Analytical products, 2021 Census

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021018

Description: This article offers an initial in-depth analysis of participation in French immersion programs in Canada outside Quebec, based on 2021 Census data. This analysis examines factors that may be related to availability of French immersion programs and choosing of these programs. In addition, it looks at the possible links between schooling in a French immersion program and English–French bilingualism as well as the use of French at home or at work in adulthood.

Insights on Canadian Society: 75-006-X202400100003

Description: This study examines enrolment in French-language elementary schools in the Maritime provinces—i.e., New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island—according to the distance between children’s homes and French- and English-language schools. The study is based on data from the 2021 Census of Population and on data from the 2022 Open Database on Educational Facilities.

Insights on Canadian Society: 75-006-X202400100002

Description: Using 2021 Census data, this article examines the link between working from home and the languages used at work. It focuses on three Census metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Moncton, Montréal and Ottawa–Gatineau—three regions where both English and French are used widely at work.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021017

Description: This Census in Brief article presents results on migration between provinces and regions by language, with special focus on the situation of official language minority populations. The analysis examines internal migration flows—in other words, people who moved within Canada—between two censuses, as well as the cumulative effects of these migrations in the long run, taking into account the province of birth.

Insights on Canadian Society: 75-006-X202300100012

Description: This study uses data from the 2021 Census to report on postsecondary educational attainment and labour market outcomes among Indigenous adults aged 25 to 64 years. As First Nations people, Métis and Inuit are more likely to live in certain regions, which can impact their participation in both education and the labour market, the article pays particular attention to patterns in educational attainment and employment among those residing in remote areas, on reserve, and communities across Inuit Nunangat.

Collaborative report: 41-20-00022023004

Description: This is an Indigenous Peoples Thematic Series custom report produced in collaboration between the Assembly of First Nations and Statistics Canada. It includes a variety of social and economic statistics for Status First Nations people living on and off reserve and includes comparisons with the non-Indigenous population.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021016

Description: Using data from the 2021 Census of Population, this Census in Brief article focuses on housing affordability for renters who have recently moved. It examines how monthly shelter costs and housing affordability compare between these recent renters and the rest of the renter population, disaggregated by age group, immigrant status, racialized group, poverty status and subsidized housing status.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021015

Description: This Census in Brief article examines how changes in income from 2019 to 2020, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, differed by level of education. It looks at changes in employment income, income-replacement benefits (COVID-19 benefits and employment insurance) and the combination of these two income types. It also examines how changes in income varied by major field of study and by province.

Insights on Canadian Society: 75-006-X202300100009

Description: Using data from the 2021 Census, this study examines educational attainment and earnings of the Canadian-born Black population, focusing on three groups: i) those with at least one African-born parent (African-origin); ii) those with at least one Caribbean-born parent (Caribbean-origin); and iii) those whose parents were both born in Canada (Canadian-origin).

Infographic: 11-627-M2023048

Description: This infographic analyzes three different Canadian-born Black populations: those with at least one parent born in Africa, those with at least one parent born in the Caribbean, and those with both parents born in Canada. It looks at how educational attainment differs between the three different Canadian-born Black populations, and how education along with other factors contributes to earnings differences between the different Black populations and between Black and non-Indigenous non-racialized populations.

Infographic: 11-627-M2023039

Description: This infographic uses data from the 2021 Census of Population to provide a profile on non-permanent residents (NPRs) living in Canada. It presents various demographic and socio-economic characteristics of NPRs, and disaggregates by type of non-permanent resident. It reports on the topics of age, country of origin, labour market outcomes, and housing.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021013

Description: This article in the Census in Brief series looks at the evolution of English–French bilingualism in Quebec, in Canada outside Quebec and across Canada in recent decades. It includes an analysis of how changes in the relative proportion and the rate of English–French bilingualism of different populations according to mother tongue have contributed to this evolution. Lastly, the article provides a glimpse into the link between schooling in the minority official language and English–French bilingualism.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021014

Description: This article sketches a portrait of multilingualism at home in 2021. It examines the situations where more than one language is spoken at home in private Canadian households, based on certain household characteristics.

Insights on Canadian Society: 75-006-X202300100006

Description: Using data from the 2021 Census, this article provides a portrait of non-permanent residents living in Canada. More specifically, this article takes a closer look at the socio-demographic picture of non-permanent residents, such as age, place of residence, place of birth, living arrangements, education and occupation. The article also examines information on the non-permanent resident type and reports on those who came to Canada to work, study or seek refugee protection.

Thematic map: 92-173-X

Description: A thematic map focuses on the spatial variability of a specific distribution or theme (such as population density or average annual income) for standard geographic areas, whereas a reference map focuses on the location and names of geographic features. Thematic maps normally include some location or reference information to help users familiarize themselves with the geographic area covered on the map.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021012

Description: This Census in Brief article focuses on First Nations people, Métis and Inuit who reported being able to conduct a conversation in an Indigenous language in the 2021 Census of Population. This article examines changes in the number of speakers by language and region. It also examines trends in mother tongue speakers of Indigenous languages and those who learned an Indigenous language as a second language.

Infographic: 11-627-M2023029

Description: Using data from the 2021 Census of Population, this infographic shows the relative number of Indigenous people who can speak an Indigenous language well enough to conduct a conversation by language. It also shows the percent growth or decline in number of Indigenous people who can speak each Indigenous language since the 2016 Census of Population.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021011

Description: This Census in Brief article focuses on the education of racialized groups based on data from the 2021 Census of Population. It examines differences in educational attainment between and within racialized groups. The article also provides information on whether racialized populations found jobs that correspond to their education.

The Daily

Description: This American Sign Language video highlights education data from the seventh release of the 2021 Census of Population included in The Daily.

The Daily

Description: This American Sign Language video highlights commuting data from the seventh release of the 2021 Census of Population included in The Daily.

The Daily

Description: This American Sign Language video highlights labour data from the seventh release of the 2021 Census of Population included in The Daily.

The Daily

Description: This American Sign Language video highlights minority official language data from the seventh release of the 2021 Census of Population included in The Daily.

Infographic: 11-627-M2022084

Description: Based on 2021 Census data, this infographic provides information on children eligible for instruction in the minority official language in Canada.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021010

Description: This Census in brief article presents 2021 Census results related to language of work, including analyses of trends over time and of differences between various groups of workers, for selected regions.

The Daily

Description: The number of degree-holders in the working-age population rose by nearly one-fifth from 2016 to 2021, driven by recent immigrants and young adults, but the number of apprenticeship certificate holders in key trades fields declined.

The Daily

Description: In recent years, employment growth has been strongest in health care and social assistance; construction; and professional, scientific and technical services. This is reflected in the jobs that Canadians do, and, at the time of the census in May 2021, there were 485,000 doctors and nurses, 948,000 technical tradespeople, and 614,000 IT professionals.

The Daily

Description: The way Canadians commute was altered in 2021 by the pandemic, with lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19 and changes in how and where Canadians worked leading to 2.8 million fewer commuters, compared with five years earlier.

The Daily

Description: In 2021, 304,000 children were eligible for instruction in English in Quebec and 593,000 children were eligible for instruction in French in Canada outside Quebec. Nearly half were living in the urban centres of Montréal, Toronto and Ottawa–Gatineau, while more than a third of children in New Brunswick were eligible. Two-thirds of children eligible for instruction in the minority official language received instruction in that language.

Infographic: 11-627-M2022083

Description: This infographic shows the proportion of college students who had previously completed a bachelor’s degree or higher, including information by province, gender, and immigrant status.

Infographic: 11-627-M2022081

Description: Based on the 2021 Census data, the following infographic looks at changes in commuting in Canada since 2016.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021009

Description: This Census in Brief article focuses on the experiences of poverty in Canada based on data from the 2021 Census. It examines disaggregated poverty trends by age, gender, family situation, immigration status as well as by Indigenous identity and for racialized groups. When possible, comparisons are made to data from the 2016 Census.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021008

Description: This Census in Brief examines the citizenship status of Canada’s population. It presents some insights into the trends of Canadian citizenship, the naturalization rate of immigrants and those with multiple citizenships.

The Daily

Description: This American Sign Language video highlights data on immigration, place of birth and citizenship from the sixth release of the 2021 Census of Population included in The Daily.

The Daily

Description: This American Sign Language video highlights data on ethnocultural and religious diversity from the sixth release of the 2021 Census of Population included in The Daily.

Infographic: 11-627-M2021074

Description: Based on 2021 Census data, this infographic presents highlights of the diversity of the military and Veteran population in Canada.

The Daily

Description: Immigrants accounted for 23.0% of the population in 2021, the largest proportion in over 150 years. Among them, 1.3 million new immigrants were admitted from 2016 to 2021. Coming from many countries, immigrants settle throughout Canada and contribute to the growth of the population and the economy. They also help shape Canada’s linguistic, ethnocultural and religious landscape.

The Daily

Description: The census has evolved over time to reflect the changes in Canada’s ethnocultural mosaic. Data on more than 450 ethnic and cultural origins from the 2021 Census are available. The country’s racialized groups are all experiencing population growth. In addition, the majority of the population reported being Christian (53.3%), while the populations with “no religion” and other religions are on the rise.

Infographic: 11-627-M2022070

Description: Based on the 2021 Census data, the following infographic provides information on Canadian citizenship.

The Daily

Description: This American Sign Language video highlights housing data from the fifth release of the 2021 Census of Population included in The Daily.

The Daily

Description: This American Sign Language video highlights data on First Nations, Métis and Inuit people from the fifth release of the 2021 Census of Population included in The Daily.

Infographic: 11-627-M2022059

Description: The infographic provides a high-level description of how the Census counts people, including Indigenous people, particularly those in urban areas. This includes efforts before and during data collection including communications and advertising, reminders, follow up calls and visits, and special outreach. It also outlines the practice of counting people based on usual place of residence on Census day. Finally, the infographic discusses studies that Statistics Canada undertakes to estimate undercoverage, that is, the net impact of some people being missed and others that are being counted more than once by the Census.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021007

Description: This Census in Brief article reports on housing conditions among First Nations people, Métis and Inuit in 2021. It describes the share of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit living in crowded dwellings and dwellings in need of major repair, and reports variation by provinces, territories, and the regions of Inuit Nunangat. This article also highlights the most common living arrangements among First Nations people, Métis and Inuit who were living in crowded dwellings and dwellings in need of major repair, and reports on how housing conditions have changed since 2016.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021006

Description: This Census in Brief article describes reported membership in a Métis organization or Settlement based on responses to the Census of Population, 2021. Counts and distributions are examined for reported membership to Métis Nation British Columbia, Métis Nation of Alberta, the Metis Settlements of Alberta, Métis Nation – Saskatchewan, Manitoba Metis Federation and Métis Nation of Ontario as well as those reporting membership to other Métis organizations. Data are examined based on province or territory of residence and residence in a census metropolitan area and census agglomeration.

The Daily

Description: Over multiple decades, census data have revealed that the Indigenous population has grown quickly—at a pace far surpassing that of the non-Indigenous population. The 2021 Census counted more than 1.8 million Indigenous people, accounting for 5.0% of the total population in Canada, up from 4.9% in 2016.

The Daily

Description: Canadians were less likely to own their home in 2021 (66.5%) than they were a decade earlier, when a record high (69.0%) were homeowners. At the same time, temporary pandemic-related income support helped lower the share of households spending more than 30% of their income on housing from 24.1% in 2016 to 20.9% in 2021.

Infographic: 11-627-M2022056

Description: This infographic shows core housing need rates in Canada from the 2021 Census of Population.

Infographic: 11-627-M2022057

Description: Based on 2021 Census data, the following infographic shows population statistics for First Nations people, Métis and Inuit in Canada.

The Daily

Description: Immigration drove up the number of Canadians who spoke predominantly a language other than English or French at home, from 4.0 million in 2016 to 4.6 million in 2021. English was the first official language spoken by 75.5% of the country’s population, up from 74.8% in 2016, while French was the first official language spoken by 21.4% of Canadians in 2021, down from 22.2% in 2016.

Infographic: 11-627-M2022051

Description: Based on 2021 Census data, the following infographic is about the languages spoken at home in Canada.

Infographic: 11-627-M2022052

Description: Based on 2021 Census data, the following infographic is about English-French bilingualism in Canada.

The Daily

Description: This American Sign Language video highlights income data from the third release of the 2021 Census of Population included in The Daily.

The Daily

Description: This American Sign Language video highlights military experience data from the third release of the 2021 Census of Population included in The Daily.

The Daily

Description: This American Sign Language video highlights families data from the third release of the 2021 Census of Population included in The Daily.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021005

Description: This Census in Brief article provides a profile of the population who received pandemic-related benefits in 2020, based on data from the 2021 Census of Population. Benefits examined include the newly-established federal emergency and recovery benefits, top-ups to existing federal programs, including the Old Age Security, the Guaranteed Income Supplement and the Canada Child Benefit, as well as pandemic-related benefits from provincial and territorial governments. The share of the population receiving benefits, the median amounts received and the contribution of these benefits to the incomes of recipients are examined by gender, age group, income level and geography.

The Daily

Description: In Canada, 4.4 million people lived alone in 2021, representing 15% of adults aged 15 and older in private households. This is the highest share on record. Following a long period of growth, the share of young adults living with their parents was unchanged from 2016 to 2021 (35%).

The Daily

Description: Among Canada’s 8.6 million couples in 2021, 32,210 included at least one transgender or non-binary person, while 95,435 were same-gender (cisgender) couples. Population aging and decreasing fertility have resulted in fewer couples living with children. Among G7 countries, Canada had the highest share of couples that were living common law (23%).

The Daily

Description: Fewer Canadians received employment income during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, losses in employment income were offset by pandemic-related benefits. Median after-tax income of households was $73,000 in 2020, up 9.8% compared with five years earlier. Income inequality and the share of Canadians in a low-income situation also decreased.

The Daily

Description: For the first time in 50 years, Statistics Canada asked Canadians about their military service on the 2021 Census of Population. According to new data from the census, there were 97,625 Canadians counted as serving in the Canadian Armed Forces and 461,240 Veterans in spring 2021.

Infographic: 11-627-M2022040

Description: Based on the data from the 2021 Census, the following infographic looks at income in Canada for 2020, including median household income, the prevalence of low-income and income inequality.

Infographic: 11-627-M2022039

Description: Based on 2021 Census data, the following infographic provides information on Canada’s families.

The Daily

Description: The 2021 Census of Population included for the first time a question on gender and the precision of "at birth" on the sex question, allowing all cisgender, transgender and non-binary individuals to report their gender. This American Sign Language video includes highlights from the second release of data from the 2021 Census of Population included in The Daily.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021003

Description: This Census in Brief article examines recent trends in the age structure of the Canadian population in 2021 from the angle of generations. It provides some insights on the size and growth of the different generations. This article also provides information on the distribution of generations by provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, and downtown areas.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021004

Description: This Census in Brief article examines recent trends for the population aged 85 and over in 2021. It provides some insights on the size and growth of this group, as well as on those of centenarians. This article also provides information on the population aged 85 and over living in collective dwellings geared towards seniors.

The Daily

Description: The working age population (15 to 64 years) has never been older. More than one in five individuals in this population is close to retirement (55 to 64 years), an all-time high in the history of Canadian censuses. From 2016 to 2021, the number of persons aged 65 or older rose 18% to 7.0 million. Today, they represent nearly one in five Canadians (19.0%), up from 16.9% in 2016.

The Daily

Description: The 2021 Census includes for the first time a question on gender and the addition of the “at birth” precision to the sex question, making Canada the first country to collect and disseminate data on gender diversity from a national census. Approximately 1 out of every 300 people in Canada aged 15 and older in May 2021 were either transgender or non-binary.

The Daily

Description: This American Sign Language video includes highlights from the first release of the 2021 Census of Population included in The Daily.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021001

Description: This Census in Brief examines municipalities (census subdivisions) in Canada that were the largest in 2021, and fastest growing and decreasing in population from 2016 to 2021. It also presents some trends on urban spread in Canada.

Census in Brief: 98-200-X2021002

Description: This Census in Brief examines population growth of Canada's rural areas and their changing proportion within the country. It also presents international comparisons, a portrait of population growth according to the remoteness index and population changes in the three territories.

The Daily

Description: Canada’s population grew at almost twice the pace of every other G7 country from 2016 to 2021. Approximately 1.8 million more people called Canada home in 2021 compared with five years earlier, with most of that growth attributable to new arrivals from around the world. Canada’s population growth was, however, halted with the onset of the pandemic.

The Daily

Description: From 2016 to 2021, the downtown populations of Canada’s large urban centres grew at almost twice the pace than the urban centres as a whole, despite a pause during the pandemic. At the same time, urban spread continues, and is accelerating in many urban centres, particularly in suburbs located the farthest from downtown.