Multiracial/Other (3.2%) 2021 census: Overall total is greater than 100% due to multiple visible minority, population group, and Indigenous responses.[4]
Canadians (
French: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of
Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Canadian.
Canada is a multilingual and
multicultural society home to people of groups of many different ethnic, religious, and national origins, with the majority of the population made up of
Old Worldimmigrants and their descendants. Following the initial period of
French and then the much larger
British colonization, different waves (or peaks) of immigration and settlement of non-indigenous peoples took place over the course of nearly two centuries and continue today. Elements of Indigenous, French, British, and more recent immigrant customs, languages, and religions have combined to form the
culture of Canada, and thus a
Canadian identity. Canada has also been strongly influenced by its linguistic, geographic, and economic neighbour—the United States.
Canadian independence from the United Kingdom grew gradually over the course of many years following the formation of the
Canadian Confederation in 1867. The
First and
Second World Wars, in particular, gave rise to a desire among Canadians to have their country recognized as a fully-fledged, sovereign state, with a distinct citizenship. Legislative independence was established with the passage of the
Statute of Westminster, 1931, the
Canadian Citizenship Act, 1946, took effect on January 1, 1947, and full sovereignty was achieved with the
patriation of the constitution in 1982. Canada's
nationality law closely mirrored that of the United Kingdom. Legislation since the mid-20th century represents Canadians' commitment to
multilateralism and
socioeconomic development.
Term
The word Canadian originally applied, in its French form, Canadien, to the colonists residing in the northern part of
New France[12]— in
Quebec, and
Ontario—during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The French colonists in Maritime Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island), were known as Acadians.
When
Prince Edward (a son of King
George III) addressed, in English and French, a group of rioters at a poll in
Charlesbourg,
Lower Canada (today Quebec), during the election of the
Legislative Assembly in June 1792,[13] he stated, "I urge you to unanimity and concord. Let me hear no more of the odious distinction of English and French. You are all His Britannic Majesty's beloved Canadian subjects."[14] It was the first-known use of the term Canadian to mean both
French and
English settlers in
the Canadas.[13][15]
As of 2010, Canadians make up 0.5% of the
world's total population,[16] having relied upon immigration for population growth and social development.[17] Approximately 41% of current Canadians are first- or second-generation immigrants,[18] and 20% of Canadian residents in the 2000s were not born in the country.[19]Statistics Canada projects that, by 2031, nearly one-half of Canadians above the age of 15 will be
foreign-born or have one foreign-born parent.[20]Indigenous peoples, according to the
2016 Canadian census, numbered at 1,673,780 or 4.9% of the country's 35,151,728 population.[21]
While the first contact with Europeans and Indigenous peoples in Canada had occurred a century or more before, the first group of permanent settlers were the
French, who founded the
New France settlements, in present-day
Quebec and
Ontario; and
Acadia, in present-day
Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick, during the early part of the 17th century.[22][23]
The
population of Canada has consistently risen, doubling approximately every 40 years, since the establishment of the
Canadian Confederation in 1867.[40] In the mid-to-late 19th century, Canada had a policy of assisting
immigrants from Europe, including an estimated 100,000 unwanted "
Home Children" from Britain.[41]Block settlement communities were established throughout
Western Canada between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some were planned and others were spontaneously created by the settlers themselves.[42] Canada received mainly European immigrants, predominantly
Italians, Germans,
Scandinavians,
Dutch,
Poles, and
Ukrainians.[43]
Legislative restrictions on immigration (such as the continuous journey regulation and Chinese Immigration Act, 1923) that had favoured British and other European immigrants were amended in the 1960s, opening the doors to immigrants from all parts of the world.[44] While the 1950s had still seen high levels of immigration by Europeans, by the 1970s immigrants were increasingly Chinese, Indian,
Vietnamese,
Jamaican, and
Haitian.[45] During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Canada received many
AmericanVietnam War draft dissenters.[46] Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Canada's growing Pacific trade brought with it a large influx of South Asians, who tended to settle in
British Columbia.[47] Immigrants of all backgrounds tend to settle in the
major urban centres.[48][49] The Canadian public, as well as the major political parties, are tolerant of immigrants.[50]
Canadian citizenship is typically obtained by birth in Canada or by birth or adoption abroad when at least one biological parent or adoptive parent is a Canadian citizen who was born in Canada or naturalized in Canada (and did not receive citizenship by being born outside of Canada to a Canadian citizen).[53] It can also be granted to a
permanent resident who lives in Canada for three out of four years and meets specific requirements.[54] Canada
established its own nationality law in 1946, with the enactment of the Canadian Citizenship Act which took effect on January 1, 1947.[55] The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was passed by the
Parliament of Canada in 2001 as Bill C-11, which replaced the Immigration Act, 1976 as the primary federal legislation regulating immigration.[56] Prior to the conferring of legal status on Canadian citizenship, Canada's naturalization laws consisted of a multitude of Acts beginning with the Immigration Act of 1910.[57]
According to
Citizenship and Immigration Canada, there are three main classifications for immigrants: family class (persons closely related to Canadian residents), economic class (admitted on the basis of a point system that accounts for age, health and labour-market skills required for cost effectively inducting the immigrants into Canada's labour market) and refugee class (those seeking protection by applying to remain in the country by way of the
Canadian immigration and refugee law).[58] In 2008, there were 65,567 immigrants in the family class, 21,860 refugees, and 149,072 economic immigrants amongst the 247,243 total immigrants to the country.[18] Canada resettles over one in 10 of the world's
refugees[59] and has one of the highest per-capita immigration rates in the world.[60]
As of a 2010 report by the
Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, there were 2.8 million
Canadian citizens abroad.[61] This represents about 8% of the total Canadian population. Of those living abroad, the United States, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, China, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, and Australia have the largest Canadian diaspora. Canadians in the United States constitute the greatest single expatriate community at over 1 million in 2009, representing 35.8% of all Canadians abroad.[62] Under current
Canadian law, Canada does not restrict
dual citizenship, but
Passport Canada encourages its citizens to travel abroad on their
Canadian passport so that they can access Canadian
consular services.[63]
Ethnic ancestry
A map showing the largest ethnic or cultural origins in Canada by census division in 2021.
The country's ten largest self-reported specific ethnic or cultural origins in 2021 were Canadian[c] (accounting for 15.6 percent of the population), followed by
English (14.7 percent),
Irish (12.1 percent),
Scottish (12.1 percent),
French (11.0 percent),
German (8.1 percent),
Chinese (4.7 percent),
Italian (4.3 percent),
Indian (3.7 percent), and
Ukrainian (3.5 percent).[68][64]
Of the 36.3 million people enumerated in 2021 approximately 25.4 million reported being "
white", representing 69.8 percent of the population.[69][70] The indigenous population representing 5 percent or 1.8 million individuals, grew by 9.4 percent compared to the non-Indigenous population, which grew by 5.3 percent from 2016 to 2021.[71] One out of every four Canadians or 26.5 percent of the population belonged to a non-White and non-Indigenous
visible minority,[70][e] the largest of which in 2021 were
South Asian (2.6 million people; 7.1 percent), Chinese (1.7 million; 4.7 percent) and
Black (1.5 million; 4.3 percent).[69]
Between 2011 and 2016, the visible minority population rose by 18.4 percent.[73] In 1961, less than two percent of Canada's population (about 300,000 people) were members of visible minority groups.[74] The 2021 Census indicated that
8.3 million people, or almost one-quarter (23.0 percent) of the population reported themselves as being or having been a
landed immigrant or permanent resident in Canada—above the
1921 Census previous record of 22.3 percent.[75] In 2021 India, China, and the Philippines were the top three countries of origin for immigrants moving to Canada.[76]
Canadian culture has historically been influenced by
European culture and traditions, especially
British and
French, and by its own
indigenous cultures. Most of Canada's territory was inhabited and developed later than other European colonies in the Americas, with the result that themes and symbols of pioneers, trappers, and traders were important in the early development of the
Canadian identity.[86] First Nations played a critical part in the development of
European colonies in Canada, particularly for their role in assisting exploration of the continent during the
North American fur trade.[87] The British conquest of New France in the mid-1700s brought a large
Francophone population under
British Imperial rule, creating a need for compromise and accommodation.[88] The new British rulers left alone much of the religious, political, and social culture of the French-speaking habitants, guaranteeing through the Quebec Act of 1774 the right of the Canadiens to practise the Catholic faith and to use
French civil law (now
Quebec law).[89]
The Constitution Act, 1867 was designed to meet the growing calls of Canadians for autonomy from British rule, while avoiding the overly strong decentralization that contributed to the
Civil War in the United States.[90] The compromises made by the
Fathers of Confederation set Canadians on a path to
bilingualism, and this in turn contributed to an acceptance of diversity.[91][92]
The
Canadian Armed Forces and overall civilian participation in the
First World War and
Second World War helped to foster
Canadian nationalism,[93][94] however, in 1917 and 1944,
conscription crisis' highlighted the considerable rift along ethnic lines between Anglophones and Francophones.[95] As a result of the First and Second World Wars, the Government of Canada became more assertive and less deferential to British authority.[96] With the gradual loosening of political ties to the United Kingdom and the modernization of Canadian immigration policies, 20th-century immigrants with
African, Caribbean and
Asian nationalities have added to the Canadian identity and its culture.[97] The multiple-origins immigration pattern continues today, with the arrival of large numbers of immigrants from non-British or non-French backgrounds.[98]
Before the arrival of European colonists and explorers, First Nations followed a wide array of mostly
animistic religions.[114] During the colonial period, the French settled along the shores of the
Saint Lawrence River, specifically
Latin ChurchCatholics, including a number of
Jesuits dedicated to converting indigenous peoples; an effort that eventually proved successful.[115] The first large
Protestant communities were formed in the
Maritimes after the British conquest of New France, followed by American Protestant settlers displaced by the American Revolution.[116] The late nineteenth century saw the beginning of a substantive shift in Canadian immigration patterns. Large numbers of Irish and southern European immigrants were creating new Catholic communities in English Canada.[117] The settlement of the west brought significant
Eastern Orthodox immigrants from Eastern Europe and
Mormon and
Pentecostal immigrants from the United States.[118]
The earliest documentation of
Jewish presence in Canada occurs in the 1754 British Army records from the
French and Indian War.[119] In 1760, General
Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst attacked and won
Montreal for the British. In his regiment there were several Jews, including four among his officer corps, most notably Lieutenant
Aaron Hart who is considered the father of Canadian Jewry.[119] The
Islamic,
Jains,
Sikh,
Hindu, and
Buddhist communities—although small—are as old as the nation itself. The 1871 Canadian Census (
first "Canadian" national census) indicated thirteen Muslims among the populace,[120] while the Sikh population stood at approximately 5,000 by 1908.[121] The first Canadian
mosque was constructed in
Edmonton, in 1938, when there were approximately 700 Muslims in Canada.[122] Buddhism first arrived in Canada when Japanese immigrated during the late 19th century.[123] The first Japanese Buddhist temple in Canada was built in
Vancouver in 1905.[124] The influx of immigrants in the late 20th century, with
Sri Lankan,
Japanese,
Indian and Southeast Asian customs, has contributed to the recent expansion of the Jain, Sikh, Hindu, and Buddhist communities.[125]
A multitude of languages are used by Canadians, with
English and
French (the
official languages) being the
mother tongues of approximately 56% and 21% of Canadians, respectively.[127] As of the 2016 Census, just over 7.3 million Canadians listed a non-official language as their mother tongue. Some of the most common non-official first languages include Chinese (1,227,680 first-language speakers),
Punjabi (501,680), Spanish (458,850),
Tagalog (431,385), Arabic (419,895), German (384,040), and Italian (375,645).[127] Less than one percent of Canadians (just over 250,000 individuals) can speak an
indigenous language. About half this number (129,865) reported using an indigenous language on a daily basis.[128] Additionally, Canadians speak several
sign languages; the number of speakers is unknown of the most spoken ones,
American Sign Language (ASL) and
Quebec Sign Language (LSQ),[129] as it is of
Maritime Sign Language and
Plains Sign Talk.[130] There are only 47 speakers of the Inuit sign language
Inuktitut.[131]
English and French are recognized by the
Constitution of Canada as official languages.[132] All federal government laws are thus enacted in both English and French, with government services available in both languages.[132] Two of Canada's territories give official status to indigenous languages. In
Nunavut,
Inuktitut, and
Inuinnaqtun are official languages, alongside the national languages of English and French, and Inuktitut is a common vehicular language in territorial government.[133] In the
Northwest Territories, the Official Languages Act declares that there are eleven different languages:
Chipewyan,
Cree, English, French,
Gwich'in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut,
Inuvialuktun,
North Slavey,
South Slavey, and
Tłįchǫ.[134]Multicultural media are widely accessible across the country and offer specialty television channels, newspapers, and other publications in many minority languages.[135]
In Canada, as elsewhere in the world of
European colonies, the frontier of European exploration and settlement tended to be a linguistically diverse and fluid place, as cultures using different languages met and interacted. The need for a common means of communication between the indigenous inhabitants and new arrivals for the purposes of trade, and (in some cases) intermarriage, led to the development of
mixed languages.[136] Languages like
Michif,
Chinook Jargon, and
Bungi creole tended to be highly localized and were often spoken by only a small number of individuals who were frequently capable of speaking another language.[137]Plains Sign Talk—which functioned originally as a trade language used to communicate internationally and across linguistic borders—reached across Canada, the United States, and into Mexico.[138]
^Officially, the People's Republic of China. Excludes
Hong Kong,
Macau, and
Taiwan (listed separately).
^
abAll citizens of Canada are classified as "Canadians" as defined by
Canada's nationality laws. "Canadian" as an ethnic group has since 1996 been added to census questionnaires for possible ancestral origin or descent. "Canadian" was included as an example on the English questionnaire and "Canadien" as an example on the French questionnaire.[65] The majority of respondents to this selection are from the eastern part of the country that was first settled. Respondents generally are visibly European (Anglophones and Francophones) and no longer self-identify with their ethnic ancestral origins. This response is attributed to a multitude of reasons such as generational distance from ancestral lineage.[66][67]
^The 2021 census on ethnic or cultural origins, Statistics Canada states: "Given the fluid nature of this concept and the changes made to this question, 2021 Census data on ethnic or cultural origins are not comparable to data from previous censuses and should not be used to measure the growth or decline of the various groups associated with these origins".[4]
^Indigenous peoples are not considered a visible minority in Statistics Canada calculations. Visible minorities are defined by Statistics Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour".[72]
^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (October 26, 2022).
"The Canadian census: A rich portrait of the country's religious and ethnocultural diversity". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved October 26, 2022. In 2021, just over 25 million people reported being White in the census, representing close to 70% of the total Canadian population. The vast majority reported being White only, while 2.4% also reported one or more other racialized groups.
^"American Civil War and Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation. 2003.
Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2006.
Blackwell, John D. (2005).
"Culture High and Low". International Council for Canadian Studies World Wide Web Service. Archived from
the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2006.
Wayland, Shara V. (1997). "Immigration, Multiculturalism and National Identity in Canada". International Journal on Minority and Group Rights. 5 (1). Dept of Political Science, U Toronto: 33–58.
doi:
10.1163/15718119720907408.