Statistics Canada Statistique Canada ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION IN CANADA: Data from the Ethnic Diversity...

Statistics Canada

Statistique Canada

ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION IN CANADA:

Data from the Ethnic Diversity Survey

Jennifer Chard & Jane Badets2004 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences

Canadian Population Society Annual MeetingsJune 4, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba

What is the Ethnic Diversity Survey?

Post-censal survey which targeted non-Aboriginal individuals aged 15 and older living in private dwellings in Canada’s ten provinces

Two-phase stratified sampling design based on responses to the 2001 Census ethnic origin, birthplace & birthplace of parents questions

Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews were conducted across Canada: April to August 2002

42,500 respondents: response rate = 75.6%

Outline of presentation

Review of measures of ethnicity included in the EDS;

Overview of the generational and ethnic composition of Canada in 2002;

Brief summary of findings for various measures of ethnic identification by generational status.

Measures of ethnic ancestryand ethnic identification

Ethnic ancestry

Importance of ethnic ancestry

Ethnic identity

Importance of ethnic identity

Importance of ethnic customs & traditions

Sense of belonging to ethnic group

Nearly six-in-10 people aged 15 and older were three or more generations in Canada

Second generation

17%

Third generation or

more58%

First generation

23%

Note: Refers to Canada’s non-Aboriginal population aged 15 and older. Source: Statistics Canada, Ethnic Diversity Survey, 2002.

1st generation ethnically diverse; 2nd generation reflects waves of European immigration; 3rd+ generation mainly

British, French &/or Canadian ancestries

49

13

33

70

21

32

37

1114

4710

133

1517

3 4 5 2

0.4

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Totalpopulation

1st generation 2nd generation 3rd generationor more

Other mixedancestries

European and British,French and/orCanadian only

Non-European only

European only

British, French and/orCanadian only


Generational status by selected ethnic ancestry categories

Top 10 ethnic ancestries (total responses) by generation

Total population

1. English

2. Scottish

3. Irish

4. French

5. German

6. Canadian

7. Québécois

8. Italian

9. French-Can.

10. Chinese

1st generation

1. Chinese

2. East Indian

3. Italian

4. English

5. German

6. Scottish

7. Filipino

8. Portuguese

9. Polish

10. Irish

2nd generation

1. English

2. Scottish

3. Irish

4. German

5. Italian

6. Canadian

7. Dutch

8. Ukrainian

9. French

10. British, n.i.e.

3+ generation

1. English

2. Irish

3. Scottish

4. French

5. Canadian

6. German

7. Québécois

8. French-Can.

9. Ukrainian

10. British, n.i.e.


Top 10 ethnic identities (total responses) by generation

Total population

1. Canadian

2. Québécois

3. English

4. French-Can.

5. French

6. Chinese

7. Irish

8. Scottish

9. Italian

10. German

1st generation

1. Canadian

2. Chinese

3. East Indian

4. Italian

5. English

6. Filipino

7. Portuguese

8. German

9. Polish

10. Punjabi

2nd generation

1. Canadian

2. English

3. Italian

4. German

5. Chinese

6. Ukrainian

7. Scottish

8. Irish

9. Québécois

10. French

3+ generation

1. Canadian

2. Québécois

3. French-Can.

4. English

5. French

6. Irish

7. Scottish

8. German

9. Newfound’er

10. Ukrainian


Canadian, Québécois, Acadian & provincial identities reported by 7-in-10 respondents

20

1

12

31

70

40

8078

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Total population 1st generation 2nd generation 3rd + generation

Ethnic ancestry response

Ethnic identity response

%


* Provincial group responses include “Newfoundlander”, “Albertan” etc.

% reporting Canadian, Québécois, Acadian and provincial group responses by generational status

Who is reporting Canadian identity and who is not reporting Canadian identity?


Selected ancestries (total responses)

With Canadian identity

Canadian identity only

Canadian and other identity

Canadian 91% 81% 9%

French-Canadian 88% 82% 6%

Norwegian 81% 77% 4%E

Dutch 78% 69% 9%

Scottish 74% 68% 6%

English 69% 63% 6%

Chinese 40% 16% 24%

East Indian, n.i.e. 33% 18% 14%

Filipino 28% 13% 15%

Quebecois(e) 21% 14% 8%E: Use with caution “n.i.e.” means “not included elsewhere”.

Ethnic distribution of the population is different for identity compared with ancestry

46

1913 12

37

71

7 94 3

8

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

British, French&/or Canadian

only

European only Non-Europeanonly

European,British, French&/or Canadian

Other mixed Uncodeable ornon-response

Ethnic ancestry response

Ethnic identity response

%


% reporting selected ethnic category responses by generational status

Identity rated high in importance more often than ancestry, less variation by generation

52

7165

57

44

8075

8185

78

0

20

40

60

80

100

Total population 1st generation -arrived 1991 -

2001

1st generation -arrived before

1991

2nd generation 3rd generation ormore

Importance of ethnic ancestry Importance of ethnic identity

% % who gave a 4 or 5 in response to the importance question(on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being not important at all and 5 being very important)


Immigrants of the 1990’s more likely to say ethnic customs & traditions are important

63

7367

59 60

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Total population 1st generation -arrived 1991 -

2001


1991

2nd generation 3rd generationor more

%

% of those who rated at least one ethnic ancestry other than Canadian a 4 or 5 in importance in the importance of ancestry question and who gave a 4 or 5 in response to the importance of ethnic customs and traditions question

(on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being not important at all and 5 being very important)


Immigrants of the 1990s have a strong sense of belonging to their ethnic group

50

62

55

47 48

0

20

40

60

80

Total population 1st generationarrived 1991-2001


1991

2nd generation 3rd generation ormore

% % who gave a 4 or 5 in response to the sense of belonging to ethnic group question(on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being not strong at all and 5 being very strong)


Italian ancestry• 62% of 1st generation

• 54% of 2nd generation or more

Chinese ancestry• 60% of 1st generation who arrived 1991-2001

• 58% of 1st generation who arrived before 1991


German ancestry• 39% of 1st generation


Sense of belonging varies both by ethnic group and generations in Canada

% who gave a 4 or 5 in response to the sense of belonging to ethnic group question(on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being not strong at all and 5 being very strong)


What the Ethnic Diversity Survey tells us about ethnicity in Canada

There is clearly a difference in reporting patterns between ethnic ancestry and ethnic identity;

For both measurements of ethnicity, there were reporting differences according to the number of generations in Canada;

Generational differences were also evident in in terms of sense of belonging to the ethnic group and importance of carrying on the customs and traditions of the ethnic group.

Questions?

Ethnic Diversity Survey

Contact:

Jennifer ChardSenior AnalystEthnicity & Immigration Statistics, Statistics Canada

604-666-8880 (Vancouver)

[email protected]

Statistics Canada Statistique Canada ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION IN CANADA: Data from the Ethnic Diversity...

Documents

Transcript of Statistics Canada Statistique Canada ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION IN CANADA: Data from the Ethnic Diversity...