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Canadians who haven’t completed the 2026 census questionnaire may soon receive a phone call or in-person visit from a Statistics Canada employee.

The census collects demographic, social and economic information from households across the country, and completion of the questionnaire is required by law. Canadian households can face fines of up to $500 for not doing so, under Section 31 of the Statistics Act.

In a news release published on Tuesday, StatCan said: “Census enumerators will begin contacting households from which a completed questionnaire has not yet been received. In addition to phone follow-ups, they will also start going door to door in communities across Canada.”

The government agency added: “These visits are intended to remind residents to complete the census and to offer assistance.”

Thousands of enumerators have been hired across Canada to conduct the follow-ups, most of whom have been recruited to work in communities near where they live.

A spokesperson from StatCan told National Post that census employees have already been circulating in certain regions, but follow-up activities began to ramp up on Wednesday.

“Visits to households who have not yet completed the Census will continue for a few weeks, to ensure everyone is counted,” they said.

Census employees who conduct in-person visits will issue reminders to households that haven’t completed their questionnaire and verify that census communications have reached them, StatCan said, as well as offer support to people who could not complete the Census on their own.

“Going door to door allows us to identify dwellings that are unoccupied, that may have been missed by the initial rounds of census communications or have been improperly identified or classified,” the government agency added.

Canadians who receive a visit from a StatCan employee can verify their identity by contacting the Census Help Line at 1-833-852-2026. Additional information on identifying official census communications is available on the recognizing census communications page of the census website.

Meanwhile, follow-up activities for the 2026 Census of Agriculture will also begin, and StatCan employees will communicate with respondents by phone and through email.

StatCan told National Post that non-responding households with a mailing address will receive a final reminder letter in mid-July, informing them of their legal obligation to complete the census questionnaire and the possible consequences of failing to do so.

The deadline to fill in the 2026 Census of Population was May 12. However, according to the Statistics Canada census website: “You can still submit your questionnaire past May 12.”