Demographics of Canada

Population of Canada, Data of FAO, year 2009 ; Number of inhabitants in millions.

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Canada, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population, the People of Canada.

Population of Canada: 31,612,895 (2006 Census).
Population of Canada: 33,873,357 (October 2009).[1]

Contents

Provinces and territories

Province or territory Population Percentage of national pop. Total area (km²) Population density Seats in House of Commons People per House Seat
Ontario &000000001311925100000013,119,251 38.73% &00000000010763950000001,076,395 12.19 106 123,767
Quebec &00000000078568810000007,856,881 23.19% &00000000013651280000001,365,128 5.76 75 104,758
British Columbia &00000000044799340000004,479,934 13.23% &0000000000925186000000925,186 4.84 36 124,443
Alberta &00000000037039790000003,703,979 10.93% &0000000000642317000000642,317 5.77 28 132,285
Manitoba &00000000012261960000001,226,196 3.62% &0000000000553556000000553,556 2.22 14 87,585
Saskatchewan &00000000010349740000001,034,974 3.06% &0000000000591670000000591,670 1.75 14 73,927
Nova Scotia &0000000000940397000000940,397 2.78% &000000000005333800000053,338 17.63 11 85,491
New Brunswick &0000000000750457000000750,457 2.22% &000000000007145000000071,450 10.50 10 75,046
Newfoundland and Labrador &0000000000510272000000510,272 1.51% &0000000000373872000000373,872 1.36 7 72,896
Prince Edward Island &0000000000141374000000141,374 0.42% &00000000000056600000005,660 24.98 4 35,344
Northwest Territories &000000000004324400000043,244 0.13% &00000000011830850000001,183,085 0.037 1 43,244
Yukon &000000000003396300000033,963 0.10% &0000000000474391000000474,391 0.072 1 33,963
Nunavut &000000000003243500000032,435 0.10% &00000000019361130000001,936,113 0.017 1 32,435
Canada &000000003387335700000033,873,357 100% &00000000090935070000009,093,507 3.73 308 109,167
Sources: Statistics Canada[2][3]

Cities

Largest Cities of Canada
City Province Pop. City Province Pop.

Toronto
Toronto
Montreal
Montreal
Calgary
Calgary

Toronto Ontario 2,503,281 Brampton Ontario 433,806
Montreal Quebec 1,620,693 Surrey British Columbia 394,976
Calgary Alberta 988,193 Halifax Nova Scotia 372,679
Ottawa Ontario 812,129 Laval Quebec 368,709
Edmonton Alberta 730,372 London Ontario 352,395
Mississauga Ontario 668,549 Markham Ontario 261,573
Winnipeg Manitoba 633,451 Gatineau Quebec 242,124
Vancouver British Columbia 578,041 Vaughan Ontario 238,866
Hamilton Ontario 504,559 Longueuil Quebec 229,330
Quebec City Quebec 491,142 Windsor Ontario 216,473
Canada 2006 Census
Largest metropolitan areas in Canada by population (2006 Census)
Name Province Pop. Name Province Pop.
Toronto Ontario 5,113,149 Kitchener–Waterloo Ontario 451,235
Montreal Quebec 3,635,571 St. Catharines–Niagara Ontario 390,317
Vancouver British Columbia 2,116,581 Halifax Nova Scotia 372,858
OttawaGatineau Ontario–Quebec 1,130,761 Oshawa Ontario 330,594
Calgary Alberta 1,079,310 Victoria British Columbia 330,088
Edmonton Alberta 1,034,945 Windsor Ontario 323,342
Quebec City Quebec 715,515 Saskatoon Saskatchewan 233,923
Winnipeg Manitoba 694,898 Regina Saskatchewan 194,971
Hamilton Ontario 692,911 Sherbrooke Quebec 186,952
London Ontario 457,720 St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador 181,113

Age structure

Age structure of Canadian population, 2001

(2006 Census)

Males Females
Age
Group
Number Per cent Number Per cent
0-4 864,600 2.7% 825,940 2.6%
5-9 926,855 2.9% 882,520 2.8%
10-14 1,065,860 3.3% 1,014,060 3.2%
15-19 1,095,285 3.5% 1,045,205 3.3%
20-24 1,047,950 3.3% 1,032,435 3.3%
25-29 975,945 3.1% 1,009,635 3.2%
30-34 987,730 3.1% 1,032,515 3.3%
35-39 1,083,495 3.4% 1,124,780 3.6%
40-44 1,285,535 4.1% 1,324,925 4.2%
45-49 1,290,125 4.1% 1,330,470 4.2%
50-54 1,158,970 3.7% 1,198,330 3.8%
55-59 1,026,395 3.2% 1,058,230 3.3%
60-64 780,135 2.5% 809,730 2.6%
65-69 593,810 1.9% 640,770 2.0%
70-74 493,460 1.6% 560,320 1.8%
75-79 386,485 1.2% 493,095 1.6%
80-84 251,420 0.8% 395,285 1.3%
85+ 161,930 0.5% 358,680 1.1%
Totals 15,475,970 49.0% 16,136,930 51.0%

Median age

Median age by province and territory, 2006 Census

  1. Nova Scotia: 41.8
  2. Newfoundland and Labrador: 41.7
  3. New Brunswick: 41.5
  4. Quebec: 41.0
  5. British Columbia: 40.8
  6. Prince Edward Island: 40.8
  7. Ontario: 39.0
  8. Saskatchewan: 38.7
  9. Yukon: 38.4
  10. Manitoba: 38.1
  11. Alberta: 36.0
  12. Northwest Territories: 31.2
  13. Nunavut: 23.1

Total: 39.5

Sources: Statistics Canada[4]

Population growth rates

Rank Province or Territory 2006 pop. 2001 pop. Growth  % Change Percentage of national pop.
1 Ontario &000000001216028200000012,160,282 &000000001141004600000011,410,046 &0000000000750236000000750,236 6.6 38.47%
2 Alberta &00000000032903500000003,290,350 &00000000029748070000002,974,807 &0000000000315543000000315,543 10.6 10.40%
3 Quebec &00000000075461310000007,546,131 &00000000072374790000007,237,479 &0000000000308652000000308,652 4.3 23.87%
4 British Columbia &00000000041134870000004,113,487 &00000000039077380000003,907,738 &0000000000205749000000205,749 5.3 13.01%
5 Manitoba &00000000011484010000001,148,401 &00000000011195830000001,119,583 &000000000002881800000028,818 2.6 3.63%
6 Nova Scotia &0000000000913462000000913,462 &0000000000908007000000908,007 &00000000000054550000005,455 0.6 2.89%
7 Northwest Territories &000000000004146400000041,464 &000000000003736000000037,360 &00000000000041040000004,104 11.0 0.13%
8 Nunavut &000000000002947400000029,474 &000000000002674500000026,745 &00000000000027290000002,729 10.2 0.09%
9 Yukon &000000000003037200000030,372 &000000000002867400000028,674 &00000000000016980000001,698 5.9 0.09%
10 Prince Edward Island &0000000000135851000000135,851 &0000000000135294000000135,294 &0000000000000557000000557 0.4 0.43%
11 New Brunswick &0000000000729997000000729,997 &0000000000729498000000729,498 &0000000000000499000000499 0.1 2.31%
12 Newfoundland and Labrador &0000000000505469000000505,469 &0000000000512930000000512,930 &-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-8-5-7-1000000-7,461 -1.5 1.60%
13 Saskatchewan &0000000000968157000000968,157 &0000000000978933000000978,933 &-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-1-8-8-6000000-10,776 -1.1 2.96%
Total Canada &000000003161289700000031,612,897 &000000003000709400000030,007,094 &00000000016058930000001,605,893 5.4 100.00%

Derived from: Statistics Canada - (table) Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2006 and 2001 Censuses - 100% Data

Last modified (by source): N/A
Compiled/added to Wikipedia: 2007-07-22

Vital statistics

Birth rate: 10.28 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Death rate: 7.74 deaths/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Net migration rate: 5.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Sex ratio:

Infant mortality rate: 5.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.58 children born/woman (2009 est.)[5]

Ethnicity

Nationality:

Ethnic origin

Canadians were able to self-identify one or more ethnic origins in the 2001 census. Percentages may therefore add up to more than 100%. The most common response was 'Canadian'. Since the term 'Canadian' is as much an expression of citizenship as of ethnicity, these figures should not be considered an exact record of the relative prevalence of different ethnocultural ancestries.

Statistics Canada projects that, by 2031, approximately 28% of the population will be foreign-born. The number of people belonging to visible minority groups will double,[6] and make up the majority of the population in Toronto and Vancouver.

Single responses: 22.77% of respondents gave a single response of 'Canadian', while a further 16.65% identified with both 'Canadian', and one or more other ancestries. 4.99% of respondents gave a single response of English, 3.58% gave a single response of French, 3.16% gave a single response of Chinese, 2.45% gave a single response of Italian, 2.38% gave a single response of German, 2.05% gave a single response of Scottish, 1.96% gave a single response of Indian, 1.68% gave a single response of Irish, 1.54% gave a single response of North American Indian, 1.10% gave a single response of Ukrainian and 1.07% gave a single response of Dutch (Netherlands).

Multiple responses: Counting both single and multiple responses, the most commonly identified ethnic origins were (2006):

Ethnic origin  % Population Largest reported ethnic identity
Canadian 32.22% &000000001006629000000010,066,290 Quebec (66.2%)
English 21.03% &00000000065700150000006,570,015 British Columbia (32%)
French 18.82% &00000000049412100000004,941,210 New Brunswick (32.6%)
Scottish 15.11% &00000000047198500000004,719,850 Nova Scotia (29.3%)
Irish 13.94% &00000000043541550000004,354,155 Nova Scotia (19.9%)
German 10.18% &00000000031794250000003,179,425 Saskatchewan (30.0%)
Italian 4.63% &00000000014453350000001,445,335 Ontario (7.0%)
Chinese 4.31% &00000000013465100000001,346,510 British Columbia (10.6%)
North American Indian 4.01% &00000000012536150000001,253,615 Nunavut (83.6%)
Ukrainian 3.87% &00000000012090850000001,209,085 Alberta (10.2%)
Dutch (Netherlands) 3.31% &00000000010359650000001,035,965 British Columbia (5.3%)
Polish 3.15% &0000000000984565000000984,565 Manitoba (7.3%)
Indian 3.08% &0000000000962665000000962,665 British Columbia (6.4%)
Russian 1.60% &0000000000500600000000500,600 Saskatchewan (4.2%)
Welsh 1.41% &0000000000440965000000440,965 British Columbia (2.6%)
Filipino 1.40% &0000000000436190000000436,190 Manitoba (3.5%)
Norwegian 1.38% &0000000000432515000000432,515 Saskatchewan (7.2%)
Portuguese 1.32% &0000000000410850000000410,850 Ontario (2.4%)
Métis 1.31% &0000000000409065000000409,065 Manitoba (6.4%)
Swedish 1.07% &0000000000334765000000334,765 Saskatchewan (3.5%)
Latin American 1.04% &0000000000315510000000315,510 British Columbia (3.2%)
Hungarian 1.01% &0000000000315510000000315,510 Ontario
Jewish 1.01% &Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character ","315,510 Ontario

The same data is also grouped more geographically by Statistics Canada as follows:[7]

2006 % 2001 %
North American 40.21%
British Isles 33.64%
French 15.89%
Western European 12.78%
Eastern European 8.50%
Southern European 7.87%
2006 % 2001 %
East and Southeast Asian 6.03%
Aboriginal 4.45%
South Asian 3.25%
Northern European 3.22%
Caribbean 1.70%
Other European 1.28%
2006 % 2001 %
Arab 1.17%
African 0.99%
Latin, Central and
South American
0.82%
West Asian 0.69%
Oceania 0.16%

Percentages are calculated as a proportion of the total number of respondents (29,639,035 in 2001) and may total more than 100% due to dual responses.
All ethnocultural ancestries with more than 56,000 responses are listed in the table above according to the exact terminology used by Statistics Canada.
[8]

Visible minorities

Year 1996 1996% 2001 2001% 2006 2006%
South Asian 670,590 2.35% 917,070 3.09% 1,233,275 4.00%
Chinese 860,150 3.02% 1,029,395 3.47% 1,168,485 3.70%
Black 573,860 2.01% 662,215 2.23% 783,795 2.50%
Filipino 234,195 0.82% 308,575 1.04% 389,550 1.30%
Latin American 176,970 0.62% 304,245 1.00%
Arab 265,550 0.90%
Southeast Asian 172,765 0.61% 231,425 0.70%
West Asian 156,700 0.50%
Korean 64,835 0.23% 138,425 0.40%
Japanese 68,135 0.24% 60,415 0.20%
Multiple visible minorities 61,575 0.22% 104,215 0.30%
Visible minority, n.i.e. 69,745 0.24% 71,420 0.20%
Total visible minority population 3,197,480 11.21% 3,983,845 13.44% 5,068,095 16.20%
Non-Visible Minority Population 25,330,645 88.79% 25,655,185 86.56% 26,172,935 83.78%
Total Population 28,528,125 100.00% 29,639,030 100.00% 31,241,030 100.00%

1996 http://www.statcan.gc.ca/c1996-r1996/feb17-17fev/vm-mv-can-eng.htm

2001 http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/Ethnicity/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=0&View=1&Table=1&StartRec=1&Sort=2&B1=Counts

2006 http://www.recensement2006.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Table=1&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=2&Display=Page

Aboriginal status

The 2006 census counted a total Canadian Aboriginal population of 1,172,790 (3.75%) which includes 698,025 First Nations (2.23%), 389,785 Métis (1.25%), and 50,480 Inuit (0.16%). Percentages are calculated as a proportion of the total number of respondents (31,241,030)[9]

Province/Territory Number  %
provincial
 %
national
Indian
,(First Nations)
Métis Inuit Multiple Other
British Columbia 196,075 4.8% 16.7% 129,575 59,445 795 1,655 4,605
Alberta 188,365 5.8% 16.1% 97,280 85,495 1,605 1,220 2,760
Saskatchewan 141,890 14.9% 12.1% 91,400 48,115 220 625 1,530
Manitoba 175,395 15.5% 15.0% 100,645 71,805 565 680 1,695
Ontario 242,495 2.0% 20.7% 158,400 73,610 2,040 1,910 6,540
Quebec 108,430 1.5% 9.2% 65,085 27,980 10,950 955 3,450
New Brunswick 17,655 2.5% 1.5% 12,385 4,270 185 100 710
Nova Scotia 24,175 2.7% 2.1% 15,240 7,680 320 100 830
Prince Edward Island 1,730 1.3% 0.1% 1,230 385 30 10 75
Newfoundland and Labrador 23,450 4.7% 2.0% 7,765 6,470 4,715 290 4,205
Yukon 7,580 25.1% 0.6% 6,275 800 255 50 190
Northwest Territories 20,635 50.3% 1.8% 12,640 3,580 4,160 105 145
Nunavut 24,915 85.0% 2.1% 100 125 24,640 30 20
Canada 1,172,790 3.8% 100.0% 698,025 389,785 50,480 7,740 26,760
Sources: 2006 Census[10][11][12]

Religions

Top self-identified religious affiliations in Canada in 2001.
Top Self-Identified Religious Affiliations in Canada[13][14][15]
1991 2001 % change
(in numbers)
Number  % Number  %
Christian 83 77
- Catholic 12,335,255 45.7 12,936,905 43.6 +4.8
- Roman Catholic 12,203,625 45.2 12,793,125 43.2 +4.8
- Christian Orthodox 387,395 1.4 479,620 1.6 +23.8
- Greek Orthodox 231,965 0.9 215,200 0.7 -7.1
- Total Other Christian 9,427,675 34.9 8,654,850 29.2 -8.2
- United Church of Canada 3,093,120 11.3 2,839,125 9.5 -8.2
- Anglican Church of Canada 2,188,110 8.0 2,035,495 6.8 -7.0
- Baptist 663,360 2.4 729,475 2.4 +10.0
- Lutheran 636,205 2.3 606,590 2.0 -4.7
- Presbyterian 636,295 2.3 409,830 1.4 -35.6
- Pentecostal 436,435 1.6 369,475 1.2 -15.3
- Mennonite 207,970 0.8 191,465 0.6 -7.9
- Jehovah's Witnesses 168,375 0.6 154,745 0.5 -8.1
- Methodist 83,910 0.3 106,545 0.4 +27.0
- Mormon 100,770 0.4 104,750 0.3 +3.9
- Salvation Army 112,345 0.4 87,785 0.3 -21.9
- Christian Reformed Church in North America 84,685 0.3 76,665 0.3 -9.5
- Christian and Missionary Alliance 59,365 0.2 66,280 0.2 +11.9
- Adventists 52,365 0.2 62,875 0.2 +20.1
- Christian, not included elsewhere¹ 353,040 1.3 780,450 2.6 +121.1
Other
- Muslim 253,265 0.9 579,640 2.0 +128.9
- Jewish 318,185 1.2 329,995 1.1 +3.7
- Buddhist 163,415 0.6 300,345 1.0 +83.8
- Hindu 157,015 0.6 297,200 1.0 +89.3
- Sikh 147,440 0.5 278,410 0.9 +88.8
No religion 3,397,000 12.6 4,900,095 16.5 +44.2
¹ Includes persons who report only "Christian", only "Protestant", and those in denominations less than 60,000
* For comparability purposes, 1991 data are presented according to 2001 boundaries.

Note(s):

However, a more recent research in 2005 indicates that the non-religious group has risen significantly. Phil Zuckerman, an Associate Professor of Sociology at Pitzer College writes of several academic sources who have in recent years placed atheism rates in Canada between 19% and 30%.[16]

Languages

Language used most often at work:[17]

Languages by mothertongue:[17]

Literacy

Education expenditures

City populations

See also

BC
AB
SK
MB
ON
QC
NB
PE
NS
NL
YT
NT
NU
Canadian Provinces and Territories
Demographics of Canada's provinces and territories


Further reading

Roderic Beaujot and Don Kerr, The Changing Face of Canada: Essential Readings in Population, Canadian Scholars' Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55130-322-2.

References

  1. "Statistics Canada: Canada's national statistical agency". Statcan.gc.ca. 2010-05-10. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/start-debut-eng.html. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
  2. Statistics Canada (2009). "Population Estimates (October 2009)". http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/091223/t091223b2-eng.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
  3. Statistics Canada (2005). "Land and freshwater area, by province and territory (2005)". http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/phys01.htm?sdi=area. Retrieved 2007-07-22. 
  4. Statistics Canada (2006). "Age Groups and Sex for Population of Canada (2006 Census)". http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/topics/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?Temporal=2006&APATH=3&PID=88984&THEME=66&PTYPE=88971&VID=0&GK=NA&GC=99&FL=0&RL=0&FREE=0&METH=0&S=1. Retrieved 2007-07-22. 
  5. CIA - The World Factbook -- Canada
  6. "Parties prepare to battle for Immigrant votes". CTV.ca. 2010-03-14. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100314/Minority_Report_100314/20100314?hub=Canada. Retrieved 2010-03-15. 
  7. Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada Highlight Tables, 2006 Census
  8. Ethnic Origin (232), Sex (3) and Single and Multiple Responses (3) (2001 Census)
  9. Aboriginal Identity (2006 Census). Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  10. Aboriginal Identity (8), Sex (3) and Age Groups (12) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census-20% Sample Data Click to view table notes, BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS, PE, NL, YT, NT, NU. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  11. Number and percentage of population reporting Aboriginal identity, Canada, provinces and territories, 2006. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  12. Percentage of Aboriginal people in the population, Canada, provinces and territories, 2006 . Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  13. Statistics Canada (2001). "Religions in Canada". http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Analytic/companion/rel/contents.cfm. Retrieved 2007-02-16. 
  14. Statistics Canada (1991). "Religion , Age Groups and Sex for Population of Canada". http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/themes/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?Temporal=2001&PID=55822&GID=431515&METH=1&APATH=3&PTYPE=55440&THEME=56&AID=0&FREE=0&FOCUS=0&VID=0&GC=0&GK=0&SC=1&SR=1&RL=0&CPP=99&RPP=9999&D1=1&D2=1&D3=0&D4=0&D5=0&D6=0&d1=1&d2=0. Retrieved 2007-02-16. 
  15. Statistics Canada (2001). "Population by religion, by province and territory (2001 Census)". http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo30c.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-16. 
  16. Zuckerman, Phil (2006). "Atheism—Contemporary numbers and Practices". In Michael Martin. The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge University Press -. pp. 47–50. ISBN 0521842700. http://books.google.com/books?id=tAeFipOVx4MC&pg=PA47&dq=%22cambridge+companion+to+atheism%22&psp=1&sig=xERpBqAy_zS2ZXsRyR0TaJOvDSk#PPA47,M1. Retrieved 2007-11-15. 
  17. 17.0 17.1 Statistics Canada - Language used at work1 by frequency of language used at work and mother tongue, 2006 counts