Demographics of Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is the middle province of Canada's three Prairie Provinces. It has an area of 651,900 km² (251,700 mi²) and a population of 1,117,503 (Saskatchewanians) as of January 2014. Most of its population lives in the southern half of the province. The most populous city is Saskatoon with a population of 260,600 (2011) in the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), followed by the province's capital, Regina with a population of 210,556 (2011) in the CMA. The province's population makeup is also notable for German being the largest European ethnic group and also for the largest proportion of people of indigenous descent of any of the provinces.

Population density of Saskatchewan, 2016

Population since 1901

Year	Population	Five-year % change	Ten-year % change	Rank among provinces
1901	91,279	n/a	n/a	8
1911	492,432	n/a	439.5	3
1921	757,510	n/a	53.8	3
1931	921,785	n/a	21.7	3
1941	895,992	n/a	-2.8	3
1951	831,728	n/a	-7.2	5
1956	880,665	5.9	n/a	5
1961	925,181	5.1	11.2	5
1966	955,344	3.3	8.5	6
1971	926,242	-3.0	0.1	6
1976	921,325	-0.5	3.6	6
1981	968,313	5.1	4.5	6
1986	1,009,613	4.3	9.6	6
1991	988,928	-2.0	2.1	6
1996	976,615	-1.2	-3.3	6
2001	978,933	0.2	-1.0	6
2006	985,386	0.7	0.9	6
2011	1,053,960	7.0	7.6	6
2016	1,098,352	6.3	11.4	6

Source: Statistics Canada.[1][2]

Visible minorities and Aboriginals

Indigenous and visible minority identity (2016):[3][4]

  European Canadian (72.9%)

  Visible minority (10.8%)

  First Nations (10.7%)

  Métis (5.4%)

  Other Indigenous (0.2%)

Visible minority and Aboriginal population (Canada 2016 Census)
Population group		Population	% of total population
European		779,665	72.8%
Visible minority group Source:[5]	South Asian	29,960	2.8%
	Chinese	15,545	1.5%
	Black	14,925	1.4%
	Filipino	32,340	3%
	Latin American	4,195	0.4%
	Arab	4,300	0.4%
	Southeast Asian	5,745	0.5%
	West Asian	2,065	0.2%
	Korean	1,875	0.2%
	Japanese	955	0.1%
	Visible minority, n.i.e.	1,150	0.1%
	Multiple visible minority	2,820	0.3%
Total visible minority population		115,875	10.8%
Aboriginal group Source:[6]	First Nations	114,570	10.7%
	Métis	57,880	5.4%
	Inuit	360	0%
	Aboriginal, n.i.e.	905	0.1%
	Multiple Aboriginal identity	1305	0.1%
Total Aboriginal population		175,020	16.3%
Total population		1,070,560	100%

Ethnic origins

Note: The following statistics include a combination of individual and multiple responses from the 2001 Census, and therefore do not add up to 100%.[7]

• German 28.6%
• Canadian 25.0%
• English 24.5%
• Scottish 17.9%
• Irish 14.5%
• Ukrainian 12.6%
• French 11.4%
• North American Indian 10.6%
• Norwegian 6.3% (the highest proportion of Canadians of Norwegian descent of any province)
• Polish 5.3%
• Métis 4.2%
• Dutch (Netherlands) 3.4%
• Swedish 3.1%
• Russian 2.9%
• Hungarian (Magyar) 2.5%
• Austrian 1.5%
• Welsh 1.4%
• American (USA) 1.2%
• Romanian 1.1%
• Danish 1.0%
• Chinese 1.0%

Due to the emigration of its non-indigenous peoples' population and the high birthrate of the aboriginal population it is estimated that by 2045 aboriginal people (including both Métis and First Nations) will make up just under a third of the province's population.

Future projections

Ethnic origin by regional group

Group	2016[8]		2036[9][10]
	Number	% of 2016 population (1,098,352)	Number	% of 2036 estimated population (1,378,000)
European origins	779,665	72.8%	756,000	54.9%
Aboriginal origins	175,020	16.3%	289,000	21.0%
East and Southeast Asian origins	56,460	5.3%	175,000	12.7%
South Asian and Middle Eastern origins	36,325	3.4%	103,000	7.5%
African origins	14,925	1.4%	35,000	2.5%
Latin, Central and South American origins	4,195	0.4%	11,000	0.8%
Other	3,970	0.4%	10,000	0.7%
*Percentages total over 100% due to multiple responses, e.g. German-Indian, Norwegian-Irish.

Languages

Knowledge of languages

Knowledge of official languages of Canada in Saskatchewan
Language			Percent
English only			94.48%
French only			0.05%
English and French			4.74%
Neither English nor French			0.73%

The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. The following figures are from the 2016 Canadian Census,[11] and lists languages that were selected by at least one per cent of respondents.

Language	Responses	%
English	1,062,275	99.23
French	51,325	4.79
Tagalog	28,655	2.68
Cree[note 1]	21,870	2.04
German	17,390	1.62
Ukrainian	13,090	1.22

Mother tongue

Languages of Saskatchewan (2016):[12]

  English (82.4%)

  French (1.4%)

  Other language (14.5%)

  Multiple (1.7%)

The 2006 census showed a population of 968,157. Of the 946,250 singular responses to the census question concerning mother tongue the languages most commonly reported were:

	Language	2006	%	2001	%
1.	English	811,275	85.7%	817,955	85.8%
2.	German	28,555	3.0%	32,515	3.4%
3.	Algonquian languages	26,525	2.8%	23,735	2.5%
	Cree	24,255	2.6%	22,055	2.1%
	Ojibway	1,745	0.2%	1,375	0.1%
4.	Ukrainian	16,350	1.7%	19,650	2.1%
5.	French	16,060	1.7%	17,775	1.9%
6.	Chinese	7,475	0.8%	6,015	0.6%
	Cantonese	1,720	0.2%	1,425	0.2%
	Mandarin	715	0.1%	395	<0.1%
7.	Athapaskan languages	7,145	0.8%	6,315	0.7%
	Dene	7,135	0.8%	6,310	0.7%
8.	Polish	2,510	0.4%	3,015	0.3%
9.	Hungarian	2,190	0.2%	2,700	0.3%
10.	Tagalog (Filipino/Pilipino)	2,170	0.2%	1,545	0.2%
11.	Dutch	1,785	0.2%	1,930	0.20%
12.	Scandinavian languages	1,690	0.2%	2,320	0.2%
	Norwegian	830	0.1%	1,260	0.1%
	Danish	420	<0.1%	430	0.1%
	Swedish	355	<0.1%	525	0.1%
13.	Arabic	1,525	0.12%	1,090	0.11%
14.	Russian	1,400	0.2%	1,440	0.2%
15.	Vietnamese	1,305	0.1%	1,390	0.2%
16.	Serbo-Croatian languages	1,250	0.1%	1,235	0.1%
	Croatian	450	0.1%	435	0.1%
	Bosnian	335	<0.1%	N	N
	Serbian	270	<0.1%	210	<0.1%
	Serbo-Croatian	195	<0.1%	590	0.1%
17.	Greek	1,060	0.1%	980	0.1%
18.	Panjabi (Punjabi)	850	0.1%	540	0.1%
19.	Persian	785	0.1%	415	<0.1%
20.	Romanian	770	0.1%	775	0.1%
21.	Italian	735	0.1%	895	0.1%
22.	Korean	675	0.1%	425	<0.1%
23.	Germanic languages n.i.e.	605	0.1%	375	<0.1%
24.	Siouan languages (Dakota/Sioux)	410	<0.1%	345	<0.1%
25.	African languages n.i.e.	405	<0.1%	130	0.01%
26.	Portuguese	380	<0.1%	405	<0.1%
27.	Finnish	365	<0.1%	435	<0.1%
28.	Hindi	355	<0.1%	320	<0.1%
29.	Lao	340	<0.1%	275	0.03%
30.	Urdu	330	<0.1%	425	<0.1%
31=	Bantu languages	325	<0.1%	170	<0.1%
	Swahili	105	<0.1%	110	<0.1%
31=	Czech	325	<0.1%	415	<0.1%
33.	Berber	310	<0.1%	185	<0.1%
34.	Japanese	290	<0.1%	185	<0.1%
35.	Niger–Congo languages n.i.e.	285	<0.1%	100	<0.1%
36.	Tigrigna	215	<0.1%	190	<0.1%
37=	Gujarati	210	<0.1%	225	0.02%
37=	Slovak	210	<0.1%	100	<0.1%
37=	Somali	210	<0.1%	35	~
40.	Bengali	190	<0.1%	70	<0.1%

Note: "n.i.e.": not included elsewhere

There were also 175 single-language responses for Non-verbal languages (Sign languages); 170 for Amharic; 155 for Turkish; 140 for Sinhala; 135 for Slavic languages n.i.e.; 130 for Slovenian; 120 for Pashto; 115 for Malay; 115 for Malayalam; 115 for Thai; 110 for Ilocano; 110 for Khmer; 100 for Celtic languages; and 100 for Sino-Tibetan languages n.i.e. In addition there were also 6,080 responses of both English and a non-official language; 245 of both French and a non-official language; 1,130 of both English and French; and 140 of English, French and a non-official language. Figures shown are for the number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses.[13]

Migration

Immigration

The 2016 Canadian census counted a total of 112,490 immigrants living in Saskatchewan, 47,935 of whom arrived in the previous 5 years.
The most commonly reported countries of birth for all immigrants living in Saskatchewan were:[14]

1.	Philippines	26,865
2.	India	9,630
3.	China	7,485
4.	United Kingdom	7,020
5.	Pakistan	6,860
6.	United States	4,845
7.	Ukraine	3,280
8.	Vietnam	2,620
=9.	Germany	2,575
=9.	Bangladesh	2,575
11.	South Africa	1,775
12.	Nigeria	1,695
13.	Poland	1,390
14.	Mexico	1,330
15.	Netherlands	1,220
16.	Iraq	1,175
17.	Syria	1,155
18.	South Korea	1,125
19.	Ireland	840
20.	Jamaica	815

There were also about 800 immigrants from Russia; 785 from Iran; 770 from Hong Kong; 695 from Romania; 635 from Ethiopia and Somalia; 630 from El Salvador; 605 from Greece; 595 from Eritrea; 585 from Serbia; 570 from Italy; 560 from Myanmar; and 555 from Colombia;

Internal migration

Net cumulative interprovincial migration per Province from 1997 to 2017, as a share of population of each Provinces

Main article: Interprovincial migration in Canada

Interprovincial migration has long been a demographic challenge for Saskatchewan, and it was often said that "Saskatchewan's most valuable export [was] its young people".[15] The trend reversed in 2006 as the nascent oil fracking industry started growing in the province, but returned to negative net migration starting in 2013. Most people migrating from Saskatchewan move west to Alberta or British Columbia.[16]

Interprovincial migration in Saskatchewan

	In-migrants	Out-migrants	Net migration
2008–09	18,127	15,144	2,983
2009–10	17,237	15,084	2,153
2010–11	16,602	16,057	545
2011–12	19,386	17,508	1,878
2012–13	16,982	16,590	392
2013–14	16,371	18,210	−1,839
2014–15	15,346	19,874	−4,528
2015–16	15,260	19,532	−4,272
2016–17	13,130	18,890	−5,760
2017–18	11,637	20,112	−8,475
2018–19	11,637	23,607	−9,688

Source: Statistics Canada

Religion

Saskatchewan Religion statistics

Religious affiliation (2011):[17]

  Christian (72.1%)

  Sikh (0.8%)

  Buddhist (0.4%)

  Muslim (0.5%)

  Jewish (0.1%)

  Hindu (0.4%)

  Aboriginal spirituality (1.2%)

  Other religions (0.3%)

  Irreligious (24.4%)

Christian sub-affiliation (2011):[17]

  Roman Catholic (41.0%)

  United Church (18.5%)

  Lutheran (8.8%)

  Anglican (7.5%)

  Baptist (2.2%)

  Pentecostal (2.2%)

  Orthodox (1.8%)

  Presbyterian (1.1%)

  Other Christian (16.9%)

According to the Canada 2001 Census, the most practiced religions in the province were:[18]

• Christianity:
  • Protestantism: 449,195;
  • Roman Catholicism: 305,390;
  • Christian (n.i.e.): 27,070
  • Orthodox: 14,280;
• Buddhism: 3,050;
• Islam: 2,230;
• Sikhism: 1,655;
• Hinduism: 1,585;
• Judaism: 865;

With increase immigration from highly religious countries such as the Philippines, the Christian population continues to rise, particularly the Catholic denomination, as well as small amounts of Protestants. 151,455 people declared themselves as without religion.

See also

BC

AB

SK

MB

ON

QC

NB

PE

NS

NL

YT

NT

NU

Demographics of Canada's provinces and territories

• Demographics of Canada
• Population of Canada by province and territory

Notes

1. Includes Cree-Montagnais languages not otherwise specified

References

1. The history of Saskatchewan's population from Statistics Canada
2. Canada's population Archived November 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Statistics Canada. Last accessed September 28, 2006.
3. "Aboriginal Peoples Highlight Tables". 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
4. "Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity Highlight Tables". 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
5. , Community Profiles from the 2016 Census, Statistics Canada - Province/Territory
6. , Aboriginal Population Profile from the 2006 Census, Statistics Canada - Province/Territory
7. Ethnic origins Archived 2007-03-13 at the Wayback Machine from Statistics Canada
8. "Census Profile, 2016 Census Saskatchewan [Province] and Canada [Country]". Retrieved 19 April 2020.
9. "Population by visible minority group, place of residence and projection scenario, Canada, 2011 and 2036". Retrieved 19 April 2020.
10. "Projections of the Aboriginal Population and Households in Canada 2011 to 2036" (PDF). Retrieved 19 April 2020.
11. "Census Profile, 2016 Census - Saskatchewan [Province] and Quebec [Province] - Language". statcan.gc.ca. Statistics Canada. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
12. "Language Highlight Tables". 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
13. Detailed Mother Tongue (186), Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) (2006 Census)
14. Immigrant Status and Period of Immigration (11), Place of Birth (272), Age (7A) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 2016 Census - 25% Sample Data
15. Elliot, Doug (2005). Interprovincial Migration - in the Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina. pp. 483–484.
16. "Exodus of Saskatchewan residents to Alberta, British Columbia, continues to plague province | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. 2018-06-06. Archived from the original on 2018-12-29. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
17. "Religion (108) for the Population in Private Households of Canada". 2011 National Household Survey. Statistics Canada. 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
18. Statistics Canada. "Population by religion, by province and territory (2001 Census) (Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan)". Retrieved 26 July 2015.