The Dominion Bureau of Statistics, precursor to Statistics Canada, was founded in 1918 as a centralized national agency to replace the piecemeal arrangements that had developed over time and were no longer capable of satisfying twentieth-century statistical needs. David Worton traces the Bureau's evolution and looks at the individuals who influenced it, leading to its emergence in recent years as what is assessed to be the best institution of its kind in the world.

Le Bureau federal de la statistique a balise l'evolution du Canada d'une economie de base a une puissance industrielle adulte, au seuil de l'ere de l'information. Tout au long de cette evolution, la necessite d'obtenir des informations a progresse a la fois en quantite et en complexite alors meme que les techniques destinees a recueillir, depouiller, analyser et divulguer ces informations subissaient de profondes transformations. David A. Worton se penche sur la maniere dont le systeme statistique canadien a fait face a ces profonds changements et decrit les importantes contributions que le...