About this tabulation

General information

Catalogue number :	97-562-XCB2006013
Release date :	September 30, 2008
Topic :	Ethnic origin and visible minorities
Data dimensions :	Geography (Geographic Index) Census year (3) Immigrant status and period of immigration (9A) Age groups (9) Sex (3) Visible minority groups (14) Labour force activity (8)

Note

Note: Historical comparison of census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 1996, 2001 and 2006

A few census metropolitan areas (CMAs) and census agglomerations (CAs) have different geographical boundaries in 2006 as compared to 1996 and to 2001. In order to facilitate data comparisons, the 1996 and 2001 CMA and CA data have been adjusted to reflect as closely as possible the 2006 CMA and CA boundaries. For additional information, please refer to the 2006 Census Dictionary, catalogue number 92- 566-XWE.

Note: Institutional residents

People in seniors' residences in the 2006 Census are classified as 'not living in an institution'. This is a change from the 2001 Census where they were classified as institutional residents, specifically, 'living in an institution, resident under care or custody'.

Note: Labour force growth for the Northwest Territories

Care should be exercised in comparing the Northwest Territories 2006 Census population counts with those from the 2001 Census. In 2001, the net undercount for the Northwest Territories was estimated at 8.11%, substantially higher than the national level of 2.99%, and almost double its 1996 level. The increase in the labour force, the employed, unemployed and not in the labour force populations between 2001 and 2006 is likely overstated due to improvements in coverage of the Northwest Territories in 2006.

Note: Non-permanent residents and the census universe

In the 2006 Census, non-permanent residents are defined as people from another country who, at the time of the census, held a Work or Study Permit, or who were refugee claimants, as well as family members living in Canada with them. In the 1991, 1996 and 2001 censuses, non-permanent residents also included persons who held a Minister's permit; this was discontinued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada prior to the 2006 Census.

From 1991 on, the Census of Population has enumerated both permanent and non-permanent residents of Canada. Prior to 1991, only permanent residents of Canada were included in the census. (The only exception to this occurred in 1941.) Non-permanent residents were considered foreign residents and were not enumerated.

Total population counts, as well as counts for all variables, are affected by this change in the census universe. Users should be especially careful when comparing data from 1991, 1996, 2001 or 2006 with data from previous censuses in geographic areas where there is a concentration of non-permanent residents.

Today in Canada, non-permanent residents make up a significant segment of the population, especially in several census metropolitan areas. Their presence can affect the demand for such government services as health care, schooling, employment programs and language training. The inclusion of non-permanent residents in the census facilitates comparisons with provincial and territorial statistics (marriages, divorces, births and deaths) which include this population. In addition, this inclusion of non-permanent residents brings Canadian practice closer to the United Nations (UN) recommendation that long-term residents (persons living in a country for one year or longer) be enumerated in the census.

Although every attempt has been made to enumerate non-permanent residents, factors such as language difficulties, the reluctance to complete a government form or to understand the need to participate may have affected the enumeration of this population.

For additional information, please refer to the 2006 Census Dictionary, catalogue number 92-566-XWE.

For counts of the non-permanent resident population in 1991, 2001 and 2006, please refer to the 2006 Census table 97-557-XCB2006006.


Note: Nunavut

Data from the 2006 and 2001 censuses are available for Nunavut, the new territory that came into effect on April 1, 1999.

Standard data products released only at the Canada/province/territory geographic levels will not contain data for Nunavut for the census years prior to 2001. Standard data products released at the census metropolitan area (CMA) and census agglomeration (CA) geographic levels may contain data for Nunavut for the 2006 and/or previous censuses.

For additional information, please refer to the 2006 Census Dictionary, catalogue number 92-566-XWE.

Note: Population universe

The population universe of the 2006 Census includes the following groups:
- Canadian citizens (by birth or by naturalization) and landed immigrants with a usual place of residence in Canada;
- Canadian citizens (by birth or by naturalization) and landed immigrants who are abroad, either on a military base or attached to a diplomatic mission;
- Canadian citizens (by birth or by naturalization) and landed immigrants at sea or in port aboard merchant vessels under Canadian registry;
- persons with a usual place of residence in Canada who are claiming refugee status and members of their families living with them;
- persons with a usual place of residence in Canada who hold Study Permits and members of their families living with them;
- persons with a usual place of residence in Canada who hold Work Permits and members of their families living with them.

For census purposes, the last three groups in this list are referred to as 'non-permanent residents'. For further information, refer to the variable Immigration: Non-permanent resident found in the 2006 Census Dictionary, catalogue number 92-566-XWE.

Data table

Select data categories for this table

Geography Geographic index Canada Newfoundland and Labrador / Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador St. John's Bay Roberts Grand Falls-Windsor Corner Brook Prince Edward Island / Île-du-Prince-Édouard Charlottetown Summerside Nova Scotia / Nouvelle-Écosse Halifax Kentville Truro New Glasgow Cape Breton New Brunswick / Nouveau-Brunswick Moncton Saint John Fredericton Bathurst Miramichi Campbellton Campbellton (N.B. part - Partie N.-B.) Campbellton (Que. part - Partie Qc) Edmundston Quebec / Québec Matane Rimouski Rivière-du-Loup Baie-Comeau Saguenay Alma Dolbeau-Mistassini Sept-Îles Québec Saint-Georges Thetford Mines Sherbrooke Cowansville Victoriaville Trois-Rivières Shawinigan La Tuque Drummondville Granby Saint-Hyacinthe Sorel-Tracy Joliette Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Montréal Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Lachute Val-d'Or Amos Rouyn-Noranda Ontario Cornwall Hawkesbury Hawkesbury (Que. part - Partie Qc) Hawkesbury (Ont. part - Partie Ont.) Ottawa - Gatineau Ottawa - Gatineau (Que. part - Partie Qc) Ottawa - Gatineau (Ont. part - Partie Ont.) Brockville Pembroke Petawawa Kingston Belleville Cobourg Port Hope Peterborough Kawartha Lakes Centre Wellington Oshawa Ingersoll Toronto Hamilton St. Catharines - Niagara Kitchener Brantford Woodstock Tillsonburg Norfolk Guelph Stratford London Chatham-Kent Leamington Windsor Sarnia Owen Sound Collingwood Barrie Orillia Midland North Bay Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury Elliot Lake Temiskaming Shores Timmins Sault Ste. Marie Thunder Bay Kenora Manitoba Winnipeg Portage la Prairie Brandon Thompson Saskatchewan Regina Yorkton Moose Jaw Swift Current Saskatoon North Battleford Prince Albert Estevan Alberta Medicine Hat Brooks Lethbridge Okotoks Calgary Canmore Red Deer Camrose Edmonton Lloydminster Lloydminster (Sask. part - Partie Sask.) Lloydminster (Alta. part - Partie Alb.) Cold Lake Grande Prairie Wood Buffalo Wetaskiwin British Columbia / Colombie-Britannique Cranbrook Penticton Kelowna Vernon Salmon Arm Kamloops Chilliwack Abbotsford Vancouver Squamish Victoria Duncan Nanaimo Parksville Port Alberni Courtenay Campbell River Powell River Williams Lake Quesnel Prince Rupert Kitimat Terrace Prince George Dawson Creek Fort St. John Yukon Territory / Territoire du Yukon Whitehorse Northwest Territories / Territoires du Nord-Ouest Yellowknife Nunavut

Census year (3) 2006 2001 1996

Immigrant status and period of immigration (9A) Total - Immigrant status and period of immigration Non-immigrants Immigrants Before 1991 1991 to 2000 1991 to 1995 1996 to 2000 2001 to 2006 Non-permanent residents

Age groups (9) Total - Age groups 15 to 24 years 25 to 54 years 25 to 34 years 35 to 44 years 45 to 54 years 55 to 64 years 65 to 74 years 75 years and over

Sex (3) Total - Sex Male Female

This table details labour force activity , visible minority groups , immigrant status and period of immigration , age groups and sex for the population 15 years and over in Canada^{Footnote 1}

Visible minority groups (14)	Labour force activity (8)
	Total - Labour force activity	In the labour force	Employed	Unemployed	Not in the labour force	Participation rate	Employment rate	Unemployment rate
Total - Population by visible minority groups	25,664,220	17,146,135	16,021,180	1,124,955	8,518,090	66.8	62.4	6.6
Total visible minority populationFootnote 2	3,922,695	2,639,520	2,413,610	225,915	1,283,180	67.3	61.5	8.6
Chinese	1,005,640	623,225	576,195	47,025	382,410	62.0	57.3	7.5
South AsianFootnote 3	957,645	656,205	599,525	56,685	301,445	68.5	62.6	8.6
Black	562,135	397,460	355,090	42,365	164,675	70.7	63.2	10.7
Filipino	320,915	245,855	233,540	12,310	75,060	76.6	72.8	5.0
Latin American	244,330	175,570	159,750	15,820	68,760	71.9	65.4	9.0
Southeast AsianFootnote 4	184,580	127,150	116,405	10,745	57,430	68.9	63.1	8.5
Arab / West Asian	321,755	206,090	181,130	24,965	115,660	64.1	56.3	12.1
Korean	114,615	62,820	57,465	5,355	51,795	54.8	50.1	8.5
Japanese	66,400	40,895	38,815	2,080	25,505	61.6	58.5	5.1
Visible minority, n.i.e.Footnote 5	57,120	40,625	37,445	3,180	16,490	71.1	65.6	7.8
Multiple visible minorityFootnote 6	87,565	63,630	58,250	5,380	23,935	72.7	66.5	8.5
Not a visible minorityFootnote 7	21,741,525	14,506,615	13,607,565	899,045	7,234,910	66.7	62.6	6.2

Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 97-562-XCB2006013.

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Related data

• 2006 Census analysis series:
  Canada's Ethnocultural Mosaic, 2006 Census: Findings
• 2006 Census reference guides and technical reports:
  Ethnic Origin Reference Guide, 2006 Census
  Visible Minority Population and Population Group Reference Guide, 2006 Census