CENSUS 2001: CANADA’S CHANGING FACE
YV Introduction
Focus
This News in Review module looks
at the 2001 Canadian census and the
social trends it
highlights as the
information and
statistics continue
to be released.
Special attention is
given to those
trends that most
analysts have
identified as critical
to Canada’s future
development.
YV Sections
marked with this
symbol indicate
content suitable for
younger viewers.
Did you know . . .
Jean Talon of New
France conducted
Canada’s first
census, in 1666?
The population was
3215, the majority
being males.
Further Research
It takes about 14
months to release
all the results of
the census. Basic
data at the community level is made
available free of
charge on the
Statistics Canada
Web site at
www.statcan.ca.
A Canadian census is a massive undertaking. The most recent one officially
conducted on May 15, 2001, was no
exception. It took a full seven years to
complete: questions developed and
organized; forms printed, delivered,
collected and checked; information
tabulated, analyzed, and then made
available to the public. It required
34 000 canvassers to distribute forms to
11.8 million households. During its
most active period, from April through
June 2001, the census employed 45 000
people, making it one of Canada’s 10
largest employers. The cost was $412.5million, or about $35 per household.
Two different forms were distributed.
Most households received a short form
with seven questions dealing with age,
sex, marital status, and mother tongue.
Every fifth household, however, received a long form asking 59 questions
about ethnic and national background,
language, education, mobility, employment, and income. The responses form
the basis for the trends described in
information released to the public by
Statistics Canada.
Census information is eagerly
awaited and absolutely critical to governments, social agencies, and many
businesses. As Elaine Carey, a demographics reporter for the Toronto Star
has written, “Every piece of planning
that deals with people—from immigration services to housing, transportation
requirements and schools—depends on
data from the census” (July 20, 2002).
Among other things, population
statistics determine the number of
members of Parliament and the areas
they represent. Federal and provincial
governments use the figures to determine transfer payments from richer
areas of the country to the poorer ones.
Local governments use the information
to plan locations for schools, hospitals,
and senior services. Government agencies use the data for long-term planning
to ensure that programs match the
changing needs of the population.
Each time a census is held some of
the questions change. New questions in
2001 dealt with language used at work,
the number of different languages
spoken at home, parents’ birthplaces,
and same-sex couples.
The next census, already well into the
planning stages, will be held in 2006.
This time, forms will be mailed rather
than delivered to 80 per cent of households, and respondents will have the
option of answering on the Internet.
Statistics Canada hopes that at least 30
to 40 per cent of Canadians will respond in that fashion.
To Consider
What questions do you think would be of the greatest interest to the governments and planners relying on census data? Write your answers in your
notebook and then compare your answers with the data identified on the
video.
CBC News in Review • March 2003 • Page 34
CENSUS 2001: CANADA’S CHANGING FACE
YV Video Review
To help you understand the scope
and importance of
the 2001 census,
watch the video
and answer the
questions on this
and the following
page.
1. What is the most important role of the Canadian census?
2. Name three things that the census allows the federal government to do.
i) _______________________________________________________________
ii) _______________________________________________________________
iii) _______________________________________________________________
3. What federal agency oversees the census? __________________________
4. How often is a census taken? ______________________
5. What percentage of the Canadian population was born outside of
Canada? _____%
6. How many immigrants came to Canada between 1991-2001?
7. What percentage of new immigrants are visible minorities? _______%
8. From which part of the world did the largest proportion of immigrants
come?
9. Where do most immigrants live after they come to Canada?
10. Who are the Allophones? _____________________________
11. Give an example of the way the federal government might use census
information.
12. Give an example of the way a local government might use census
information.
CBC News in Review • March 2003 • Page 35
13. Name two major implications of the aging of the Canadian population.
i) _______________________________________________________________
ii) _______________________________________________________________
14. According to the census, what is happening to the “traditional” Canadian family?
15. Give two examples of other types of families identified by the census.
i) _______________________________________________________________
ii) _______________________________________________________________
16. What is the percentage of adult children living at home with their
parents? _____%
Discussion
After watching the video, discuss the following in small groups:
What do you think is the most important piece of information we have
learned from the 2001 Census?
Why?
Be prepared to share your answers.
CBC News in Review • March 2003 • Page 36
CENSUS 2001: CANADA’S CHANGING FACE
YV The Numbers Tell the Story
Statistics Canada
spells it out in cold,
hard numbers: We
are an overwhelmingly urban nation
whose future
depends on immigration.” — Toronto Star, March
13, 2002
Definition
Demographics are
population statistics such as births,
deaths, and nationality studied by
demographers.
“We’re relying
more and more on
immigration to
sustain the growth
of the population
and therefore the
growth of the
market.” — David
Foot, University of
Toronto professor,
in the National
Post, March 12,
2002
“Instead of a loose
affiliation of Atlantic Canada, Quebec,
Ontario, and the
West, for the first
time this country’s
foundation is
formed by four
sprawling urban
centres.” — James
Travers, Toronto
Star, March 23,
2002
Statistics Canada likes to describe the
census as providing a “snapshot” of the
country on a particular day: in this case,
May 15, 2001. By comparing the most
recent statistics with those of previous
censuses, demographers can identify
trends in Canadian society and predict
future developments with considerable
accuracy.
Statistics Canada releases its information over a 14-month period under a
variety of different headings. Here are
some of its major findings as of March
1, 2003.
Population Growth
Between 1996 and 2001, Canada’s
population grew by four per cent, to
30 007 094 inhabitants.
For the first time since the Second
World War, the natural increase was
outpaced by immigration. Canada’s
natural population increase (i.e. that due
to the Canadian birth rate) is in steep
decline.
Not all parts of Canada saw population increases from 1996 to 2001.
The largest percentage increase in
population was in Alberta, up by 10.3
per cent. Nunavut saw an 8 per cent
increase. While Ontario and British
Columbia grew at rates above the
national average of 4 per cent,
Manitoba, Quebec, and Prince Edward
Island saw smaller gains.
Newfoundland and Labrador saw the
most significant decline in population: 7
per cent, the biggest drop in the
province’s history. The Yukon and
Northwest Territories, New Brunswick,
Saskatchewan and—for the first time—
Nova Scotia, all saw a population
decline.
Urbanization
The trend for Canadians to move to
urban centres continued.
As of 2001, 79.4 per cent of Canadians lived in cities of 10 000 or more.
Two-thirds of these lived in Canada’s
27 largest metropolitan areas.
Canadian demographers began to
speak of “doughnuts,” suburban communities that ring major cities. In most
of these areas, such as Toronto, the
population in the core grew more
slowly than in the surrounding area. In
some, like Regina, the city’s population
actually declined by 1.2 per cent while
the surrounding area grew by 10 per
cent.
Four major metropolitan areas accounted for fully one-half of Canada’s
urban dwellers. These were:
• the Golden Horseshoe (the west end
of Lake Ontario)
• Montreal and its surroundings
• lower mainland of British Columbia
• the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor
An Aging Population
Baby boomers, those Canadians born
between 1946 and 1966, make up over
30 per cent of the total population (9.4
million).
The national median age—the age
where half the population is older and
half is younger—rose from 35.3 in 1996
to 37.6 in 2001.
In 2001, for every person aged 55 to 64,
there were only 1.4 persons aged 15 to 24.
The number of Canadians aged 80 or
older rose by 41 per cent to 932 000
between 1991 and 2001. During the
same period, the number of Canadians
aged four and under rose by 11 per cent
to 1.7 million.
CBC News in Review • March 2003 • Page 37
Families and Marital Status
Definition
Empty-nesters are
older couples
whose children
have left the family
home; DINKs are
couples who have
chosen not to have
children (Double
Income No Kids).
“The census figures
confirm Canada has
been smart in
entrenching a
policy that brings
more immigrants
proportionately
than even the
United States, and
is already producing more citizens
by naturalization
than by birth.” —
Haroon Siddiqui,
Toronto Star, July
21, 2002
The number of households in Canada
rose by 6.9 per cent since 1996, to 11.6
million. The number of “traditional”
households of four or more (mother,
father, two-plus children), however,
declined from 33 per cent of the total in
1981 to 25 per cent in 2001.
Twenty-five per cent of households
consist of only one person; 12.5 per
cent of the Canadian population lives
alone. Frances Kobin, a U.S. demographer, has called this trend toward
“solitary households” the greatest
change in living arrangements of the
last century.
In 1981, 83 per cent of all families
included a married couple. In 2001, that
figure had dropped to 70 percent. In
1981, 84 per cent of children under 14
lived with both (married) parents; by
2001, it was 68 per cent.
The number of couples with no
children under 25 at home rose from 34
per cent in 1981 to 41 per cent of all
families in 2001. Many of these were
empty-nesters; but a significant number
were DINKs.
From 1981 to 2001, the number of
common-law households grew from 6
to 14 per cent.
Immigration and Visible
Minorities
Between 1991 and 2001 1.8 million
new immigrants came to Canada.
The highest percentage of the population (18.4 per cent) since 1931 reported
being foreign-born: 5.4 million people.
Australia, at 22 per cent, is the only
country in the world with a higher
percentage of foreign-born residents.
Sixty per cent of new immigrants
reported speaking neither English nor
French at home, and 9.4 per cent reported
no knowledge of either official language.
More than half of the new immigrants
to Canada settled in Ontario. Most
immigrants to Canada settled in urban
areas. “Immigrants move where they have
family, friends, networks,” says Doug
Norris of Statistics Canada (National
Post, October 23, 2002). Between 1996
and 2001, 445 000 immigrants settled in
the Toronto area. Another 180 000 chose
the area around Vancouver.
Four million people identified themselves as members of visible minorities.
This is 13.4 per cent of the total population of Canada. In 1981, visible minorities made up 4.7 per cent of the population. They now represent 73 per cent of
new immigrants.
Labour Force Activity
The greatest job growth in the period
from 1991 to 2001 was in computer
specialists, and included a large spin-off
of low-skill workers in call centres.
The most common job for women
was in sales. The most common job for
men was truck driving. However, if all
jobs in information technology (IT)
were combined, IT had the highest
number of employees.
The greatest potential for new job
creation is predicted to be in health care
and social services (partly in response
to an aging population).
Of the 15.6 million jobs in the labour
force, 2.5 million were ones that normally required a university education—
up 33 per cent since 1991
The work force is getting older. The
average age of a worker was 39 in
2001, up from 37.1 in 1991. The median age for working-age individuals
(those 20 to 64 years old) saw its biggest 10-year increase since 1921—from
38.1 in 1991 to 41.3 in 2001. Many
predict it will reach 43.7 in 2011. Fifteen
per cent of the work force of 15.6 million
people is within 10 years of retirement.
CBC News in Review • March 2003 • Page 38
New immigrants were responsible for
70 per cent of the labour growth over
the decade.
Problems and Opportunities
The demographic trends identified by
the 2001 census identify both problems
likely to face Canadians in the future,
and opportunities for Canada’s advancement as a nation. Some trends, in
fact, present both problems and opportunities.
Activity
From the information given, identify five trends that you feel are particularly significant for Canada’s future. Enter these on the left side of the table,
and explain in the appropriate box why you feel the trend highlights a
problem or an opportunity—or both.
Compare your results with those of the other members of the class.
2001 Census Trends
Problems to Solve
Opportunities for Canada
In your opinion, which trend is most important? Why?
CBC News in Review • March 2003 • Page 39
CENSUS 2001: CANADA’S CHANGING FACE
YV Toronto and the Challenge to the Cities
Did you know . . .
Torontonians come
from 169 different
countries? The city
has residents from
500 different ethnic
groups consisting
of at least 5000
people. The Toronto Public Library
has books in over
100 languages and
maintains active
collections in 39
languages
When the City of Toronto amalgamated, it took as its new motto “Diversity
Our Strength.”
According to Statistics Canada,
Toronto now has the highest percentage
of foreign-born residents in the world. It
only took one generation for a city with
an almost exclusively white population
to become one of the most diverse cities
in the world. Of the Greater Toronto
Area’s 4.6 million people, 1.7 million—
36.8 per cent—are visible minorities.
Minorities will likely soon dominate the
city’s population. “We are seeing a
progressive diversification of the Canadian population over time, and eventually Toronto will become a majority
minority city,” says Jeffrey Reitz, a
University of Toronto sociology professor (Toronto Star, January 22, 2003).
In general, urban centres are magnets
for new immigrants. Twelve per cent of
new immigrants settle in Montreal, 15
per cent in Vancouver, and 48 per cent
in Toronto.
Most new immigrants prefer living in
cities like Toronto because most new
immigrants (especially refugees) are
poor. Toronto offers more services for
immigrants and poor people, such as
cheaper rental housing and public
transportation, than do the surrounding
suburban or rural areas.
While many new immigrants are
highly skilled and well-educated newcomers who are able to join established
immigrant communities, their experiences are not always the smoothest
when they settle in Canada.
Myrlene Martin’s Story
Myrlene Martin is a Filipina who
immigrated to Canada with her family
in 1998. A registered nurse with more
than 12 years experience in the Philippines and Saudi Arabia, she found that
her foreign qualifications were not
readily accepted in Toronto. Instead,
she found a job on the manufacturing
line of a computer maker. “Nurses,
dentists, doctors, engineers—every
aspect of the professions started at
Celestica (Inc.) when I was there”
(Toronto Star, February 11, 2003).
Before Celestica, Martin held jobs in a
burger chain and a boutique. A pilot
program sponsored by the Ontario
government and area hospitals enabled
her to upgrade her qualifications and get
work at the Hospital for Sick Children.
Other immigrants to Toronto have not
been as fortunate as Martin. Royson
James, a columnist for the Toronto Star,
has written of the large number of
immigrants who “feel despair at having
their accreditations rejected, their
achievements from other lands unrecognized, and their professional skills go
unused in this so-called welcoming
country. The word is going out, back to
the homelands of the world, that if you
come to Canada, you might have to turn
in your stethoscope for a cab licence”
(Toronto Star, March 25, 2002).
Immigration has also placed a strain
on the Toronto school system. One in
four children in Toronto has immigrated
during the past 10 years; half of these
speak a language other than English at
home. Instruction in English as a Second Language has become a critical
need. At the same time the school board
has been forced to cut its budget drastically.
Toronto currently spends about $26million per year on services for immi-
CBC News in Review • March 2003 • Page 40
Cities are the locus
for the problems of
real life, but they
don’t have the
economic clout or
the political expertise to solve them.”
— Frank Graves,
Ekos Research
(Toronto Star,
March 23, 2002)
During the period
1996-2001, federal
revenues rose by 36
per cent; provincial
revenues by 26 per
cent; municipal
revenues by seven
per cent.
grants. It could easily spend far more.
While the financial pressures on
Toronto (and other Canadian cities) are
extensive, the census has shown that
immigration services are the most
significant.
Government Responsibility
Under the current system, the federal
government selects Canada’s immigrants without any consultation with the
cities in which they will settle. Toronto,
like other cities, has seen provincial
caps on the taxes it can raise, the offloading of provincial responsibilities,
and shrinking intergovernmental transfers. There is no mechanism for official
discussion of these issues among the
various levels of government. In fact,
the federal government is quick to
blame the provinces and cite a need for
constitutional change before it can
intervene.
Toronto Star columnist James
Travers is only one of many commentators calling for a change in the way
Canada’s cities are governed. He calls
the cities “national economic engines”
that are dependent on their host provinces and distanced from their own tax
bases. They have far fewer powers than
cities in the U.S. and Europe, and few
sources of revenue. Many of these same
commentators expect that the lessons of
the 2001 census will force governments
to re-examine the role of cities in
Canada’s economy. Cities need additional ways of raising revenue to meet
the needs of all their residents.
Discussion
Toronto’s revenue problems are hardly unique. What are the special demands made for program funding in your community? What programs have
been modified? What new programs have been added as a result of funding
decisions over the past few years?
CBC News in Review • March 2003 • Page 41
CENSUS 2001: CANADA’S CHANGING FACE
YV Planning for the Future
The 2001 Census has identified many
of the challenges that Canadians must
face in coming years. While these
challenges may seem almost overwhelming, they also provide opportunities for Canadians and their governments to take action now to anticipate
future problems and plan for effective
solutions. As Daniel Girard has written
in the Toronto Star, public discussion of
solutions to solve these problems “will
. . . force older people to think about the
country they want to leave to the next
generation and give younger people an
opportunity to better shape their destiny.”
An aging population and the possibility of a real population decline are the
causes of many of the challenges facing
Canada. Current fertility rates are not
enough to prevent a population decline.
On average, Canadian women are
giving birth to 1.5 children during their
lifetime; a birth rate of 2.1 is required
just to keep the population steady.
Meanwhile, as the population ages,
some very basic questions have to be
asked by governments. Who will look
after this aging population? How will
we finance their needs? How must
governments adjust their spending on
infrastructure—for example, do we
need to begin to think in terms of fewer
schools and more hospitals? Two areas
seem to be of fundamental concern to
most analysts: the labour force and
immigration.
The Labour Force
By 2011, 20 per cent of baby boomers,
Canada’s largest demographic group,
will be 61 or older. As they retire, there
will be a huge demand for new workers
to take their place. Meanwhile, however, the number of young people
entering the work force has dropped
considerably from 20 years ago: In
1981, there were 3.7 entrants per retiree; in 2001, the number was 2.7
entrants per retiree.
Most experts predict that several
industries will be hit with a significant
shortage of workers within a decade.
The C. D. Howe Institute identifies
health and education as two of the
largest problem areas for finding sufficient workers. Many industries will rely
almost exclusively on immigrants to fill
jobs. Over the previous decade, new
immigrants accounted for 70 per cent of
Canada’s labour growth. At the same
time, Canadians have made it more
difficult for new immigrants to find a
job. In 2001, only 65.8 per cent of
recent immigrants (those who came to
Canada within the last five years) were
employed, whereas 81.8 per cent of
those born in Canada were able to find
employment.
Several suggestions have been made
to help ease the potential crisis. These
include raising the retirement age to
nearly 70 from the current 65, and
improving opportunities for education,
training, and retraining for workers.
Governments and industries also need
to increase productivity.
As we come to rely more and more
on immigration to sustain our labour
force, we need to make sure that immigrants are permitted to practise in the
professions and trades for which they
were trained. This will require assistance with professional and trade certification requirements, and the prevention of hiring discrimination.
CBC News in Review • March 2003 • Page 42
“Right now, we
have people who
could be working
in the medical field
who are driving
cabs or cleaning
buildings.” —
Loleen Berdahl,
acting president,
the Canada West
Foundation, in the
Toronto Star, July
20, 2002
“Race relations is
going to become a
more central issue
in Canadian society
in the future; I
think that’s really a
foregone conclusion.” — Jeffery
Reitz, professor of
immigration studies, University of
Toronto, in the
National Post,
January 21, 2003
Immigration and Visible
Minorities
It is expected that, by 2016, one in
every five Canadians will be a member
of a visible minority. Visible minorities
are already in the majority in two large
Canadian communities: Richmond,
British Columbia (59 per cent), and
Markham, Ontario (56 per cent).
In the future, Canada will be competing with other developed countries
facing actual population declines. At
the moment, Canada has a real advantage because of its historical willingness
to openly accept new immigrants and
its reputation as a friendly, welcoming
nation. However the picture is not rosy
for all immigrants.
Toronto Star columnist Haroon
Siddiqui identified in a March 17, 2002,
article several disturbing developments
in the situation of Toronto’s immigrant
community. These included the failure
of provincial regulatory bodies to allow
immigrant professionals to practise; a
steady decline in immigrant incomes;
and the growth of poverty in Toronto,
especially among people of colour.
A study by Michael Orenstein of
York University backs this up. He
found that recent immigrants to the city
are taking longer than previous groups
to settle, to get jobs with good incomes,
and to move up the economic scale.
Almost every one of the poorest groups
in the city is a visible minority, and
there is ample evidence that they face a
significant amount of discrimination in
the labour market.
A decline in fertility rates, an aging
population and labour force, and the
need for substantial numbers of immigrants are all components of the same
equation. Canada has committed itself
to building a multicultural society; now
it must work to ensure that that society
works for all its members.
Discussion
In the video, Daniel Drache of York University responds to the idea that
Canada is creating two different societies: an urban, multicultural one and a
rural, unicultural one. He suggests the possibility of real conflicts between
the new “two solitudes.” Do you think this is a realistic scenario for
Canada’s future? How might Canada avoid this problem?
CBC News in Review • March 2003 • Page 43
CENSUS 2001: CANADA’S CHANGING FACE
YV Your Community Profile
Statistics Canada
has published
Community Profiles
for all Canadian
communities on its
Web site at
www.statcan.ca..
Once you have
entered the site,
choose English or
French as your
preferred language. You can
immediately choose
the Community
Profiles button to
view them. You
may also access the
profiles under the
Census button.
A note to
teachers:
The StatsCan Web
site includes a
Teacher’s Kit with
an excellent section, aimed at
secondary schools,
on designing a
survey. This would
be helpful in
assisting students
to plan and conduct any survey,
not just a censustype one.
Canadian residents who received the 59-question “long form” for the 2001
census were asked a wide variety of questions. Some of the most important
ones were designed to help governments understand the makeup of the
Canadian population and to plan for social and cultural assistance. These
included questions of ethnicity, language, and national origin.
The following page adapts some of the questions asked on the census questionnaire. Depending on to whom the questions are administered, you can
develop a community profile of:
Your Class—if each student answers the form;
Your Grade—if your class determines a simple method for ensuring that
each student receives and completes a form;
Your School—if the class is prepared to undertake a major survey and the
extensive sorting and collating of responses resulting from a large survey.
Please remember that all responses should be kept confidential, and no
individual data should be released (all census employees take a legal oath to
preserve in perpetuity the confidentiality of all information received).
Once all information has been received, and a small group of volunteers has
collated the responses, you will be able to compare the results from your
“micro-community” with those of the larger community reported on the
Statistics Canada Web site.
Discussion
Are the results you received similar to those reported for the larger community? If there are differences, what factors—age, school location, economic
conditions—might explain them?
CBC News in Review • March 2003 • Page 44
A Census Questionnaire
Please answer all of the following questions to the best of your knowledge
and ability.
1. Where were you born?
__
Born in Canada: Specify province or territory __________________
__
Born outside Canada: Specify country _________________________
2. Of what country are you a citizen?
__
Canada by birth
__
Canada by naturalization
__
Other country: Specify ______________________________
3. Are you now, or have you ever been a landed immigrant?
__
No
__
Yes
4. Can you speak English or French well enough to conduct a conversation?
__
English only
__
French only
__
Both English and French
__
Neither English nor French
5. What language, other than English or French, can you speak well
enough to conduct a conversation?
__
None OR
__
Specify other language(s) _____________________________
6. What language do you speak most often at home?
__ English __ French __ Other: Specify _____________________
7. What is the language that you first learned at home in childhood and
still understand?
__
English
__
French
__
Other: Specify ________________________________
8. To which ethnic or cultural groups did your ancestors belong? (For
example: Canadian, French, English, Chinese, Italian, German, Scottish,
Irish, Cree, Micmac, Métis, Inuit, East Indian, Ukrainian, Dutch, Filipino,
Jewish, Jamaican, Vietnamese, Lebanese, Chilean, Somali, etc.) Specify
as many as applicable:
9. Where were each of your parents born?
Father: __ Born in Canada
__ Born outside Canada: Specify country _____________________
Mother: __ Born in Canada
__ Born outside Canada: Specify country _____________________
CBC News in Review • March 2003 • Page 45