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Demography

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Tables

• Table 1  Population of Canada, provinces and territories
• Table 2  Population of major census metropolitan areas
• Table 3  Census families
• Table 4  Components of population growth
• Table 5  Aboriginal identity population, by age group, 2001
• Table 6  Religions in Canada, 2001
• Table 7  Mother tongue of Canadians

Charts

• Chart 1  Population, by age group, 2006
• Chart 2  Urban and rural population, Canada
• Chart 3  Immigrant population as a percentage of total population

Tables

Table 1  Population of Canada, provinces and territories

	1991	2001	2006
	number
Canada	28,031,394	31,021,251	32,623,490
Newfoundland and Labrador	579,518	521,986	509,677
Prince Edward Island	130,306	136,672	138,519
Nova Scotia	915,102	932,389	934,405
New Brunswick	745,528	749,890	749,168
Quebec	7,064,586	7,396,990	7,651,531
Ontario	10,428,132	11,897,647	12,686,952
Manitoba	1,109,614	1,151,285	1,177,765
Saskatchewan	1,002,686	1,000,134	985,386
Alberta	2,592,626	3,056,739	3,375,763
British Columbia	3,373,464	4,078,447	4,310,452
Yukon	28,907	30,129	31,229
Northwest Territories	38,746	40,822	41,861
Nunavut	22,179	28,121	30,782
Note: Population estimates as of July 1.
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM table 051-0001.

 

Table 2  Population of major census metropolitan areas

	1991	2001	2006
	number
Toronto	4,029,762	4,883,834	5,406,324
Montréal	3,291,393	3,507,424	3,666,280
Vancouver	1,646,886	2,076,098	2,236,068
Ottawa–Gatineau1	960,754	1,102,911	1,158,314
Calgary	766,365	976,773	1,107,242
Edmonton	854,289	961,475	1,050,046
Québec	660,863	696,389	723,263
Hamilton	618,739	689,190	716,230
Winnipeg	671,098	690,101	706,749
London	411,922	449,589	465,720
Notes: Some figures have been adjusted because of boundary changes. Population estimates as of July 1, based on 2001 Census boundaries.
1. Formerly Ottawa–Hull.
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM table 051-0034.

 

Table 3  Census families

	1981	1991	2001
	number
All families	6,325,315	7,355,730	8,371,020
Families of married couples	5,259,340	5,682,815	5,901,425
Families of common law couples	352,155	719,275	1,158,410
Lone-parent families1	713,815	953,640	1,311,190
Male lone-parent families	124,380	165,240	245,825
Female lone-parent families	589,435	788,395	1,065,360
1. Changes to the census family definition in 2001 make comparisons with previous years difficult.
Source: Statistics Canada, censuses of population.

 

Table 4  Components of population growth

	1986	1996	2006p
	number
Births	375,381	372,453	343,517
Deaths	183,353	209,766	234,914
Immigration	88,657	217,478	254,359
Emigration	50,595	48,396	38,551
p preliminary
Note: All figures are for the one-year period ending June 30.
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM table 051-0004.

 

Table 5  Aboriginal identity population, by age group, 2001

	Total	0 to 24	25 and older
	number
Canada	976,305	493,020	483,280
Newfoundland and Labrador	18,780	8,650	10,130
Prince Edward Island	1,345	685	660
Nova Scotia	17,015	8,405	8,610
New Brunswick	16,990	7,715	9,270
Quebec	79,400	36,295	43,110
Ontario	188,315	86,370	101,945
Manitoba	150,040	80,085	69,965
Saskatchewan	130,185	75,490	54,700
Alberta	156,220	82,375	73,845
British Columbia	170,025	80,725	89,295
Yukon	6,540	3,000	3,545
Northwest Territories	18,730	9,655	9,075
Nunavut	22,720	13,595	9,120
Note: Persons who reported identifying with an Aboriginal group, being Treaty/Registered Indians, or being members of Indian Bands / First Nations.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census of Population.

 

Table 6  Religions in Canada, 2001

	Number	%
Total population1	29,639,035	100.0
Catholic	12,936,905	43.6
Protestant	8,654,850	29.2
Christian Orthodox	479,620	1.6
Christian not included elsewhere	780,450	2.6
Muslim	579,640	2.0
Jewish	329,995	1.1
Buddhist	300,345	1.0
Hindu	297,200	1.0
Sikh	278,410	0.9
Eastern religions	37,550	0.1
Other religions	63,975	0.2
No religious affiliation	4,900,090	16.5
1. Based on 20% census sample data.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census of Population.

 

Table 7  Mother tongue of Canadians

	1991	1996	2001
	number
Total population1	26,994,040	28,528,125	29,639,035
Single responses	26,663,790	28,125,565	29,257,885
English	16,169,880	16,890,620	17,352,315
French	6,502,860	6,636,660	6,703,325
Chinese2	498,845	715,640	853,745
Italian	510,990	484,500	469,485
German	466,240	450,140	438,080
Punjabi	136,460	201,780	271,220
Spanish	177,425	212,890	245,500
Portuguese	212,090	211,290	213,815
Polish	189,815	213,415	208,375
Arabic	107,750	148,555	199,940
Aboriginal languages	172,610	186,935	187,675
Tagalog (Pilipino)	99,710	133,210	174,060
Ukrainian	187,015	162,695	148,090
Dutch	139,035	133,805	128,670
Vietnamese	78,570	106,515	122,055
Greek	126,205	121,180	120,365
Other single responses	888,290	1,115,735	1,421,170
Multiple responses	330,255	402,560	381,145
Note: Refers to the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the individual at the time of the census.
1. Based on 20% census sample data.
2. Includes Cantonese, Mandarin, Hakka and other Chinese languages.
Source: Statistics Canada, censuses of population.

Charts

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