Statistics Canada conducts a country-wide census that collects demographic data every five years on the first and sixth year of each decade. The 2021 Canadian census enumerated a total population of 36,991,981, an increase of around 5.2 percent over the 2016 figure. It is estimated that Canada's population surpassed 40 million in 2023 and 41 million in 2024. Between 1990 and 2008, the population increased by 5.6 million, equivalent to 20.4 percent overall growth. The main driver of population growth is immigration, with 6.2% of the country's population being made up of temporary residents as of 2023, or about 2.5 million people. Between 2011 and May 2016, Canada's population grew by 1.7 million people, with immigrants accounting for two-thirds of the increase.
According to the 2021 Canadian census, over 450 "ethnic or cultural origins" were self-reported by Canadians. The major panethnic origin groups in Canada are: European (52.5%), North American (22.9%), Asian (19.3%), North American Indigenous (6.1%), African (3.8%), Latin, Central and South American (2.5%), Caribbean (2.1%), Oceanian (0.3%), and Other (6%). Statistics Canada reports that 35.5% of the population reported multiple ethnic origins, thus the overall total is greater than 100%.
Buddhism is among the smallest minority-religions in Canada, with a very slowly growing population in the country, partly the result of conversion, with only 4.6% of new immigrants identifying themselves as Buddhist. As of 2021, the census recorded 356,975 or 1% of the population.
South Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to South Asia or the Indian subcontinent, which includes the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. The term also includes immigrants from South Asian communities in East and South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Mauritius, and the rest of the world.
Polish Canadians are citizens of Canada with Polish ancestry, and Poles who immigrated to Canada from abroad. At the 2016 Census, there were 1,106,585 Canadians who claimed full or partial Polish heritage.
The demographics of Toronto, Ontario, Canada make Toronto one of the most multicultural and multiracial cities in the world. In 2021, 57.0 percent of the residents of the metropolitan area belonged to a visible minority group, compared with 51.4 percent in 2016, and 13.6 percent in 1981. Toronto also has established ethnic neighbourhoods such as the multiple Chinatowns, Corso Italia, Little Italy, Little India, Greektown, Koreatown, Little Tokyo, Little Jamaica, Little Portugal, Little Malta, Roncesvalles (Polish), and Bloor West Village (Ukrainian), all of which celebrate the city's multiculturalism. Data from the suburban municipalities are also included for some metrics as most of these municipalities are part of the Toronto CMA.
Danish Canadians are Canadian citizens of Danish ancestry. According to the 2006 Census, there were 200,035 Canadians with Danish background, 17,650 of whom were born in Denmark.
Ontario, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, is located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province by a large margin, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all Canadians, and is the second-largest province in total area. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are included. It is home to the nation's capital city, Ottawa, and the nation's most populous city, Toronto.
Manitoba is one of Canada's 10 provinces. It is the easternmost of the three Prairie provinces.
Newfoundland and Labrador is a province of Canada on the country's Atlantic coast in northeastern North America. The province has an area of 405,212 square kilometres and a population in 2024 of 541,391, with approximately 95% of the provincial population residing on the Island of Newfoundland, with more than half of the population residing on the Avalon Peninsula. People from Newfoundland and Labrador are called "Newfoundlanders," "Labradorians", or "Newfoundlanders and Labradorians".
Nova Scotia is a Canadian province located on the country's southeastern coast. It is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada, and its capital, Halifax, is a major economic centre of the region. Geographically, Nova Scotia is the second smallest province in Canada, with an area of 52,824.71 km2 (20,395.73 sq mi). As of 2021, it has a population of 969,383 people.
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and the only officially bilingual province in the country. The provincial Department of Finance estimates that the province's population in 2006 was 729,997 of which the majority is English-speaking but with a substantial French-speaking minority of mostly Acadian origin.
The Northwest Territories is a territory of Canada. It has an area of 1,171,918 square kilometres and a population of 41,786 as of the 2016 Canadian census.
Yukon is the westernmost of Canada's three northern territories. Its capital is Whitehorse. People from Yukon are known as Yukoners. Unlike in other Canadian provinces and territories, Statistics Canada uses the entire territory as a single at-large census division.
In 2021, the population of the city of Ottawa was 1,017,449. The population of the census metropolitan area, Ottawa-Gatineau, was 1,488,307.
Tamil Canadians, or Canadian Tamils, are Canadians of Tamil ethno-linguistic origin. Much of Canada's Tamil diaspora from India and Sri Lanka then majority consist of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who sought to flee the ethnic tensions during the Sri Lankan Civil War between the 1970s and 2000s, while economic Tamil migrants also originate from India, Singapore and other parts of South Asia.
Belgian Canadians are Canadian citizens of Belgian ancestry or Belgium-born people who reside in Canada. According to the 2011 census there were 176,615 Canadians who claimed full or partial Belgian ancestry. It encompasses immigrants from both French and Dutch-speaking parts of Belgium.
The demographics of Winnipeg reveal the city to be a typically Canadian one: multicultural and multilingual. Winnipeg is also prominent in the size and ratio of its First Nations population, which plays an important part in the city's makeup. About 12.4% of Winnipeggers are of Indigenous descent, which vastly exceeds the national average of 5.0%.
South Asian Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area form 19% of the region's population, numbering 1.2 million as of 2021. Comprising the largest visible minority group in the region, Toronto is the destination of over half of the immigrants coming from India to Canada, and India is the single largest source of immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area. South Asian Canadians in the region also include significant Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, and Nepalis, all representing several different ethnolinguistic backgrounds.
South African Canadians are Canadians of South African descent. Most South African Canadians are White South Africans, mostly of British and Afrikaner ancestry. According to the 2021 Canada census there were 51,590 South African-born immigrants in Canada. It includes those who hold or have ever held permanent resident status in Canada, including naturalized citizens. 12,270 people considered Afrikaans their mother tongue.
