New National Household Survey Reveals Increasing Cultural Diversity of Canada
The first release of data from the new 2011 National Household Survey (NHS) provides evidence of Canada’s increasing cultural diversity, as reflected in the growing Aboriginal population and the rising number of immigrants, according to Doug Norris, Senior Vice President and Chief Demographer at Environics Analytics.
In 2011, Canada was home to 6.8 million who were foreign born, representing 20.6% of the total population and an increase from 19.8% in 2001. The NHS reported that 1.2 million immigrants arrived between 2006 and 2011. Canada’s immigrant population is at its highest level in 80 years; the nation also boasts the highest concentration of foreign born among G-8 countries (the U.S. has a foreign-born population of 13%). The vast majority of immigrants who are eligible (85.6%) have claimed their Canadian citizenship.
In addition, the new findings show an increasing number of immigrants settling beyond the major metropolitan areas, especially in medium-sized urban areas like Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg, although most still settled in Canada’s largest urban area. Toronto and Vancouver still have the highest concentration of immigrants, at 46% and 40%, respectively—many cities report that immigrants now account for 10% to 25% of their populations.
The NHS shows continued evidence of the dramatic shift in the source countries of immigrants over the past 50 years. Prior to 1961, close to 90% of immigrants came from Europe. In the 2006-2011 period, fewer than 15% of immigrants were European. By contrast 57% came from Asia and the Middle East—compared to just 8.5% before 1970—12.5% from Africa, and 12.3% from the Caribbean, Central and South. In 2011, China, India and the United Kingdom were the top countries for immigrants, each accounting for about 540,000 individuals. The Philippines was next with 454,000, although the total number of Filipinos more than doubled from the previous five-year period between 2006 and 2011.
Changes in Canada’s religious make-up are also revealed in the NHS data. In 2011, 67% of the total population reported affiliation with a Christian denomination, down from 77% in 2001, the last time Statistics Canada collected religious data. Respondents reporting no religious affiliation shot up from 16% in 2001 to 24% in 2011, and nearly 10% reported a non-Christian religion, reflecting the impact of recent immigration, according to Norris. Slightly over 1 million persons identified themselves as Muslim—3.2% of the population; Islam is just one of several other non-Western religions taking root in the country; others include Buddhism and Hinduism.
In addition, the visible minority population is growing and changing. In 2011, 6.3 million identified themselves as visible minorities—19.1% of the population compared to 16.2% in 2006. Reflecting immigration trends, most of the visible minority population live in large urban areas: Toronto (47%), Vancouver (45%), Calgary (28%), Edmonton (22%) and Montreal (20%). Nearly three in ten of the total visible minority population were born in Canada.
The NHS data indicate there are 1.4 million Aboriginal people (4.3% of total population), including First Nations, Metis and Inuit people. This figure represents an increase of about 20%—compared to a growth of just over 5% for the non-Aboriginal population—but in part this reflects more people reporting their Aboriginal identity for the first time. The Aboriginal population is also a young population, with 28% under the age of 15 compared to 16.5% of the non-Aboriginal population.
The new NHS, which replaced the previous “long-form” census, was completed on a voluntary basis and had an overall response rate of 69%. However, response rates varied and were much lower in many census subdivisions representing small towns and villages. In addition, some commentators have expressed concern over selective non-response rates, which may be lower for certain population groups. “The differential response rates will make analytical comparisons over time particularly problematic,” says Norris.
In addition, the data may not be complete for small geographic levels which are the building blocks for defining trade or service areas in the public and private sector. As Jan Kestle, President of Environics Analytics, put it, “At first look, I would say that what was released is useful. What I am more concerned about is what wasn’t released. No data were included for small geographic areas, and it is this data that our customers rely on.”
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For EA customers and the general public, Dr. Norris will host an hour-long webinar on the new data on Tuesday, May 21, at 2:00 PM EDT. Please register here. For more insights and commentary on the latest Census findings, read his blog here. A Q&A piece with Jan Kestle on the data quality of the NHS is attached.
About Environics Analytics
Environics Analytics is the premier marketing services and data analytics company in Canada. Specializing in segmentation, site modeling and custom analytics, the Toronto-based company provides data-driven market insights to help clients find and keep their customers. It has the most experienced team of micromarketing experts in Canada, and is a member of the Environics group, a unique alliance of companies dedicated to providing intelligent research, analytics and communications. To learn more about Environics Analytics, please visit our website at environicsanalytics.ca or call Julia Vasilev at 416.969.2733.