2001 Canadian census

May 15, 2001

General information
CountryCanada
Results
Total population30,007,094 (Increase 4.0%)
Most populous province/territoryOntario (11,410,046)
Least populous province/territoryNunavut (26,745)

The 2001 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094.[1] This was a 4% increase over 1996 census of 28,846,761. In contrast, the official Statistics Canada population estimate for 2001 was 31,021,300. This is considered a more accurate population number than the actual count.[2]

The previous census was the 1996 census and the following census was in 2006 census.

Canada by the numbers

A summary of information about Canada.

Total population30,007,094
Dwellings12,548,588
Men14,706,850
Women15,300,245
Median age37.6 years
Average earnings$31,757

Census summary

Canada has experienced one of the smallest census-to-census growth rates in its population. From 1996 to 2001, the nation's population increased only 4.0%. The census counted 30,007,094 people on May 15, 2001, compared with 28,846,761 on May 14, 1996.

Only three provinces and one territory had growth rates above the national average. Alberta's population soared 10.3%, Ontario gained 6.1% and British Columbia, 4.9%. Nunavut's population rose 8.1%. The population of Newfoundland and Labrador declined for the second consecutive census period.

Urbanization continued. In 2001, 79.4% of Canadians lived in an urban centre of 10,000 people or more, compared with 78.5% in 1996. Outside the urban centres, the population of rural and small-town areas declined 0.4%.

In 2001, just over 64% of the nation's population, or about 19,297,000 people, lived in the 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs), up slightly from 63% in 1996. Seven of these 27 CMAs saw their populations grow at a rate of at least double the national average. The strongest rise, by far, occurred in Calgary.

From 1996 to 2001, the nation's population concentrated further in four broad urban regions: the extended Golden Horseshoe in southern Ontario; Montreal and environs; British Columbia's Lower Mainland and southern Vancouver Island; and the Calgary-Edmonton corridor. In 2001, 51% of Canada's population lived in these regions, compared with 49% in 1996.

Population by province/territory

Rank Province or territory Population as of
2001 census
Population as of
1996 census
Change Percent
change
1  Ontario 11,410,046 10,753,573 656,473 Increase 6.1 Increase
2  Quebec 7,237,479 7,138,795 98,684 Increase 1.4 Increase
3  British Columbia 3,907,738 3,724,500 183,238 Increase 4.9 Increase
4  Alberta 2,974,807 2,696,826 277,981 Increase 10.3 Increase
5  Manitoba 1,119,583 1,113,898 5,685 Increase 0.5 Increase
6  Saskatchewan 978,933 990,237 -2,318 Decrease -1.1 Decrease
7  Nova Scotia 908,007 909,282 -1,275 Decrease -0.1 Decrease
8  New Brunswick 729,498 738,133 -8,635 Decrease -1.2 Decrease
9  Newfoundland and Labrador 512,930 551,792 -38,862 Decrease -7.0 Decrease
10  Prince Edward Island 135,294 134,557 737 Increase 0.5 Increase
11  Northwest Territories 37,360 39,672 [3] -2,312 Decrease -5.8 Decrease
12  Yukon 28,674 30,766 -2,092 Decrease -6.8 Decrease
13  Nunavut 26,745 24,730 [4] 2,015 Increase 8.1 Increase
 Canada 30,007,094 28,846,761 1,160,333 Increase 4.0 Increase

Demographics

Mother tongue

Population by mother tongue of Canada's official languages:

Mother tonguePopulation
English17,572,170
French6,741,955
Bilingual122,660
Other5,202,240

Aboriginal peoples

Population of Aboriginal peoples in Canada:

Aboriginal Population976,305
North American Indian608,850
Métis292,305
Inuit45,070

Ethnic origin

Population by ethnic origin. Only those origins with more than 250,000 respondents are included here. This is based entirely on self reporting.

Ethnic originsTotal responsesSingle responsesMultiple responses 2
Total population29,639,03518,307,54011,331,490
Canadian11,682,6806,748,1354,934,550
English5,978,8751,479,5204,499,355
French4,668,4101,060,7553,607,655
Scottish4,157,210607,2353,549,975
Irish3,822,660496,8653,325,800
German2,742,765705,5952,037,170
Italian1,270,370726,275544,090
Chinese1,094,700936,210158,490
Ukrainian1,071,060326,200744,860
North American Indian1,000,890455,805545,085
Dutch (Netherlands)923,310316,220607,090
Polish817,085260,415556,670
African731,044UnknownUnknown
East Indian713,330581,665131,665
Norwegian363,76047,230316,530
Portuguese357,690252,835104,855
Welsh350,36528,445321,925
Jewish348,605186,475162,130
Russian337,96070,890267,070
Filipino327,545266,14061,410
Métis307,84572,210235,635
Swedish282,76030,440252,320
Hungarian (Magyar)267,25591,795175,460
American (USA)250,01025,200224,805

Religion

Population by religion. Only those religions with more than 250,000 respondents are included here. The census question was partly aided—that is, the questionnaire form gave examples of some of the denominations but not others. The actual question asked is noted below.

ReligionTotal responses % of Population
Roman Catholic12,793,12543.2
No religion4,796,32516.2
United Church2,839,1259.6
Anglican2,035,5006.9
Christian n.i.e.[5]780,4502.6
Baptist729,4702.5
Lutheran606,5902.0
Muslim579,6402.0
Protestant n.i.e.[5]549,2051.9
Presbyterian409,8301.4
Pentecostal369,4751.2
Jewish329,9951.1
Buddhist300,3451.0
Hindu297,2001.0
Sikh278,4100.9
Jediism21,0000.1

The actual question asked: "What is this person's religion? Indicate a specific denomination or religion even if this person is not currently a practising member of that group.

For example, Roman Catholic, Ukrainian Catholic, United Church, Anglican, Lutheran, Baptist, Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Jewish, Islam, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, etc."

Visible minorities

Visible minorityTotal responses % of Population
Chinese1,029,3953.47
South Asian917,0703.09
Black662,2152.23
Filipino308,5751.04
Others1,066,5903.60
Not a visible
minority
25,655,18586.56

Age

Population by age:

AgePopulation
0–4 years1,696,285
5–14 years4,029,255
15–19 years2,053,325
20–24 years1,955,810
25–44 years9,096,560
45–54 years4,419,290
55–64 years2,868,015
65–74 years2,142,835
75–84 years1,329,810
85 years and over415,910

Methodology

Every person was legally required to return the census questionnaire that required answering basic demographic information. In addition randomly selected people were legally required to complete a much more detailed questionnaire.

On May 15, 2001, Statistics Canada had thousands of canvassers who went around to try to ensure that the entire population was counted. For the first time, this included canvassers who went to homeless shelters to ensure that the homeless were included in the census.

In addition to a small number of individuals who refused to participate, some first nation communities refused to participate en masse and therefore some of the statistics are inaccurate. This is noted as footnotes in many of the affected results.

Effects of the census

The census numbers are the basis of the federal governments transfer payments to the provinces and therefore when a province loses population, its transfer payments are decreased.

In addition, the census numbers are one of the elements that Elections Canada uses to create the boundaries of federal ridings.

See also

References

  1. "2001 Census facts: did you know..." (PDF). Statistics Canada. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
  2. "Population estimates". Statistics Canada. 2006. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
  3. Adjusted figure due to boundary change
  4. Adjusted figure due to boundary change
  5. 1 2 not included elsewhere
  • 2001 Census - Statistics Canada's page on the 2001 census.
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