Nelson, Ontario (1921 census)
Nelson was a census subdivision in Ontario, recorded in the 1921 Census of Canada with a population of 3,356. The administrative centroid was at approximately 43.407°N, 79.858°W.
Population
In 1921, Nelson had a population of 3,356: 1,866 male and 1,490 female residents.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1851 | 4,078 |
| 1861 | 4,559 |
| 1871 | 4,619 |
| 1881 | 3,340 |
| 1891 | 3,269 |
| 1901 | 2,776 |
| 1911 | 2,910 |
| 1921 | 3,356 |
Cross-year identity established by spatial polygon overlap (SAME_AS chains across the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary files).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1921
In the 1921 census, Nelson shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1921
The 1921 census recorded 46 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 3 categories.
Population & families (1921). This community's record includes 3,356 total population, 1,866 males in the population, 1,490 females in the population, 1,344 males born in Canada, 1,220 females born in Canada, 470 males born in the British Empire (excluding Canada), 239 females born in the British Empire (excluding Canada), 52 males born outside the British Empire, 31 females born outside the British Empire. (Source: 1921 Census of Canada, V1T16.)
Ethnic origin (1921). This community's record includes 1,976 persons of British origin (English), 559 persons of British origin (Irish), 474 persons of British origin (Scotch / Scottish), 106 persons of Dutch origin, 50 persons of British origin (other), 46 persons of German origin, 39 persons of Italian origin, 19 persons of French origin, 9 persons of other European origin, 6 persons of Russian origin, 5 persons of Scandinavian origin, 4 persons of Chinese or Japanese origin, 3 persons of Polish origin, 1 persons of Austrian origin, 1 persons of Greek origin, 1 persons of Syrian origin. 46 persons recorded under the official census category "Indian"; corresponds to what is now described as Indigenous (First Nations; in northern enumerations also Inuit) origin. "Indian" was simultaneously a census category and the legal/administrative term under the Indian Act (1876). 3 persons recorded under the 1911/1921 official census category "Negro"; refers to people of African descent. Term is now considered offensive and is preserved here only as the historical source label. 2 persons recorded under the 1921 official census category "Hebrew" (origin/ethnicity); now described as Jewish origin. (Source: 1921 Census of Canada, V1T27.)
Religion (1921). This community's record includes 1,549 Methodists, 890 Anglicans (Church of England), 608 Presbyterians, 134 Roman Catholics, 90 Baptists, 55 adherents of other sects (residual category in 1921), 7 Greek (Orthodox) Church adherents, 6 Brethren, 6 Congregationalists, 6 persons whose religion or origin is unspecified, 2 Jews, 2 Lutherans, 2 Salvation Army adherents, 1 adherents of Eastern religions, 1 Christians (general / no denomination specified), 1 Disciples of Christ, 1 Mennonites, 1 Protestants (general / no denomination specified). (Source: 1921 Census of Canada, V1T27; V1T38.)
People with Dictionary of Canadian Biography entries
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography includes biographies of 2 people connected to this place who were alive in 1921, listed below by birth year. Each name links to that person's DCB entry.
| Name | Lifespan | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| JOHN GENNINGS CURTIS ADAMS | 1839–1922 | died here |
| Jean Newton McIlwraith | d. 1938 | died here |
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
ON117003— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_ON117003— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: not yet grounded. This page covers a place whose persistent identity has not yet been linked to a Wikidata entity. Identification is via TCP UID and spatial polygon only.
Sources
Census tabulations from the 1921 Census of Canada, transcribed and georeferenced by the Canadian Peoples / TCP project, hosted at the HGIS Lab, University of Saskatchewan. Persistent place identity computed from spatial-overlap chains across all available census years (1851–1921). Identity grounding to Wikidata performed via the HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph project's MCP-assisted disambiguation pipeline. See the About / Methodology page for the full data pipeline.
Cite this page
Clifford, J. (2026). "Nelson, Ontario (1921 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/on/nelson-on117003-1921/.