Canadian ethnicity

Canadian ethnicity refers to the self-identification of one's ethnic origin as being Canadian. The identification is most common among white Canadians who do not identify with their ethnic ancestral origins due to generational distance from European ancestors.

Canadians with ancestral origins in the British Isles and France are the most likely groups to identify ethnically as Canadian. As their languages, traditions, and cultural practices largely define Canadian society, many do not see themselves as linked to any other nation or ethnic group. Nonetheless, most English-speaking Old Stock Canadians still identify ethnically with their European ancestry, while French-speaking Old Stock Canadians are more likely to identify ethnically as Canadian or with other North American identities (such as Québécois or Acadian) than with European ones.

Indigenous Canadians do not identify ethnically as Canadian, identifying instead with their First Nation group, as Inuit, or as Métis.

"Canadian" was the most common ethnic or cultural origin reported in the 2021 census, reported alone or in combination with other origins by 5.67 million people or 15.6% of the total population.

Definition


There exists a contrast in the meaning of ethnicity between English- and French-speaking Canadians. Social scientist Rhoda Howard-Hassmann has stated that among English-speaking Canadians, ethnic identity is frequently misunderstood as meaning biological ancestry, "so that everyone's true identity is presumed to be rooted somewhere else". French-speaking Canadians more frequently associate their ethnic origin with their nation, rooted in heritage rather than biological ancestry.

Canadian identity in English and in French emerged separately from one another and often hold different meanings for speakers of each language. Canadian identity tends to have a more historic meaning to it in French, due to its earlier usage among ethnic French Canadians. In the late 17th century, French settlers in Canada, then a colony within New France, adopted "Canadien" as an ethnonym to distinguish themselves from the people of France. During this time, the identity was unique to French settlers. In late 18th century, following the arrival of United Empire Loyalists to British North America, Canadian identity was adopted by English-speakers. Descendants of 17th and 18th century French settlers began using "French Canadian" and since the 1960s "Québécois" to distinguish themselves from other Canadians.

Statistical data
The 1996 census was the first in which Statistics Canada allowed "Canadian" as a valid ethnic origin response. It was immediately the most common origin reported, and was met with a significant decline in English and French origin responses when compared to previous censuses. Individuals with Scottish or Irish origins were likely to list these origins alongside with "Canadian", and the number of responses for them did not significantly change.

Lower educational attainment, residing outside of a metropolitan area, and having a French language background are all indicators of Canadian ethnic identity. In 2001, nearly one-third of those with a high school education or less indicated only Canadian ethnicity, compared to less than 20% of those with a bachelor's degree or higher. Across all provinces, residents of non-metropolitan areas are significantly more likely to report Canadian ethnicity than metropolitan residents. Likelihood is consistent among both men and women.

In comparison to other settler countries, Canadians are more likely than Americans but less likely than Australians to identify their nationality as their ancestral origin. 5.3% of the U.S. population claim American ancestry according to the 2022 American Community Survey, while 29.9% of respondents nominated Australian ancestry in the 2021 Australian census.

Of the 5.67 million people who identified their ethnic origin as Canadian in the 2021 census, 4.18 million reported it as a single origin while 1.49 million reported it in combination with other origins.



The decline in Canadian ethnic origin responses in 2021 is largely due to changes in the format of the ethnic origin question in the census. Each census questionnaire between 1996 and 2016 included a list of examples of ethnic origins to enter, all with "Canadian" as the first example listed, except in 1996 when it was the fifth example. In 2016, there were 28 examples listed. The 2021 census did not list any examples, negatively affecting a respondent's likelihood of entering "Canadian" as an origin. Less consequentially, prior to the 2021 census, a respondent answering "French Canadian" would be counted once for French and once for Canadian. New ethnic categories were created for the 2021 census, including "French Canadian" as a single ethnic group, reported by 906,000 individuals. The 2021 census figure for Canadian ethnic identity is not comparable to those of previous years.

Between the censuses of 2016 and 2021, the number of people reporting "Canadian" as their single ethnic origin declined from 6.43 million to 4.18 million, while it declined more significantly from 11.13 million to 5.67 million when including responses with other origins. Between these years, there was a significant increase in other non-Indigenous North American origins. Responses for "Québécois" increased from 195,000 to 982,000.

For the 2021 census, Statistics Canada stated "ethnic or cultural origins refers to the ethnic or cultural origins of the person's ancestors. Ancestors may have Indigenous origins, or origins that refer to different countries, or other origins that may not refer to different countries". For the 2006 census, Statistics Canada stated "ethnic origin responses in the census are a reflection of each respondent's perception of their ethnic ancestry".

Geographic distribution
Canadian ethnic identity is most prevalent in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, which were the first parts of the country to be settled by Europeans. Identification is particularly high in Quebec, where the majority French Canadian population traces their ancestry to settlers who arrived to North America from the Kingdom of France between 1608 and 1760. After this year, settlement from France stopped, leaving a founding population of roughly 8,500 settlers. An estimated 7 million French Canadians today are descendants of these original 8,500 settlers. This has made French Canadians a classical example of a founder population. Western Canada was not largely populated by Europeans until the 20th century, leading to lower numbers of people in Western provinces who identify ethnically with Canada today.



Addition to the census


Prior to 1996, "Canadian" as a response for an ethnic origin was explicitly discouraged in the census. Respondents were instructed to enter only "Old World" or "Native Indian" ancestries, and were "allowed to record Canadian only if the respondent insisted", though it was not commonly done before 1991. In 1986, 112,830 people reported a Canadian ethnic identity.

A campaign named "Count Me Canadian" was organized in 1990 with the Toronto Sun encouraging the entry of "Canadian" to the 1991 census ethnic origin question. The campaign was initiated by the belief that ethnic differences were the cause of the "national unity crisis" amid the rise of the Quebec sovereignty movement several years before the 1995 Quebec independence referendum. Over one million respondents entered "Canadian" as their ethnic origin, making it the fifth most common single origin response. This led to changes to the following 1996 census ethnic origin question. It became open-ended, prompting respondents to write-in their answer rather than checking a box from a list, with "Canadian" listed alongside other examples as a response.