York University was part of one of the most comprehensive humanities and social science research projects in Canadian history, the Canadian Century Research Infrastructure (CCRI), a five-year pan-Canadian initiative to develop a series of databases for the study of Canada from 1911-1951. The project was conducted at York and six other Canadian universities.   


The CCRI York University Centre developed databases for Ontario derived from manuscript census records and other primary sources including Statistics Canada documents, newspaper commentaries, political debates, and other social and political discussions related to the Canadian census.
 
The databases are fully documented, integrated and harmonized for the 1911-51 period. The result is a new foundation for the study of social, economic, cultural, and political change in twentieth-century Canada. The 1911 national sample is currently available as a downloadable database from here at the University of Alberta and into the future, and from here (2013).
 
The York CCRI Centre has been transformed into the York, Statistics Canada Research Data Centre (282 York Lanes). The entire CCRI data series can be accessed through this centre. For reasons of confidentiality the 1911 national sample is currently (2013) the only one accessible to the public.

The York centre also generated a useful 20% test sample of all households for Toronto in 1901, which can be downloaded:

• 1901 Toronto Areat Test Sample User Guide(docx)
• 1901 Data Entry Manual (pdf)
• 1901 Toronto Test Sample (sav)

Any use of these databases should include reference to their source, the CCRI and the York CCRI centre.

Project news

• Uncovering Canada's "Missing History": YFile news article from York University
• Buried Treasure: feature article from YorkU Alumni Magazine
• CCRI in the News: the latest news from the main site in Ottawa
• Our Newsletter