New questions will be added to the upcoming 2026 census, including an inquiry about whether Canadians have been homeless over the previous 12 months.

Statistics Canada, for the first time, will collect data “on people living in private dwellings who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness” over the past year.

Two questions will address the issue, as reported by Blacklock's Reporter:

• Question 34 asks: “Considering homelessness experiences, over the past 12 months has this person stayed in a shelter, on the street or in parks, in a makeshift shelter, in a vehicle or in an abandoned building?”

• Question 35 asks: “Considering other types of housing challenges, over the past 12 months has this person lived temporarily with friends, family or others because they had nowhere else to live?”

The new census questions will attempt to gather more information on homelessness in Canada, with current estimates having a wide degree of variance.

2026 Census for first time will ask Canadians if they slept in their car, hoping to "shed light on who may face significant social & housing challenges." https://t.co/6JVwAYrCCe @StatCan_eng @HICC_ca @ESDC_GC pic.twitter.com/Q421iCnucV

— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) July 7, 2025

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Other new additions to the long-form census, which is sent to 25% of Canadian residents, include questions about sexual orientation and health.

These will include an inquiry about a respondent's sex assigned at birth, in addition to asking about the respondent's gender. Options include man/boy, woman/girl or the choice to write in a different answer, CBC reported.

The questionnaire also provides a definition for “gender,” which it says “refers to an individual's personal and social identity as a man (or boy), a woman (or a girl) or a person who is not exclusively a man (or a boy) or a woman (or a girl) for example, non-binary, agender, gender fluid, queer or two-spirit.”

Question 36 will ask those aged 15 and up about sexual orientation, giving respondents the choice between “heterosexual (i.e. straight), lesbian or gay, bisexual or pansexual.” That question will also include an option for respondents to write their own answer.

The 2026 census is scheduled for next May, with details of the results to be made public on July 4.