Canada's 'enthusiasm' for census brings down StatsCan website

On Monday, Statistics Canada began mailing out access codes to Canadians to complete the 2016 census online on May 10. But for some eager citizens, one week was just too long to wait.

#Census2016 trends across the country one week before Census Day

John Bowman CBC News Posted: May 03, 2016 9:39 AM EDT | Last Updated: May 4, 2016

On Monday,Statistics Canada began mailing outaccess codes to Canadiansto complete the 2016 census online by May 10.

But for some eager citizens, waiting one whole week for Census Day to come was too much to bear.

Not only did some people open their census letter right away, they posted it to Twitter.

Welcome back, evidence based policymaking tool. pic.twitter.com/Q7tdAFYGlo
—@IdilBurale

As a professor...no, scratch that. As a Canadian, I am *so glad* to see this in the mail. #Census2016 pic.twitter.com/bcpUJx6dKh
—@SteveUBC

Got this in the mail & may have squealed. Never thought Government paperwork could get me this excited. #Census2016 pic.twitter.com/LxWviSmaUS
—@DysthymicDad

How about a #CensusSelfie?

Nerd party for one. Filled out #Census2016! Yay for evidence-based policy! #censusselfie #cdnpoli #canlab #goc #nerd pic.twitter.com/BHfXag7trc
—@ArielTroster

Canadians on Twitter were nerding out so hard about the census that the hashtag #Census2016trended nationwide

People of the world, tonight Canadians are geeking out about filling out the #Census2016. I love this nation of nerds. #ItMakesCensus
—@timtomch

I'm such a nerd. Can't wait to get home and see if the #census arrived! https://t.co/yLZowTKaGo
—@nenshi

#Census2016 is trending on Twitter. So proud to see Canadians excited to get back to reliable data for evidence based decision making.
—@MartyStJean

(_)
<) )Data
/ \

\(_)
( (> Driven
/ \

(_)
<) )> Decision making
/ \#Census2016
—@kat_toth

But even after you get your letter from Statistics Canada, one question remains. Are you one of the lucky Canadians to be picked to fill out the newly restored long-form census?

One in four randomly selected households in Canada will receive the 36-page long-form questionnaire known as the National Household Survey. For the rest, the census is a mere 10 questions long.

Awwwww, I only got the short form. #census
—@EmmMacfarlane

When you realize you got the long-form census. Three cheers for evidence-based public policy. #Census2016 #census pic.twitter.com/560TDB6cpz
—@kylekirkup

When you see people talking about the long form #Census2016 and you got the short form #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/GIJfk4C67k
—@Jackstar009

Is all this census love a little too much?

Based on tweets in my feed, Wayne R. Smith, Chief Statistician of Canada, is Canada's Beyonce. #Census
—@ALL_CAPS

Um, not quite.

I completed my census! Have you? Wayne Smith, Chief Statistician #2016Census pic.twitter.com/ZuaIohgee3
—@StatCan_eng

Both versions of the census are mandatory. Failing to provide census information could result in a fine of up to $500,imprisonment of up to three months,or both.

The long-form census is back, it's online and this time, it's mandatory

For this reason, not everyone was so enthusiastic about filling out the questionnaire.

#Census2016 asked if I suffered from anxiety- considering they threatened jail time if I didn't fill out my form, I'd say yes.
—@jendeclinesyou

Many people tweeting about the census noted errors on the Statistics Canada website, and most of them attributedthis to high traffic volume.

Just completed long form #Census2016 , or so I thought. Looks like Canadians smothered the system w/ love&affection pic.twitter.com/OcVQCDcs2J
—@RolinaOtt

Canada, you crashed the census page! #DataNerds #Census2016 pic.twitter.com/2Xn4pX4ryA
—@ChrisDca

It looks like so many Canadians were excited to get a proper census back that we broke the servers. We broke the servers, folks! #Census2016
—@DrJayDrNo

Canadians filling out #Census2016 so eagerly the website crashes pic.twitter.com/l8txaXJm61
—@Miss604

Statistics Canada confirmed Tuesday morning that the websitewas down for 45 minutes because of Canadians' "enthusiasm" for the census.

Census website interruption still being investigated, StatsCan says

StatsCan confirms to CBC News that service to census website was interrupted for 45 min. last night. Thanks Canadians for 'enthusiasm.' #hw
—@CBCPolitics

Thanks Canadians for responding in such high numbers. The site was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm, but we are back! https://t.co/SnxAmqTRSr
—@StatCan_eng

Will this day go down in history?

I look forward to the #heritageminute about the day we crashed #Census2016
—@MFletcherMA

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