1981 Canadian census
The 1981 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was June 3, 1981. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 24,343,181. This was a 5.9% increase over the 1976 census of 22,992,604.
The previous census was the 1976 census and the following census was in 1991 census.
Canada by the numbers
A summary of information about Canada.| Total population | 24,343,181 |
| Dwellings | 8,281,530 |
| Men | 12,068,290 |
| Women | 12,274,890 |
Population by province
| Rank | Province or territory | Population as of 1981 census | Population as of 1976 census | Change | Percent change |
| 1 | Ontario | 8,625,107 | 8,264,465 | 360,642 | 4.4 |
| 2 | Quebec | 6,438,403 | 6,234,445 | 203,958 | 3.3 |
| 3 | British Columbia | 2,744,467 | 2,466,608 | 277,859 | 11.3 |
| 4 | Alberta | 2,237,724 | 1,838,037 | 399,687 | 21.7 |
| 5 | Manitoba | 1,026,241 | 1,021,506 | 4,735 | 0.5 |
| 6 | Saskatchewan | 968,313 | 921,323 | 46,990 | 5.1 |
| 7 | Nova Scotia | 847,442 | 828,571 | 18,871 | 2.3 |
| 8 | New Brunswick | 696,403 | 677,250 | 19,153 | 2.8 |
| 9 | Newfoundland and Labrador | 567,681 | 557,725 | 9,956 | 1.8 |
| 10 | Prince Edward Island | 122,506 | 118,229 | 4,277 | 3.6 |
| 11 | Northwest Territories | 45,741 | 42,609 | 3,132 | 7.4 |
| 12 | Yukon | 23,153 | 21,836 | 1,317 | 6.0 |
| Canada | 24,343,181 | 22,992,604 | 1,350,577 | 5.9 |