Ethnic origins of people in Canada

Listed here are the ethnic groups of Canadian residents (citizens, landed immigrants and non-citizen temporary residents) as self-identified in the 2016 census in which approximately 35,151,000 census forms were completed). The relevant census question asked for "the ethnic or cultural origins" of the respondent's ancestors and not the respondents themselves.

As data were collected by self-declaration, ethnic groups may not necessarily correspond to the true ancestry of respondents.[1] Many respondents acknowledged multiple ancestries. These people were added to the "multiple origin" total for each origin listed. These include responses as varied as a respondent who listed eight different origins and a respondent who answered "French Canadian" (leading to him/her being counted once for "French" and once for "Canadian"). As with all self-reported data, understanding of the question may have varied from respondent to respondent.

Larger ethnic origins (200,000 or more individuals per group; 2016 census)

Map of the dominant self-identified ethnic origins per census division of 2006

Canadian   English   French   Scottish   German

Italian   First Nations (Indigenous)   Ukrainian   Indian (originating from India)   Inuit

100,000+

50,000–99,999

20,000–49,999

10,000–19,999

[2]

Ethnicity[3]	Combined responses[3]	As single response[3]	One of multiple responses[3]
Canadian[lower-alpha 1]	11,135,965	6,436,940	4,699,030
English	6,320,085	1,098,930	5,221,150
Scottish	4,799,010	475,575	4,323,430
French	4,670,595	1,006,180	3,664,415
Irish	4,627,000	457,905	4,169,095
German	3,322,405	569,650	2,752,750
Chinese	1,769,195	1,439,980	329,215
Italian	1,587,970	695,420	892,550
First Nations[lower-alpha 2]	1,525,565	526,570	999,000
Indian (from India)	1,374,710	1,096,845	277,865
Ukrainian	1,359,655	273,810	1,085,845
Dutch	1,111,655	289,675	821,980
Polish	1,106,585	264,415	842,170
Filipino	837,130	651,390	185,740
British Isles, not included elsewhere	644,695	132,830	511,865
Russian	622,445	120,165	502,280
Métis	600,000	91,255	508,740
Portuguese	482,610	264,815	217,790
Welsh	474,805	25,190	449,615
Norwegian	463,275	35,905	427,370
Spanish	396,460	70,330	326,130
American	377,410	29,590	347,810
Swedish	349,640	21,775	327,870
Hungarian (Magyar)	348,085	83,400	264,685
Jamaican	309,485	161,495	147,995
Greek	271,405	141,580	129,830
Vietnamese	240,615	165,385	75,225
Romanian	238,050	96,910	141,145
Lebanese	219,555	130,590	88,965
Pakistani	215,555	156,300	59,255
African, not included elsewhere	212,005	76,790	135,210
Iranian	210,405	170,755	39,650
Danish	207,470	26,985	180,485
Austrian	207,050	20,225	186,820

Smaller ethnic origins (2016 census)

Ethnicity[3]	Combined responses[3]	As single response[3]	One of multiple responses per respondent[3]
Korean	198,210	177,920	20,285
Québécois	194,555	119,985	74,575
Belgian	186,665	31,765	154,89
Haitian	165,100	125,780	39,32
Swiss	155,120	25,235	129,885
Sri Lankan	152,590	114,120	38,475
Jewish	143,660	39,710	103,950
Finnish	143,645	25,875	117,765
Croatian	133,965	55,595	78,370
Mexican	128,480	54,300	74,180
Japanese	121,485	56,725	64,760
Acadian	119,670	22,980	96,690
Punjabi, not included elsewhere	118,400	71,535	46,860
Arab, not included elsewhere	111,405	73,330	38,070
Czech	104,585	23,250	81,330
Moroccan	103,945	72,625	31,320
Icelandic	101,795	8,630	93,165
Egyptian	99,140	62,910	36,230
Serbian	96,535	52,730	43,800
Colombian	96,325	69,040	27,285
Guyanese	84,275	30,825	53,445
Afghan	83,995	70,240	13,755
Inuit	79,130	44,760	34,37
Trinidadian/Tobagonian	78,965	23,900	55,065
Syrian	77,050	43,685	33,36
South Asian, not included elsewhere	76,400	55,445	20,955
Slovak	72,290	20,475	51,815
Iraqi	70,925	54,555	16,365
West Indian	70,275	30,260	40,010
European, not included elsewhere	67,895	33,360	34,53
Algerian	67,330	49,520	17,810
Salvadorean	66,215	40,510	25,705
Turk	63,955	29,885	34,070
Armenian	63,810	34,560	29,250
Somali	62,550	54,750	7,790
Lithuanian	59,285	11,185	48,095
Scandinavian, not included elsewhere	52,785	5,085	47,695
Nigerian	51,835	38,165	13,670
Tamil not included elsewhere	48,670	22,145	26,525
Bangladeshi	45,945	39,255	6,690
Chilean	45,190	18,685	26,510
Palestinian	44,820	25,195	19,630
Ethiopian	44,060	34,260	9,805
Macedonian	43,110	18,405	24,705
Australian	42,315	4,520	37,800
Peruvian	42,145	20,645	21,500
Maltese	41,915	12,820	29,100
South African	41,380	8,005	33,37
Czechoslovakian, not otherwise specified	40,715	5,075	35,640
Slovenian	40,470	13,690	26,78
Cambodian	38,490	21,445	17,045
Yugoslav not included elsewhere	38,480	8,570	29,91
Congolese	38,370	29,675	8,685
Barbadian	37,775	11,605	26,170
Berber	37,060	22,965	14,100
Brazilian	36,830	11,035	25,795
Taiwanese	36,515	23,260	13,250
Albanian	36,185	28,425	7,760
Ghanaian	35,495	26,535	8,960
Bulgarian	34,560	19,965	14,595
Latvian	30,725	7,040	23,685
Black	30,385	5,535	24,855
Cuban	29,065	10,040	19,030
Israeli	28,740	6,450	22,280
Latin, Central or South American, not included elsewhere	28,455	14,295	14,155
Caribbean, not included elsewhere	26,830	8,930	17,900
Bosnian	26,740	15,610	11,125
Venezuelan	26,345	10,305	16,040
Guatemalan	26,270	13,905	12,370
Tunisian	25,650	17,620	8,030
Ecuadorian	25,410	13,925	11,485
West Asian, not included elsewhere	25,285	13,430	11,855
Eritrean	25,255	20,625	4,630
Cameroonian	24,615	20,605	4,010
Laotian	24,580	13,375	11,205
Estonian	24,530	6,155	18,375
Dominican	23,130	9,930	13,200
Bengali	22,905	18,435	4,470
Asian, not otherwise specified	22,740	15,760	6,980
Aboriginal from Central/South America	22,720	2,080	20,645
Newfoundlander	22,215	4,895	17,325
Indonesian	21,395	4,775	16,615
Belorusian	20,710	5,125	15,585
Argentinian	20,680	4,165	16,510
Eastern European, not included elsewhere	20,420	5,875	14,545
Sudanese	19,960	15,250	4,710
Fijian	19,370	8,270	11,105
Thai	19,005	7,740	11,265
Grenadian	17,915	7,515	10,400
Vincentian/Grenadinian	17,425	7,245	10,180
East African	17,305	7,220	10,085
Nepali	17,135	13,695	3,440
Malaysian	16,920	2,555	14,365
Kurdish	16,320	10,470	5,845
New Zealander	15,395	1,300	14,095
Central and West African origins, not included elsewhere	15,380	7,800	7,585
Moldovan	14,915	7,415	7,505
Jordanian	14,250	7,955	6,295
Assyrian	13,830	8,870	4,960
Nicaraguan	13,705	6,360	7,350
Breton	11,845	3,230	8,615
Flemish	11,685	1,485	10,200
Hispanic	11,050	5,660	5,395
Burundian	10,990	8,965	2,025
Ivoirean	10,935	7,795	3,140
Kenyan	10,915	5,445	5,465
Rwandan	10,775	8,080	2,690
Honduran	10,650	5,325	5,325
Senegalese	10,175	6,490	3,685
Yoruba	9,585	6,870	2,715
Burmese	9,335	4,660	4,675
Mauritian	9,325	3,520	5,805
St. Lucian	8,985	4,040	4,945
Gujarati	8,350	5,290	3,060
Zimbabwean	8,090	4,945	3,140
Tibetan	8,040	7,015	1,030
Libyan	7,745	5,755	1,985
Mongolian	7,480	2,555	4,925
Sinhalese	7,285	4,355	2,930
Guinean	7,240	4,705	2,540
Basque	6,970	715	6,250
Sicilian	6,940	1,345	5,600
Saudi Arabian	6,810	4,200	2,615
Uruguayan	6,795	1,810	4,985
Yemeni	6,640	2,940	3,700
East or Southeast Asian, not included elsewhere	6,505	4,235	2,270
Azerbaijani	6,425	2,280	4,145
Maya	6,290	1,180	5,105
Manx	6,125	285	5,845
North African, not included elsewhere	6,115	2,905	3,210
Goan	6,070	2,040	4,030
Ugandan	5,705	3,245	2,460
Cypriot	5,650	1,265	4,385
Costa Rican	5,535	2,140	3,395
Igbo	5,320	3,475	1,845
Togolese	5,300	3,095	2,205
Bolivian	5,055	1,890	3,160
Beninese	4,990	2,650	2,340
Slavic, not otherwise specified	4,870	1,470	3,400
Tatar	4,825	880	3,940
Pashtun	4,810	2,245	2,565
Georgian	4,775	1,900	2,875
Yakut	4,761	1,886	2,875
Tanzanian	4,710	1,835	2,875
Panamanian	4,700	1,090	3,610
Roma (Gypsy)	4,630	745	3,895
Frisian	4,590	795	3,790
Karen	4,515	3,835	680
Antiguan	4,505	1,275	3,225
Malagasy	4,500	2,155	2,345
Malian	4,485	2,310	2,180
Paraguayan	4,325	670	3,660
Montenegrin	4,165	915	3,245
Bantu, not otherwise specified	3,965	2,315	1,645
Uzbek	3,920	1,730	2,190
Luxembourger	3,915	440	3,475
Bahamian	3,670	810	2,860
Bhutanese	3,600	2,440	1,160
Channel Islander	3,590	435	3,155
Coptic	3,535	1,490	2,040
Puerto Rican	3,410	445	2,960
Western European origins, not included elsewhere	3,370	840	2,530
Oromo	3,355	2,410	945
Kazakh	3,325	1,465	1,860
Hawaiian	3,295	120	3,175
Burkinabe	3,155	1,980	1,165
Kashmiri	3,115	1,095	2,020
Bermudan	3,075	310	2,765
Carib	3,035	130	2,905
Angolan	2,955	1,140	1,820
Kittitian/Nevisian	2,920	750	2,165
Tajik	2,910	1,240	1,665
Kosovar	2,870	1,710	1,160
Singaporean	2,850	495	2,355
Alsatian	2,800	375	2,425
Sierra Leonean	2,620	1,580	1,040
Maori	2,500	155	2,345
Liberian	2,485	1,520	965
Peulh	2,440	1,425	1,015
Pacific Islands origins, not included elsewhere	2,335	470	1,865
Kuwaiti	2,235	1,080	1,155
Southern European origins, not included elsewhere	2,165	440	1,730
Tigrian	2,155	1,340	810
Martinican	2,005	370	1,635
Cornish	1,970	120	1,855
Akan	1,955	1,235	720
Edo	1,945	1,180	765
Other North American origins, not included elsewhere	1,895	655	1,240
Afrikaner	1,870	280	1,595
Zambian	1,865	1,055	805
Chadian	1,845	1,185	655
Belizean	1,755	250	1,505
Corsican	1,750	165	1,590
Djiboutian	1,710	980	730
Ashanti	1,585	765	825
Uighur	1,555	1,010	540
Amhara	1,530	710	820
Samoan	1,530	150	1,375
Hazara	1,515	585	930
Arawak	1,440	55	1,385
Gabonese	1,405	595	820
Seychellois	1,285	575	710
Catalan	1,275	200	1,075
Maure	1,190	400	790
Guadeloupean	1,130	245	885
Malinké	1,120	675	455
Polynesian, not otherwise specified	1,105	90	1,015
Kyrgyz	1,060	580	475
Turkmen	1,040	390	655
Gambian	975	580	395
Zulu	945	285	660
Bavarian	940	50	890
Montserratan	935	190	745
Dinka	900	585	320
Ewe	845	320	525
Wolof	835	465	375
Hmong	810	585	220
Harari	660	395	265

Evolution from 1996 to 2016

As regards combined responses, Canadian is the most common ethnic origin (11,113,965) in the 2016 Census (see above). This was also the case in the 2011 NHS (10,563,805),[4] 2006 Census (10,066,290),[5] 2001 Census (11,682,680),[6] and the 1996 Census (8,806,975).[7] Canadian was also the most common single ethnic origin in the 1996 (5,326,995), 2001 (6,748,135), 2006 (5,748,725), 2011 (5,834,535), and 2016 (6,436,940).

Ethnic Origin (Single Responses), 1996-2016

1996[7]			2001[6]			2006[5]			2011[4]			2016[8]
#	Ethnic Origin	Pop.	#	Ethnic Origin	Pop.	#	Ethnic Origin	Pop.	#	Ethnic Origin	Pop.	#	Ethnic Origin	Pop.
1	Canadian	5,326,995	1	Canadian	6,748,135	1	Canadian	5,748,725	1	Canadian	5,834,535	1	Canadian	6,436,940
2	French	2,665,250	2	English	1,479,525	2	English	1,367,125	2	English	1,312,570	2	Chinese	1,439,980
3	English	2,048,275	3	French	1,060,760	3	French	1,230,535	3	Chinese	1,210,945	3	English	1,098,925
4	Chinese	800,470	4	Chinese	936,210	4	Chinese	1,135,365	4	French	1,165,465	4	East Indian	1,096,850
5	Italian	729,455	5	Italian	726,275	5	East Indian	780,175	5	East Indian	919,155	5	French	1,006,180
6	German	726,145	6	German	705,600	6	Italian	741,045	6	Italian	700,845	6	Italian	695,415
7	Scottish	642,970	7	Scottish	607,235	7	German	670,640	7	German	608,520	7	Filipino	651,390
8	Irish	504,030	8	East Indian	581,665	8	Scottish	568,515	8	Scottish	544,440	8	German	569,650
9	East Indian	438,770	9	Irish	496,865	9	North American Indian	512,150	9	First Nations	517,550	9	First Nations	526,570
10	North American Indian	394,555	10	North American Indian	455,805	10	Irish	491,030	10	Filipino	506,545	10	Scottish	475,575
11	Ukrainian	331,680	11	Ukrainian	326,195	11	Filipino	321,390	11	Irish	506,445	11	Irish	457,905
12	Dutch	313,880	12	Dutch	316,220	12	Dutch	303,400	12	Dutch	297,885	12	Dutch	289,675
13	Polish	265,930	13	Filipino	266,140	13	Ukrainian	300,590	13	Ukrainian	276,055	13	Ukrainian	273,810
14	Portuguese	252,640	14	Polish	260,415	14	Polish	269,375	14	Polish	255,135	14	Portuguese	264,815
15	Filipino	198,420	15	Portuguese	252,835	15	Portuguese	262,230	15	Portuguese	250,320	15	Polish	264,415
16	Jewish	195,810	16	Jewish	186,475	16	Greek	145,250	16	Vietnamese	157,450	16	Korean	177,925
17	Greek	144,940	17	Greek	143,785	17	Korean	137,790	17	Korean	154,355	17	Iranian	170,755
18	Jamaican	128,570	18	Jamaican	138,180	18	Vietnamese	136,445	18	Jamaican	142,870	18	Vietnamese	165,390
19	Vietnamese	110,390	19	Vietnamese	119,120	19	Jamaican	134,320	19	Greek	141,755	19	Jamaican	161,495
20	Hungarian	94,185	20	Korean	95,200	20	Jewish	134,045	20	Iranian	131,100	20	Pakistani	156,300

Ethnic Origin (Single and Multiple Responses), 1996-2016

1996[7]			2001[6]			2006[5]			2011[4]			2016[8]
#	Ethnic Origin	Pop.	#	Ethnic Origin	Pop.	#	Ethnic Origin	Pop.	#	Ethnic Origin	Pop.	#	Ethnic Origin	Pop.
1	Canadian	8,806,275	1	Canadian	11,682,680	1	Canadian	10,066,290	1	Canadian	10,563,805	1	Canadian	11,135,965
2	English	6,832,095	2	English	5,978,875	2	English	6,570,015	2	English	6,509,500	2	English	6,320,085
3	French	5,597,845	3	French	4,668,410	3	French	4,941,210	3	French	5,065,690	3	Scottish	4,799,005
4	Scottish	4,260,840	4	Scottish	4,157,210	4	Scottish	4,719,850	4	Scottish	4,714,970	4	French	4,670,595
5	Irish	3,767,610	5	Irish	3,822,660	5	Irish	4,354,155	5	Irish	4,544,870	5	Irish	4,627,000
6	German	2,757,140	6	German	2,742,765	6	German	3,179,425	6	German	3,203,330	6	German	3,322,405
7	Italian	1,207,475	7	Italian	1,270,370	7	Italian	1,445,335	7	Italian	1,488,425	7	Chinese	1,769,195
8	Ukrainian	1,026,475	8	Chinese	1,094,700	8	Chinese	1,346,510	8	Chinese	1,487,580	8	Italian	1,587,970
9	Chinese	921,585	9	Ukrainian	1,071,060	9	North American Indian	1,253,615	9	First Nations	1,369,115	9	First Nations	1,525,570
10	Dutch	916,215	10	North American Indian	1,000,890	10	Ukrainian	1,209,085	10	Ukrainian	1,251,170	10	East Indian	1,374,715
11	North American Indian	867,225	11	Dutch	923,310	11	Dutch	1,035,965	11	East Indian	1,165,145	11	Ukrainian	1,359,655
12	Polish	786,735	12	Polish	817,085	12	Polish	984,565	12	Dutch	1,067,245	12	Dutch	1,111,655
13	East Indian	548,080	13	East Indian	713,330	13	East Indian	962,665	13	Polish	1,010,705	13	Polish	1,106,585
14	Jewish	351,705	14	Norwegian	363,760	14	Russian	500,600	14	Filipino	662,600	14	Filipino	837,135
15	Norwegian	346,310	15	Portuguese	357,690	15	Welsh	440,965	15	British Isles, n.i.e.	576,030	15	British Isles, n.i.e.	644,695
16	Welsh	338,905	16	Welsh	350,365	16	Filipino	436,190	16	Russian	550,520	16	Russian	622,445
17	Portuguese	335,110	17	Jewish	348,605	17	Norwegian	432,515	17	Welsh	458,705	17	Métis	599,995
18	Swedish	278,975	18	Russian	337,960	18	Portuguese	410,850	18	Norwegian	452,705	18	Portuguese	482,605
19	Russian	272,335	19	Filipino	327,550	19	Métis	409,065	19	Métis	447,655	19	Welsh	474,805
20	Hungarian	250,525	20	Métis	307,845	20	British Isles, n.i.e.	403,915	20	Portuguese	429,850	20	Norwegian	463,275

See also

• 1666 census of New France
• Canada 1911 Census
• Canada 1996 Census
• Canada 2001 Census
• Canada 2006 Census
• Canada 2011 Census
• Canada 2016 Census
• Demographics of Canada
• Immigration to Canada
• Multiculturalism in Canada
• Population of Canada by years

Notes

1. All citizens of Canada are classified as "Canadians" as defined by Canada's nationality laws. However, "Canadian" as an ethnic group has since 1996 been added to census questionnaires for possible ancestry. "Canadian" was included as an example on the English questionnaire and "Canadien" as an example on the French questionnaire. "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), however no-longer self identify with their ethnic ancestral origins. This response is attributed to a multitude or generational distance from ancestral lineage.
   Source 1: Jack Jedwab (April 2008). "Our 'Cense' of Self: the 2006 Census saw 1.6 million 'Canadian'" (PDF). Association for Canadian Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 2, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
   Source 2: Don Kerr (2007). The Changing Face of Canada: Essential Readings in Population. Canadian Scholars' Press. pp. 313–317. ISBN 978-1-55130-322-2.
2. The category "North American Indian" includes respondents who indicated that their ethnic origins were from a Canadian First Nation, or another non-Canadian North American aboriginal group (excluding Inuit and Métis).
   Source: "How Statistics Canada Identifies Aboriginal Peoples". Statistics Canada. Retrieved January 16, 2011.

References

1. Source: "Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada – Data table". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2011-01-16. Additional data: "2006 Census release topics". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
2. "Population and growth components (1851–2001 Censuses)". Statistics Canada. 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
3. "Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity Highlight Tables". statcan.gc.ca.
4. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-05-08). "2011 National Household Survey: Data tables – Ethnic Origin (264), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2011 National Household Survey". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
5. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2008-04-02). "Statistics Canada: Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada Highlight Tables, 2006 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
6. contenu, English name of the content author / Nom en anglais de l'auteur du (Date published (YYYY-MM-DD) / Date de publication (AAAA-MM-JJ)). "English title / Titre en anglais". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-09-20. Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (1998-02-17). "1996 Census of Canada: Data tables – Population by Ethnic Origin (188) and Sex (3), Showing Single and Multiple Responses (3), for Canada, Provinces, Territories and Census Metropolitan Areas, 1996 Census (20% Sample Data)". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
8. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2017-10-25). "Ethnic Origin (279), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age (12) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census - 25% Sample Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-09-21.

Further reading

• Bumsted, J. M (2003). Canada's diverse peoples: a reference sourcebook. Library of Congress (ABC-CLIO). p. 42. ISBN 1-57607-672-5. The people of Canada.
• Magocsi, Paul R (1999). Encyclopedia of Canada's peoples. Society of Ontario, University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-2938-8.

External links

• Canada Year Book 2010 – Statistics Canada