Census Division (CD) and Census Subdivision (CSD) for Agricultural Land

Question

I have a researcher who is looking for the area (in square miles, acres, etc.) of CDs and CSDs going back to 1871 in order to calculate the percentage of each that is made up of agricultural land. We have located this data using print and online sources for 1871, 1911, 1991 and 2001 but are having trouble with the other years (we only need censuses for years ending in "1").

Is there a way of getting this figure? I could swear that I have seen this information before, but we combed the old print volumes and could not find anything besides the years I mentioned.

Answer

I found land area information for CDs and CSDs in the following documents:

1981 CENSUS:

Catalogue no. 95-902 - Census divisions: Population...Selected characteristics
Catalogue no. 95-945 - Census subdivisions of 5,000 population and over:
Population...Selected social and economic characteristics

1971 CENSUS (Special Bulletin):
Catalogue no. 98-701 (SG-1) - Geography: Land Areas and Densities of Statistical Units

1961 CENSUS, Volume 1, Part 1: Population - Geographical Distributions

1951 Census, Volume 1: Population: General Characteristics

1941 Census, Volume 2: Population by Local Subdivisions

1931 Census, Volume 1: Summary

Follow-up:

I have found a better print source for 1981.  Land area data for all census subdivisions for 1981 is available in Catalogue numbers 93-901 to 93-912, the Provincial Series, which consist of data published separately for each province and territory.  The relevant tables in this series are Table 1: Population, Land Area and Population Density, for Census Divisions, 1976 and 1981, and Table 6:  Geographical Identification, Population, Land Area and Population Density, for Census Subdivisions 1976 and 1981.

As for obtaining the land area for ALL census subdivisions from 1961 and earlier censuses, I am told by geography division that this data would only be available through a "lengthy and costly custom project" for which they are not currently resourced.  Other than that, the print sources I already mentioned are what is available.

I hope this answers your question.