Percentage of visible minorities by census division (2021 census)Population distribution largest panethnic visible minority group in Canada by census division, 2021 census
In Canada, a visible minority (French: minorité visible) is a demographic category of people, defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour".[1] The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connection with Canada's employment equity, human rights, and other laws and policies. The term as defined, and the qualifier "visible", were chosen by the Canadian authorities as a way to classify and separate out newer immigrant minorities from both aboriginal Canadian minorities, and from other "older" minorities—which were distinguishable by language spoken (French vs. English) and religious identification (Catholics vs. Protestants): so-called "invisible" traits.
The term "visible minority" is sometimes used as a euphemism for "non-white".[citation needed] This is incorrect, in that the government definition creates a difference: Aboriginal people are excluded from the category "visible minorities", but may not be white either.[citation needed] In some cases, members of "visible minorities" may be visually indistinguishable from the majority population and/or may form a majority-minority population locally (as is the case in Vancouver and Toronto).[citation needed]
Since the reform of Canada's immigration laws in the 1960s, immigration has been primarily of people from areas other than Europe; many (but not all) of these immigrants form part of (but not the whole of) the "visible minorities" category within Canada.
Background
Federal electoral districts represented by visible minorities during the 42nd Canadian Parliament (2015–2019) marked by party colourMap of visible minorities in Canada by province, 2016
Some 9,639,200 Canadians identified as a member of a "visible minority group" in the 2021 Canadian Census, for 26.53% of the total population.[2][3] This was an increase from the 2016 Census, when members of visible minorities accounted for 22.2% of the total population; from the 2011 Census, when the proportion was 19.1%; from the 2006 Census, when the proportion was 16.2%; from 2001, when the proportion was 13.4%; from 1996 (11.2%); from 1991 (9.4%) and from 1981 (4.7%). In 1961, the visible minority population was less than 1%.
The ongoing increase represents a significant shift in Canada's demographics as compared with the predominantly white populations of its earlier history. This change is related primarily to higher rates of immigration from countries which have larger proportions of non-Caucasian or non-white people amongst their populations. This change is associated with the advent in Canada of its multiculturalism and non-discrimination policies.[citation needed]
Statistics Canada projects that by 2041, visible minorities will make up 38.2–43.0% of the total Canadian population, compared with 26.5% in 2021.[4][5][2][3] Statistics Canada further projects that among the working-age population (15 to 64 years), meanwhile, visible minorities will make up 42.1–47.3% of Canada's total population, compared to 28.5% in 2021.[4][5][2][3]
As per the 2021 census, of the provinces, British Columbia had the highest proportion of visible minorities, representing 34.4% of its population, followed by Ontario at 34.3%, Alberta at 27.8% and Manitoba at 22.2%.[2][3] Additionally, as of 2021, the largest visible minority group was South Asian Canadians with a population of approximately 2.6 million, representing roughly 7.1% of the country's population, followed by Chinese Canadians (4.7%) and Black Canadians (4.3%).[2][3]
According to the Employment Equity Act of 1995, the definition of visible minority is: "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour".[20]
Frances Woolley traces this definition back to the 1984 Report of the Abella Commission on Equality in Employment. The Commission described the term visible minority as an "ambiguous categorization", but for practical purposes interpreted it to mean "visibly non-white".[21] The Canadian government uses an operational definition by which it identifies the following groups as visible minorities: "Chinese, South Asian, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Southeast Asian, Arab, West Asian, Korean, Japanese, Visible minority, n.i.e. (n.i.e. means "not included elsewhere"), and Multiple visible minority".[22]
If census respondents check one identity but write-in others, e.g. checking "Black” or "South Asian” and writing in “Malaysian", “French" or “European", they would be included in the Black[23] or South Asian counts respectively.[24] However, the 2006 Census states that respondents that add a European ethnic response in combination with certain visible minority groups are not counted as visible minorities. They must add another non-European ethnic response to be counted as such:
In contrast, in accordance with employment equity definitions, persons who reported 'Latin American' and 'White,' 'Arab' and 'White,' or 'West Asian' and 'White' have been excluded from the visible minority population. Likewise, persons who reported 'Latin American,' 'Arab' or 'West Asian' and who provided a European write-in response such as 'French' have been excluded from the visible minority population as well. These persons are included in the 'Not a visible minority' category. However, persons who reported 'Latin American,' 'Arab' or 'West Asian' and a non-European write-in response are included in the visible minority population.[25]
The term "non-white" is used in the wording of the Employment Equity Act and in employment equity questionnaires distributed to applicants and employees. This is intended as a shorthand phrase for those who are in the Aboriginal and/or visible minority groups.[26]
Controversy
The classification "visible minorities" has attracted controversy, both nationally and from abroad. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination stated in 2007 that it had doubts regarding the use of this term since this term may be considered objectionable by certain minorities, and recommended an evaluation of its use. In response, the Canadian government made efforts to evaluate how it is used in Canadian society through commissioning of scholars and open workshops.[27]
In 2008, Graeme Hamilton, argued in the National Post that the "visible minorities" label no longer makes sense in some large Canadian cities, due to immigration trends in recent decades. For example, "visible minorities" comprise the majority of the population in many municipalities across the country, primarily in British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta.[28]
Another criticism of the label concerns the composition of "visible minorities". Critics[who?] have noted that the groups comprising "visible minorities" have little in common with each other, as they include both disadvantaged groups and non-disadvantaged groups.[29][30] geographer Harald Bauder calls the concept of visible minority an example of what Audrey Kobayashi names a statistext, meaning a census category that has been contrived for a particular public policy purpose.[31][32] Seeing "visible minorities" as creating a racialized group, Rosemary Campbell-Stephens and Sachin Maharaj advocate for "global majority" as a more appropriate alternative.[33]
^"Visible Minority and Population Group Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021". Statistics Canada. March 30, 2022. Archived from the original on June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023. For example, respondents who checked both "South Asian" and "White" are included in the "South Asian" category. In addition, respondents who checked "South Asian" and had a write-in response such as "Swedish" would also be included in the "South Asian" category.
^Visible Minority Population and Population Group Reference Guide, 2006 Census – Catalogue no. 97-562-GWE2006003 Statcan
^Mentzer, M. S. (January 2002). "The Canadian experience with employment equity legislation". International Journal of Value-Based Management. 15 (1): 35–50. doi:10.1023/A:1013021402597. ISSN0895-8815. S2CID141942497.
^Mentzer, Marc S.; John L. Fizel (1992). "Affirmative action and ethnic inequality in Canada: The Impact of the Employment Equity Act of 1986". Ethnic Groups. 9 (4): 203–217. ISSN0308-6860.
^Hum, Derek; Wayne Simpson (2000). "Not all visible minorities face labour market discrimination". Policy Options/Options Politiques. 21 (10): 45–48. ISSN0226-5893.
^Kobayashi, Audrey (1993). "Representing Ethnicity: Political Statistexts". Challenges of Measuring an Ethnic World: Science, Politics, and Reality. Washington, DC: Statistics Canada and U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 513–525. ISBN0-16-042049-0.
^Bauder, Harald (2001). "Visible minorities and urban analysis". Canadian Journal of Urban Research. 10 (1): 69–90. ISSN1188-3774.
