frameless|upright=1.4 |right
According to the 2021 Canadian census, over 450 "ethnic or cultural origins" were self-reported by Canadians. "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) and no longer self-identify with their ethnic ancestral origins. This response is attributed to a multitude of reasons such as generational distance from ancestral lineage." (accounting for 15.6 percent of the population), followed by English (14.7 percent), Irish (12.1 percent), Scottish (12.1 percent), French (11.0 percent), German (8.1 percent), Chinese (4.7 percent), Italian (4.3 percent), Indian (3.7 percent), and Ukrainian (3.5 percent). One out of every four Canadians or 26.5 percent of the population belonged to a non-White and non-Indigenous visible minority, the largest of which in 2021 were South Asian (2.6million people; 7.1 percent), Chinese (1.7million; 4.7 percent), and Black (1.5million; 4.3 percent), Filipinos (960,000 2.6 percent), Arabs (690,000; 1.9 percent), Latin Americans (580,000; 1.6 percent), Southeast Asians (390,000; 1.1 percent), West Asians (360,000; 1.0 percent), Koreans (220,000; 0.6 percent), and Japanese (99,000; 0.3 percent).
Between 2011 and 2016, the visible minority population rose by 18.4 percent. In 1961, less than two percent of Canada's population (about 300,000 people) were members of visible minority groups. The 2021 census indicated that 8.3 million people, or almost one-quarter (23.0 percent) of the population reported themselves as being or having been a landed immigrant or permanent resident in Canada—above the 1921 census previous record of 22.3 percent. In 2021, India, China, and the Philippines were the top three countries of origin for immigrants moving to Canada.
Statistics Canada report on race and ethnicity in Canada in 2022
The 2020 General Social Survey revealed that 92% of adult Canadians said that "[ethnic] diversity is a Canadian value". Prior to the early 1970s, most new Canadians came from Europe. Since then, more immigrants have come from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. 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 them 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; 2021 census)
<gallery mode=packed heights=230px>
Canada ethnic origin map 2021.png|A map showing the largest ethnic or cultural origins in Canada by census division in 2021<small>.</small>
"Canadian" ethnic or cultural origin.png|"Canadian" was the most common ethnic or cultural origin reported in the 2021 census.
</gallery>
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi" style=text-align:center" style="margin:1em auto;"
! Ethnicity
! Total<br />responses
Largely due to increased immigration levels outside of the British Isles, the continental European population grew rapidly during the first two decades of the 20th century − comprising 1,246,151 persons or 14.2 percent as proportion of the total Canadian population by the 1921 census, representing a numerical increase of over 1 million persons from fifty years earlier in 1871, when the continental European population stood at approximately 236,043 persons or 6.8 percent of the total Canadian population.
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi" style=text-align:center" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+ Ethnic Origins of Canadians (1871−1921)
! rowspan="2" |<big>Ethnic<br>Origin</big>
! colspan="2"|<big>1871</big><br>
! colspan="2"|<big>1881</big><br>
! colspan="2"|<big>1911</big><br> 2006 Census (10,066,290), 2001 Census (11,682,680), and the 1996 Census (8,806,975). 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).
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi" style=text-align:center" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+Ethnic Origin (Single Responses), 1996–2016
! colspan="3" |1996
|-
!#
!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
|Indian
|1,096,850
|-
|5
|Italian
|729,455
|5
|Italian
|726,275
|5
|Indian
|780,175
|5
|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
|Indian
|581,665
|8
|Scottish
|568,515
|8
|Scottish
|544,440
|8
|German
|569,650
|-
|9
|Indian
|438,770
|9
|Irish
|496,865
|9
|First Nations
|512,150
|9
|First Nations
|517,550
|9
|First Nations
|526,570
|-
|10
|First Nations
|394,555
|10
|First Nations
|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
|}
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi" style=text-align:center" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+Ethnic Origin (Single and Multiple Responses), 1996–2016
! colspan="3" |1996
!Province/territory
!South Asian
!Chinese
!Black
!Filipino
!Latin American
!Arab
!Southeast Asian
!West Asian
!Korean
!Japanese
!Visible minority,
!Multiple visible minorities
!Total visible minority population
!Total population
!Percent visible minority
|-
|Alberta
|230,930
|158,200
|129,390
|166,195
|55,090
|56,700
|43,985
|20,980
|21,275
|12,165
|9,900
|28,360
|933,165
|3,978,145
|23.46%
|-
|British Columbia
|365,705
|508,480
|43,500
|145,025
|44,115
|19,840
|54,920
|48,695
|60,495
|41,230
|8,760
|40,465
|1,381,235
|4,560,240
|30.29%
|-
|Manitoba
|42,060
|22,540
|30,335
|79,815
|9,895
|5,030
|8,565
|2,695
|4,375
|1,850
|3,195
|6,485
|216,850
|1,240,700
|17.48%
|-
|New Brunswick
|2,535
|3,925
|7,000
|1,980
|1,285
|2,960
|1,230
|730
|1,685
|230
|305
|675
|24,535
|730,710
|3.36%
|-
|Newfoundland and Labrador
|2,645
|2,325
|2,355
|1,390
|635
|1,375
|340
|220
|80
|60
|150
|255
|11,810
|512,250
|2.31%
|-
|Northwest Territories
|615
|300
|760
|1,300
|135
|100
|255
|50
|100
|150
|95
|90
|3,960
|41,135
|9.63%
|-
|Nova Scotia
|7,910
|8,640
|21,915
|3,400
|1,685
|8,110
|1,195
|1,540
|1,540
|695
|630
|1,395
|58,650
|908,340
|6.46%
|-
|Nunavut
|115
|75
|330
|230
|40
|40
|30
|10
|10
|10
|20
|10
|905
|35,580
|2.54%
|-
|Ontario
|1,150,415
|754,550
|527,715
|311,675
|195,950
|210,435
|133,855
|154,670
|88,935
|30,830
|97,970
|128,585
|3,885,585
|13,242,160
|29.34%
|-
|Prince Edward Island
|920
|2,570
|825
|670
|255
|585
|145
|215
|210
|110
|55
|85
|6,640
|139,685
|4.75%
|-
|Quebec
|90,335
|99,505
|319,230
|34,910
|133,920
|213,740
|62,820
|32,405
|8,055
|4,570
|9,840
|23,045
|1,032,365
|7,965,450
|12.96%
|-
|Saskatchewan
|19,960
|15,545
|14,925
|32,340
|4,195
|4,300
|5,745
|2,065
|1,875
|955
|1,150
|2,820
|115,875
|1,070,560
|10.82%
|-
|Yukon
|500
|415
|270
|1,190
|130
|10
|180
|30
|70
|65
|15
|120
|3,000
|35,115
|8.54%
|-
!Canada
!1,924,635
!1,577,060
!1,198,540
!780,125
!447,325
!523,325
!313,260
!264,305
!188,710
!92,920
!132,090
!232,375
!7,674,580
!34,460,065
!22.27%
|}
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header" style=text-align:left" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+Visible minority in Canadian cities over 100,000 people, 2016
!City
!Population
!Visible minority
!Black
!East Asian
!Latin American
!South Asian
!Southeast Asian
!West Asian
!Arab
!Multiracial
!Other
|-
|Toronto
|2,731,571
|51.5%
|8.9%
|13.2%
|2.9%
|12.6%
|7.2%
|2.2%
|1.3%
|1.8%
|1.4%
|-
|Montreal
|1,704,694
|34.2%
|10.3%
|3.7%
|4.1%
|3.3%
|3.5%
|0.9%
|7.3%
|0.7%
|0.3%
|-
|Calgary
|1,239,220
|36.2%
|4.2%
|8.5%
|2.1%
|9.5%
|7.3%
|1.0%
|2.0%
|1.1%
|0.4%
|-
|Ottawa
|934,243
|26.3%
|6.6%
|5.1%
|1.2%
|4.2%
|2.7%
|1.0%
|4.5%
|0.9%
|0.3%
|-
|Edmonton
|932,546
|37.1%
|5.9%
|7.3%
|1.9%
|9.5%
|7.7%
|0.7%
|2.6%
|1.1%
|0.4%
|-
|Mississauga
|721,599
|57.2%
|6.6%
|8.7%
|2.3%
|23.2%
|7.2%
|1.1%
|5.1%
|1.9%
|1.3%
|-
|Winnipeg
|705,224
|28.0%
|3.9%
|3.6%
|1.0%
|5.4%
|11.8%
|0.4%
|0.7%
|0.9%
|0.4%
|-
|Vancouver
|631,486
|51.6%
|1.0%
|30.2%
|1.8%
|6.0%
|8.7%
|1.4%
|0.5%
|1.8%
|0.2%
|-
|Brampton
|593,638
|73.3%
|13.9%
|1.7%
|2.4%
|44.3%
|4.8%
|0.9%
|1.0%
|1.6%
|2.7%
|-
|Hamilton
|536,917
|19.0%
|3.8%
|2.5%
|1.6%
|4.2%
|2.8%
|0.9%
|2.0%
|0.7%
|0.5%
|-
|Quebec City
|531,902
|6.4%
|2.4%
|0.5%
|1.3%
|0.3%
|0.5%
|0.1%
|1.2%
|0.1%
|0.1%
|-
|Surrey
|517,887
|58.5%
|1.8%
|7.8%
|1.4%
|32.8%
|8.8%
|0.7%
|1.1%
|1.2%
|0.4%
|-
|Laval
|422,993
|26.1%
|7.8%
|1.0%
|3.1%
|2.1%
|2.1%
|1.0%
|8.2%
|0.3%
|0.1%
|-
|Halifax
|403,131
|11.4%
|3.8%
|2.2%
|0.3%
|1.6%
|0.9%
|0.3%
|1.8%
|0.3%
|0.1%
|-
|London
|383,822
|19.9%
|3.0%
|3.8%
|2.4%
|3.1%
|2.1%
|0.9%
|3.6%
|0.6%
|0.4%
|-
|Markham
|328,966
|77.9%
|2.9%
|46.8%
|0.5%
|17.8%
|3.8%
|2.4%
|1.0%
|2.1%
|0.9%
|-
|Vaughan
|306,233
|35.4%
|2.7%
|8.7%
|2.4%
|10.1%
|5.1%
|2.9%
|1.4%
|1.4%
|0.8%
|-
|Gatineau
|276,245
|13.5%
|6.1%
|1.0%
|1.5%
|0.4%
|0.7%
|0.3%
|3.1%
|0.3%
|0.2%
|-
|Longueuil
|239,700
|18.6%
|7.0%
|1.4%
|3.1%
|0.8%
|1.3%
|0.8%
|3.2%
|0.4%
|0.3%
|-
|Burnaby
|232,755
|63.6%
|1.6%
|38.9%
|2.0%
|8.1%
|7.7%
|2.2%
|0.7%
|2.1%
|0.3%
|-
|Saskatoon
|246,376
|19.8%
|2.2%
|3.6%
|0.8%
|5.5%
|5.4%
|0.5%
|1.0%
|0.6%
|0.2%
|-
|Kitchener
|233,222
|21.8%
|4.1%
|2.6%
|2.6%
|5.0%
|2.9%
|1.2%
|1.8%
|0.8%
|0.8%
|-
|Windsor
|217,188
|26.9%
|5.0%
|3.6%
|1.2%
|4.5%
|3.0%
|0.6%
|7.5%
|0.9%
|0.6%
|-
|Regina
|215,106
|19.2%
|3.0%
|6.2%
|0.6%
|5.9%
|5.2%
|0.3%
|0.7%
|0.4%
|0.2%
|-
|Richmond
|198,309
|76.3%
|0.6%
|55.6%
|0.8%
|7.3%
|7.9%
|0.6%
|0.8%
|2.4%
|0.2%
|-
|Richmond Hill
|195,022
|60.0%
|2.0%
|32.5%
|0.8%
|7.7%
|2.7%
|10.4%
|1.8%
|1.6%
|0.4%
|-
|Oakville
|193,832
|30.8%
|2.9%
|9.0%
|1.9%
|8.9%
|2.4%
|1.1%
|3.2%
|1.0%
|0.4%
|-
|Burlington
|183,314
|16.0%
|2.1%
|2.9%
|1.3%
|4.8%
|2.0%
|0.6%
|1.4%
|0.6%
|0.4%
|-
|Greater Sudbury
|161,531
|3.8%
|0.9%
|0.7%
|0.2%
|0.9%
|0.4%
|0.1%
|0.4%
|0.1%
|0.0%
|-
|Sherbrooke
|161,323
|7.3%
|2.2%
|0.4%
|1.7%
|0.3%
|0.4%
|0.8%
|1.2%
|0.2%
|0.0%
|-
|Oshawa
|159,458
|16.0%
|5.5%
|2.0%
|0.8%
|3.8%
|1.6%
|0.4%
|0.6%
|0.8%
|0.8%
|-
|Saguenay
|145,949
|1.4%
|0.5%
|0.2%
|0.2%
|0.1%
|0.1%
|0.0%
|0.2%
|0.0%
|0.0%
|-
|Lévis
|143,414
|2.2%
|0.7%
|0.3%
|0.4%
|0.1%
|0.2%
|0.0%
|0.4%
|0.0%
|0.0%
|-
|Barrie
|141,434
|10.3%
|2.7%
|1.8%
|1.1%
|2.2%
|1.4%
|0.2%
|0.3%
|0.4%
|0.3%
|-
|Abbotsford
|141,397
|33.7%
|1.0%
|3.0%
|0.8%
|25.5%
|2.2%
|0.2%
|0.2%
|0.5%
|0.2%
|-
|St. Catharines
|133,113
|12.7%
|2.9%
|2.7%
|1.7%
|1.4%
|1.8%
|0.3%
|1.1%
|0.7%
|0.2%
|-
|Trois-Rivières
|134,413
|3.5%
|1.4%
|0.3%
|0.8%
|0.1%
|0.2%
|0.0%
|0.6%
|0.0%
|0.0%
|-
|Cambridge
|129,920
|15.6%
|2.5%
|1.4%
|1.3%
|6.2%
|2.1%
|0.3%
|0.8%
|0.4%
|0.6%
|-
|Coquitlam
|139,284
|50.2%
|1.1%
|29.3%
|1.6%
|4.5%
|5.2%
|5.6%
|1.0%
|1.7%
|0.2%
|-
|Kingston
|123,798
|9.7%
|1.5%
|2.7%
|0.7%
|2.0%
|1.1%
|0.4%
|0.8%
|0.4%
|0.1%
|-
|Whitby
|128,377
|25.3%
|8.0%
|3.1%
|1.1%
|6.6%
|2.4%
|1.0%
|0.8%
|1.5%
|0.9%
|-
|Guelph
|131,794
|18.8%
|2.2%
|3.6%
|1.0%
|5.0%
|4.1%
|1.2%
|0.6%
|0.9%
|0.2%
|-
|Kelowna
|127,380
|9.5%
|0.8%
|2.9%
|0.6%
|2.6%
|1.6%
|0.3%
|0.2%
|0.3%
|0.2%
|-
|Saanich
|114,148
|22.1%
|1.0%
|10.5%
|0.7%
|5.0%
|3.0%
|0.4%
|0.6%
|0.6%
|0.2%
|-
|Ajax
|119,677
|56.7%
|16.7%
|3.2%
|1.4%
|20.9%
|5.3%
|2.4%
|1.7%
|2.4%
|2.7%
|-
|Thunder Bay
|107,909
|4.5%
|0.6%
|1.1%
|0.3%
|0.9%
|0.8%
|0.2%
|0.3%
|0.2%
|0.0%
|-
|Terrebonne
|111,575
|11.8%
|4.5%
|0.4%
|1.7%
|0.1%
|0.6%
|0.1%
|1.7%
|0.1%
|0.0%
|-
|St. John's
|108,860
|7.0%
|1.4%
|1.6%
|0.5%
|1.5%
|0.7%
|0.2%
|1.0%
|0.1%
|0.1%
|-
|Langley
|117,285
|18.7%
|1.0%
|8.0%
|0.9%
|4.4%
|3.0%
|0.3%
|0.3%
|0.5%
|0.1%
|-
|Chatham-Kent
|101,647
|4.6%
|2.1%
|0.6%
|0.2%
|0.6%
|0.5%
|0.0%
|0.2%
|0.2%
|0.1%
|-
|Milton
|110,128
|42.8%
|4.8%
|3.1%
|2.4%
|21.0%
|4.7%
|0.9%
|3.5%
|1.4%
|0.9%
|-
|Waterloo
|104,986
|26.4%
|1.9%
|10.6%
|1.4%
|6.4%
|1.7%
|1.1%
|1.8%
|0.9%
|0.6%
|-
|Delta
|102,238
|36.0%
|0.8%
|9.2%
|0.8%
|20.3%
|3.2%
|0.3%
|0.3%
|0.8%
|0.3%
|-
|Red Deer
|100,418
|15.5%
|1.8%
|1.8%
|1.8%
|1.7%
|7.0%
|0.4%
|0.5%
|0.4%
|0.1%
|}
Aboriginal population
{| class="wikitable"
|+Total aboriginal population
! rowspan="2" |Group
! colspan="2" |1996
! colspan="2" |2001
! colspan="2" |2006
! colspan="2" |2011
! colspan="2" |2016
|-
! %
!Total
! %
!Total
! %
!Total
! %
!Total
! %
!Total
|-
| align="left" |Total Aboriginal
|2.8%
|799,005
|3.3%
|976,305
|3.8%
|1,172,785
|4.3%
|1,400,685
|4.9%
|1,673,780
|-
| align="left" |First Nations
|1.8%
|529,040
|2.1%
|608,850
|2.2%
|698,025
|2.6%
|851,560
|2.8%
|977,230
|-
| align="left" |Métis
|0.7%
|204,115
|1.0%
|292,305
|1.2%
|389,780
|1.4%
|451,795
|1.7%
|587,545
|-
| align="left" |Inuit
|0.14%
|40,220
|
|
|0.16%
|50,485
|0.2%
|59,445
|0.2%
|65,025
|}
Note: Inuit, other Aboriginal and mixed Aboriginal groups are not listed as their own, but they are all accounted for in total Aboriginal
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header" style=text-align:left" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+Aboriginal population by province and territory, 2011