StatsCan Study: Portrait of the Chinese populations in Canada

Another interesting report:

A new in-depth analytical portrait released today explores the diversity of individuals in Canada who reported being Chinese in the census, including information on where they were born and live, their age, language, immigration characteristics, religion, education, job, income and experiences of social inclusion. It breaks down many characteristics by place of birth to provide a deeper understanding of the diversity of experiences and outcomes within Chinese populations.

This is the fourth in a series of portraits on racialized groups in Canada, developed by Statistics Canada in support of Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy. The previous portraits are The Diversity of the Black Populations in Canada, 2021: A Sociodemographic Portrait, Portrait of the Arab Populations in Canada: Diversity and Socioeconomic Outcomes and Portrait of the South Asian Populations in Canada: Diversity and Socioeconomic Outcomes.

The analysis in this release is based on the 2021 Census of Population, unless otherwise specified.

Nearly 5% of the Canadian population reports being Chinese

Chinese populations in Canada numbered 1.7 million people in 2021 and made up 4.7% of the total population of Canada. They were the second-largest racialized group in Canada after the South Asian populations. The size of the Chinese populations more than doubled from 1996 to 2021.

About half of Chinese populations in Canada were born in China

In 2021, about half of Chinese populations in Canada were born in China and about half were born in other places. More than one-quarter of Chinese populations were born in Canada, while other common places of birth were Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. For Chinese individuals living in Canada who were born in Southeast Asia, Vietnam was the most common country of birth.

Among Chinese immigrants, places of birth differed by period of immigration. Among Chinese immigrants who immigrated to Canada during the period from 1970 to 1996, just over one-third (34.2%) were born in China, while the majority were born in Hong Kong (40.1%), Southeast Asia (13.0%) and Taiwan (7.1%). In contrast, 86.8% of Chinese immigrants who immigrated to Canada during the period from 1998 to 2021 were born in China.

Nearly two-thirds of the Chinese populations who immigrated to Canada from 1980 to 2021 are economic immigrants

Chinese immigrants who had immigrated to Canada since 1980 and were living in the country in 2021 were mainly either economic immigrants (64.9%) or sponsored by family (28.7%). However, among Chinese immigrants during this period who were born in Southeast Asia, 42.0% were economic immigrants while one-quarter (25.1%) were refugees.

More than two-thirds of individuals who report being Chinese live in Toronto and Vancouver 

Over two-thirds of the Chinese populations in Canada lived in the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Toronto (39.6%) and Vancouver (29.9%) in 2021. There were some variations by place of birth; for example, the majority (58.1%) of the Chinese populations in Canada who were born in Taiwan lived in Vancouver (Chart 2).

Chinese populations in Canada made up nearly one-fifth of the population of the CMA of Vancouver (19.6%) and just over one-tenth of the population of the CMA of Toronto (11.1%). Within the Vancouver CMA, the majority (54.3%) of the population in the census subdivision (CSD) (municipality) of Richmond was Chinese, as was one-third (33.3%) of the population in the CSD of Burnaby. Within the Toronto CMA, Chinese populations made up nearly half (47.9%) of the population in the CSD of Markham and just under one-third (31.9%) of the population in the CSD of Richmond Hill.

Over 70% of individuals in Canada who reported being Chinese have no religion or have secular perspectives, but this differs by place of birth

In 2021, the share of the Chinese populations who had no religion or had secular perspectives (71.7%) was more than twice as high as in the overall population of Canada (34.6%).

The share of the Chinese populations who had no religion or had secular perspectives was highest among those born in China (80.2%) or Canada (72.9%) and lowest among those born in Southeast Asia (44.9%) (Chart 3).

The most common religions among Chinese populations were Christianity (20.2%) and Buddhism (7.2%)….

Source: Study: Portrait of the Chinese populations in Canada