations portions of the census in 1995. Funding for this part of the project was provided by the Government of Canada through a summer works program; research was facilitated by the Vancouver Island University Joint Faculty Research Committee.

In the spring of 2002 the project was reactivated and expanded with a grant provided by the Malaspina Research Fund (MRF), a newly established program administered by the Office of the Vice-President, Instruction and Research, at Vancouver Island University. The MRF grant enabled us to transcribe nominal census schedules from Victoria District, Esquimalt and Metchosin — districts which had not been transcribed earlier. The schedules were transcribed by Jenny Clayton, a post-graduate student at the University of Victoria. The MRF grant also enabled us to contract Alex Dunae to build the search engine and create search features similar to the ones he developed for the 1881 database.

Archivists at the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa and the British Columbia Archives in Victoria helped with this project; genealogists and family historians have provided on-going assistance by informing us of errors, omissions and inconsistencies they encounter in the database.