I know that completing the census is mandatory for citizens and permanent residents in Canada, but does that also apply to tourists? I know a country that enforces mandatory census completion for both citizens and tourists (like Australia for example: they stipulate that even non-citizens are made to fill up the census form despite the fact they don’t live there, why should it concern them in the first place?).
The purpose of the census is in part to help the government to plan for future infrastructure and public services. Long term visitors (students, temporary workers) and even tourists use these, so it is a good idea to have statistics on everyone in the country. Even though tourists and visitors are transient, the overall numbers average over time.