TORONTO, October 27, 2003 -- York University will officially launch its Canadian Century Research Infrastructure (CCRI) project centre (tomorrow) Tuesday, October 28.
York is playing a key role in facilitating the CCRI, a unique and distinctively pan-Canadian, five-year initiative to develop a range of databases from previously unprocessed manuscript census records for 1911-1951 -- viewed by many scholars as Canada’s missing history. The York University Centre is responsible for the Ontario data, and with its partners, for many aspects of the national project.
These new databases will be linked to other existing publicly available census databases covering the period from 1871 (post-Confederation) to the most recent census in 2001. The result will be a wholly new foundation for the study of social, economic, cultural, and political change in Canada. The CCRI will provide new insights into the changing character of labour, housing, immigration, families, education, language distributions, ethnicity and religion in Canada.
"The CCRI project puts together the remaining pieces of a puzzle to reveal the complete picture," said Sociology Prof. Gordon Darroch, York University Centre director. "We like to think, for example, that the experiences of families and childhood were more orderly and idyllic a half-century ago. The census data seems to suggest that the pressures on families and the pains of growing up today are different, but not less complex, than those faced by our grandparents and great–grandparents." For example, Darroch points to data that indicates the proportion of single-parent families has remained relatively constant.
The databases will bring individuals, families, and households to the forefront of historical investigation, and open up a myriad of new research opportunities. They provide large, anonymous samples of the array of information collected from each of the decennial censuses.
"The project fosters academic and public-policy research that can, for the first time, link changes in the everyday lives of Canadians to the larger political and social events of the 20th century, such as the Great Depression, two World Wars and waves of immigration and urbanization," adds Darroch.
The census data and contextual information will be available on the Web to students and researchers. CCRI is supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Innovation Trust, the FCAR Funds (Quebec), the Harold Crabtree Foundation, IBM Canada, Statistics Canada, the National Archives of Canada and other partners.
The CCRI team reflects an interdisciplinary collaboration of universities, institutions, research groups, and leading scholars who have worked with diverse population databases for the past twenty-five years. In addition to York, these are: the University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, University of Victoria, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Memorial University and Université Laval.
York University offers a world-class, modern academic experience in Toronto, Canada's most international city. York is at the centre of innovation, with a thriving community of faculty, students, staff and alumni who challenge the ordinary and deliver the unexpected. York faculty members are internationally recognized for their pioneering research and leadership in teaching. York is the third largest university in Canada with over 47,000 students in 10 faculties, 21 research centres, and more than 170,000 alumni. York's groundbreaking approach to research is interdisciplinary and collaborative, cutting across traditional academic boundaries to bring fresh insights and solutions to real world challenges. Working together, we redefine the possible.
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For more information, please contact:
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Ken Turriff
YU/121/03 |
