Ethnic origins of people in Canada

Statistics Canada report on race and ethnicity in Canada in 2022

Data collection method

Larger ethnic origins (200,000 or more individuals per group; 2021 census)

Ethnicity	Total responses	As single response	One of multiple responses
efn|name=Canadian Smaller ethnic origins (2021 census) Ethnicity Total responses As single response One of multiple responses Christian, not included elsewhere 200,340 99,800 100,540 Evolution from 1871 to 1921 During the fifty-year period beginning from the first census of independent Canada in 1871 until the census of 1921, the national ethnic composition was multicultural, however in the early period was dominated by four origin groups from western and northern Europe: French, English, Irish, and Scottish. Following the French and British Isles origin groups, Continental European communities were the largest in Canada, and grew fairly rapidly between the 1901 census and the 1921 census. Nominally small East Asian, South Asian, West Asian, and West African descended communities also existed during this time period. The ethnic French population, comprising a plurality of the total population from confederation until just prior to the 1921 census, overwhelmingly relied on natural increase for growth, with progeny stemming from early settlers who arrived throughout the 17th and 18th centuries; migration from France had been severely curtailed by the British Empire and early governments of independent Canada. Population growth amongst the French population occurred at relatively high pace, increasing from 1,082,940 persons in 1871 to 2,452,743 persons in 1921. Despite an increase of nearly 1.5 million persons during this fifty-year period, the French proportion of the total Canadian population dropped slightly, from 31.1 percent, to 27.1 percent. By contrast, large population increases amongst the three main ethnic groups from the British Isles occurred through natural increase but relied heavily on high immigration rates that began in the early-mid 19th century dubbed the Great Migration of Canada − this continued through the early 20th century, spurred by record immigration rates during the 1900s and 1910s, when English immigrants formed a majority or plurality of all immigrants to Canada on an annual and decadal basis. The English population, in particular, grew at a rapid pace, increasing from 705,369 persons in 1871 to 2,545,358 persons in 1921, representing an increase of nearly 2 million persons during the fifty-year period. During the same time period, the English proportion of the total Canadian population rose from 20.3 percent to 29.0 percent. The English community experienced massive growth principally during the first two decades of the 20th century as a result of record immigration at the time; during the era, persons of English descent also became the single largest ethnic group in Canada, comprising a plurality of the Canadian population by the 1921 census. The Irish population, meanwhile, witnessed steady, slowing population growth during the late 19th and early 20th century, with the proportion of the total Canadian population dropping from 24.3 percent in 1871 to 12.6 percent in 1921 and falling from the second-largest ethnic group in Canada from to fourth − principally due to massive immigration flows from England to Canada at the time − despite the population increasing from 846,414 persons to 1,107,803 persons in the fifty-year timeframe. The largest Irish population increases occurred prior to confederation, spurred by mass immigration during the mid-19th century at the height of the Great Migration of Canada, and was primarily due to The Great Famine and related poor economic conditions in Ireland at the time. At the turn of the 20th century, overall immigrant proportions from the British Isles to Canada gradually dropped from a majority to a plurality. At the time, the federal government began supplementing increased mass immigration from the British Isles by also permitting large migration flows from continental Europe, especially Germany, Scandinavia, and the Soviet Union. This was primarily as a result of federal policy aimed at settling the Prairies through ethnic block settlements and ultimately led to the highest annual immigration rates in Canadian history since confederation in 1867 that remain unsurpassed in the contemporary era, including 1913, 1912, 1911, 1907 and 1910. Largely due to increased immigration levels outside of the British Isles, the continental European population grew rapidly during the first two decades of the 20th century − comprising 1,246,151 persons or 14.2 percent as proportion of the total Canadian population by the 1921 census, representing a numerical increase of over 1 million persons from fifty years earlier in 1871, when the continental European population stood at approximately 236,043 persons or 6.8 percent of the total Canadian population. Broadening the multicultural makeup of Canada, the diversity across the Prairie provinces during the early 20th century was soon dubbed a cultural mosaic by journalist Victoria Hayward in the early 1920s: Evolution from 1996 to 2016 As regards total responses, Canadian is the most common ethnic origin in the 2016 Census. This was also the case in the 2011 NHS, 2006 Census, 2001 Census, and the 1996 Census. Canadian was also the most common single ethnic origin in the 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016. Visible minority Province/territory South Asian Chinese Black Filipino Latin American Arab Southeast Asian West Asian Korean Japanese Visible minority, Multiple visible minorities Total visible minority population Total population Percent visible minority Alberta 230,930 158,200 129,390 166,195 55,090 56,700 43,985 20,980 21,275 12,165 9,900 28,360 933,165 3,978,145 23.46% British Columbia 365,705 508,480 43,500 145,025 44,115 19,840 54,920 48,695 60,495 41,230 8,760 40,465 1,381,235 4,560,240 30.29% Manitoba 42,060 22,540 30,335 79,815 9,895 5,030 8,565 2,695 4,375 1,850 3,195 6,485 216,850 1,240,700 17.48% New Brunswick 2,535 3,925 7,000 1,980 1,285 2,960 1,230 730 1,685 230 305 675 24,535 730,710 3.36% Newfoundland and Labrador 2,645 2,325 2,355 1,390 635 1,375 340 220 80 60 150 255 11,810 512,250 2.31% Northwest Territories 615 300 760 1,300 135 100 255 50 100 150 95 90 3,960 41,135 9.63% Nova Scotia 7,910 8,640 21,915 3,400 1,685 8,110 1,195 1,540 1,540 695 630 1,395 58,650 908,340 6.46% Nunavut 115 75 330 230 40 40 30 10 10 10 20 10 905 35,580 2.54% Ontario 1,150,415 754,550 527,715 311,675 195,950 210,435 133,855 154,670 88,935 30,830 97,970 128,585 3,885,585 13,242,160 29.34% Prince Edward Island 920 2,570 825 670 255 585 145 215 210 110 55 85 6,640 139,685 4.75% Quebec 90,335 99,505 319,230 34,910 133,920 213,740 62,820 32,405 8,055 4,570 9,840 23,045 1,032,365 7,965,450 12.96% Saskatchewan 19,960 15,545 14,925 32,340 4,195 4,300 5,745 2,065 1,875 955 1,150 2,820 115,875 1,070,560 10.82% Yukon 500 415 270 1,190 130 10 180 30 70 65 15 120 3,000 35,115 8.54% Canada 1,924,635 1,577,060 1,198,540 780,125 447,325 523,325 313,260 264,305 188,710 92,920 132,090 232,375 7,674,580 34,460,065 22.27% City Population Visible minority Black East Asian Latin American South Asian Southeast Asian West Asian Arab Multiracial Other Toronto 2,731,571 51.5% 8.9% 13.2% 2.9% 12.6% 7.2% 2.2% 1.3% 1.8% 1.4% Montreal 1,704,694 34.2% 10.3% 3.7% 4.1% 3.3% 3.5% 0.9% 7.3% 0.7% 0.3% Calgary 1,239,220 36.2% 4.2% 8.5% 2.1% 9.5% 7.3% 1.0% 2.0% 1.1% 0.4% Ottawa 934,243 26.3% 6.6% 5.1% 1.2% 4.2% 2.7% 1.0% 4.5% 0.9% 0.3% Edmonton 932,546 37.1% 5.9% 7.3% 1.9% 9.5% 7.7% 0.7% 2.6% 1.1% 0.4% Mississauga 721,599 57.2% 6.6% 8.7% 2.3% 23.2% 7.2% 1.1% 5.1% 1.9% 1.3% Winnipeg 705,224 28.0% 3.9% 3.6% 1.0% 5.4% 11.8% 0.4% 0.7% 0.9% 0.4% Vancouver 631,486 51.6% 1.0% 30.2% 1.8% 6.0% 8.7% 1.4% 0.5% 1.8% 0.2% Brampton 593,638 73.3% 13.9% 1.7% 2.4% 44.3% 4.8% 0.9% 1.0% 1.6% 2.7% Hamilton 536,917 19.0% 3.8% 2.5% 1.6% 4.2% 2.8% 0.9% 2.0% 0.7% 0.5% Quebec City 531,902 6.4% 2.4% 0.5% 1.3% 0.3% 0.5% 0.1% 1.2% 0.1% 0.1% Surrey 517,887 58.5% 1.8% 7.8% 1.4% 32.8% 8.8% 0.7% 1.1% 1.2% 0.4% Laval 422,993 26.1% 7.8% 1.0% 3.1% 2.1% 2.1% 1.0% 8.2% 0.3% 0.1% Halifax 403,131 11.4% 3.8% 2.2% 0.3% 1.6% 0.9% 0.3% 1.8% 0.3% 0.1% London 383,822 19.9% 3.0% 3.8% 2.4% 3.1% 2.1% 0.9% 3.6% 0.6% 0.4% Markham 328,966 77.9% 2.9% 46.8% 0.5% 17.8% 3.8% 2.4% 1.0% 2.1% 0.9% Vaughan 306,233 35.4% 2.7% 8.7% 2.4% 10.1% 5.1% 2.9% 1.4% 1.4% 0.8% Gatineau 276,245 13.5% 6.1% 1.0% 1.5% 0.4% 0.7% 0.3% 3.1% 0.3% 0.2% Longueuil 239,700 18.6% 7.0% 1.4% 3.1% 0.8% 1.3% 0.8% 3.2% 0.4% 0.3% Burnaby 232,755 63.6% 1.6% 38.9% 2.0% 8.1% 7.7% 2.2% 0.7% 2.1% 0.3% Saskatoon 246,376 19.8% 2.2% 3.6% 0.8% 5.5% 5.4% 0.5% 1.0% 0.6% 0.2% Kitchener 233,222 21.8% 4.1% 2.6% 2.6% 5.0% 2.9% 1.2% 1.8% 0.8% 0.8% Windsor 217,188 26.9% 5.0% 3.6% 1.2% 4.5% 3.0% 0.6% 7.5% 0.9% 0.6% Regina 215,106 19.2% 3.0% 6.2% 0.6% 5.9% 5.2% 0.3% 0.7% 0.4% 0.2% Richmond 198,309 76.3% 0.6% 55.6% 0.8% 7.3% 7.9% 0.6% 0.8% 2.4% 0.2% Richmond Hill 195,022 60.0% 2.0% 32.5% 0.8% 7.7% 2.7% 10.4% 1.8% 1.6% 0.4% Oakville 193,832 30.8% 2.9% 9.0% 1.9% 8.9% 2.4% 1.1% 3.2% 1.0% 0.4% Burlington 183,314 16.0% 2.1% 2.9% 1.3% 4.8% 2.0% 0.6% 1.4% 0.6% 0.4% Greater Sudbury 161,531 3.8% 0.9% 0.7% 0.2% 0.9% 0.4% 0.1% 0.4% 0.1% 0.0% Sherbrooke 161,323 7.3% 2.2% 0.4% 1.7% 0.3% 0.4% 0.8% 1.2% 0.2% 0.0% Oshawa 159,458 16.0% 5.5% 2.0% 0.8% 3.8% 1.6% 0.4% 0.6% 0.8% 0.8% Saguenay 145,949 1.4% 0.5% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.0% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% Lévis 143,414 2.2% 0.7% 0.3% 0.4% 0.1% 0.2% 0.0% 0.4% 0.0% 0.0% Barrie 141,434 10.3% 2.7% 1.8% 1.1% 2.2% 1.4% 0.2% 0.3% 0.4% 0.3% Abbotsford 141,397 33.7% 1.0% 3.0% 0.8% 25.5% 2.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.5% 0.2% St. Catharines 133,113 12.7% 2.9% 2.7% 1.7% 1.4% 1.8% 0.3% 1.1% 0.7% 0.2% Trois-Rivières 134,413 3.5% 1.4% 0.3% 0.8% 0.1% 0.2% 0.0% 0.6% 0.0% 0.0% Cambridge 129,920 15.6% 2.5% 1.4% 1.3% 6.2% 2.1% 0.3% 0.8% 0.4% 0.6% Coquitlam 139,284 50.2% 1.1% 29.3% 1.6% 4.5% 5.2% 5.6% 1.0% 1.7% 0.2% Kingston 123,798 9.7% 1.5% 2.7% 0.7% 2.0% 1.1% 0.4% 0.8% 0.4% 0.1% Whitby 128,377 25.3% 8.0% 3.1% 1.1% 6.6% 2.4% 1.0% 0.8% 1.5% 0.9% Guelph 131,794 18.8% 2.2% 3.6% 1.0% 5.0% 4.1% 1.2% 0.6% 0.9% 0.2% Kelowna 127,380 9.5% 0.8% 2.9% 0.6% 2.6% 1.6% 0.3% 0.2% 0.3% 0.2% Saanich 114,148 22.1% 1.0% 10.5% 0.7% 5.0% 3.0% 0.4% 0.6% 0.6% 0.2% Ajax 119,677 56.7% 16.7% 3.2% 1.4% 20.9% 5.3% 2.4% 1.7% 2.4% 2.7% Thunder Bay 107,909 4.5% 0.6% 1.1% 0.3% 0.9% 0.8% 0.2% 0.3% 0.2% 0.0% Terrebonne 111,575 11.8% 4.5% 0.4% 1.7% 0.1% 0.6% 0.1% 1.7% 0.1% 0.0% St. John's 108,860 7.0% 1.4% 1.6% 0.5% 1.5% 0.7% 0.2% 1.0% 0.1% 0.1% Langley 117,285 18.7% 1.0% 8.0% 0.9% 4.4% 3.0% 0.3% 0.3% 0.5% 0.1% Chatham-Kent 101,647 4.6% 2.1% 0.6% 0.2% 0.6% 0.5% 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% Milton 110,128 42.8% 4.8% 3.1% 2.4% 21.0% 4.7% 0.9% 3.5% 1.4% 0.9% Waterloo 104,986 26.4% 1.9% 10.6% 1.4% 6.4% 1.7% 1.1% 1.8% 0.9% 0.6% Delta 102,238 36.0% 0.8% 9.2% 0.8% 20.3% 3.2% 0.3% 0.3% 0.8% 0.3% Red Deer 100,418 15.5% 1.8% 1.8% 1.8% 1.7% 7.0% 0.4% 0.5% 0.4% 0.1%