Ethnicity, Language and Immigration Thematic Series
Portrait of the Chinese Populations in Canada: Diversity and Socioeconomic Outcomes

Introduction

Portrait of the Chinese Populations in Canada: Diversity and Socioeconomic Outcomes is part of a portrait series that Statistics Canada developed to inform the initiatives under Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy,^{Note 1} which seeks to address racism and discrimination faced by racialized groups and Indigenous Peoples. This analytical paper aligns with the Disaggregated Data Action Plan, a whole-of-government approach led by Statistics Canada, to enhance data collection, analysis and dissemination that are representative of the diverse populations in Canada. The topics explored in this portrait were shaped by informal consultations and engagement with Chinese community groups and subject-matter experts across Canada. The main data source used is the Census of Population, along with some data from the 2020 General Social Survey – Social Identity, the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability and the Labour Force Survey.

The goals of the portrait are twofold. First, it gives an understanding of the diversity of Chinese populations^{Note 2} in terms of their immigration histories and countries of origin, and how these relate to characteristics such as language, religion, place of residence and age. Second, it outlines their socioeconomic outcomes in areas such as education, employment, occupations, income, housing and discrimination. These portraits are important first steps in shaping inclusive policy-making decisions, guiding the process from initial conception to effective implementation.

An intersectional approach is used to explore the relationships between multiple diversity measures (e.g., place of birth, period of immigration, ethnic and cultural origins, religion). Gaining insights into the diversity of these growing populations is an important step toward understanding their unique characteristics and experiences. Understanding the differences between groups can inform programs and services geared toward Chinese populations in Canada and highlight their contributions in Canada. 

The main places of birth outside Canada that are analyzed in this portrait are China,^{Note 3} Hong Kong,^{Note 4} Taiwan and Southeast Asia, since these were the most commonly reported ones for the Chinese populations in Canada as of the 2021 Census. Detailed analysis by place of birth can be found in Section 1. The use of particular places of birth in this portrait follows the Standard Classification of Countries and Areas of Interest 2019 – Countries and Areas of Interest for Social Statistics, which was used to classify places of birth in the 2021 Census of Population. 

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Note on place of birth

The 2021 Census questions on place of birth asked for the province or territory of birth for people who were born in Canada, and the country of birth for people born outside Canada. Place of birth outside Canada was a write-in response, and respondents were instructed to give their response “according to present boundaries.” Responses for places of birth outside Canada were then classified according to the Standard Classification of Countries and Areas of Interest 2019 – Countries and Areas of Interest for Social Statistics. Since Hong Kong and Macao are special administrative regions of China (but listed separately within the Standard Classification of Countries and Areas of Interest 2019), it is possible that some respondents born in those areas may have reported “China” as their place of birth.

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A brief history of Chinese people in Canada

The first recorded Chinese people in Canada arrived in 1788, when the British fur trader Captain John Meares came to Vancouver Island with 50 Chinese artisans, who helped build a trading post (Canadian Heritage, 2024).

Larger-scale Chinese immigration began in 1858 during the Fraser Valley gold rush in British Columbia (Chui, Tran and Flanders, 2005). Victoria was the port of entry for the vast majority arriving by ship and was home to the largest Chinese population (and the first Chinatown) in Canada prior to the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway (Parks Canada, 2023).

In 1871, British Columbia entered Confederation and shortly after passed the Qualification and Registration of Voters Act in the new provincial legislature. This act removed the right to vote from Indigenous people and Chinese people (Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 2025a). It had additional labour market implications, as only voters were allowed entry into professions such as pharmacy, law, and the provincial and municipal civil service (City of Vancouver, 2017; Elections Canada, 2021).

According to the 1881 Census, 4,383 Chinese people were living in Canada, over 99% of whom lived in British Columbia (Statistics Canada, 1882). The newcomers were predominantly men, many arriving to work in jobs building the Canadian Pacific Railway, where deaths from workplace accidents were common (Chui, Tran and Flanders, 2005; Canadian Heritage, 2024). There was little or no opportunity to sponsor wives or other family members to immigrate, and the 1911 Census found that there were 28 Chinese men for every Chinese woman (Chui, Tran and Flanders, 2005).

In 1885, following the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the federal government passed the Act to Restrict and Regulate Chinese Immigration Into Canada, intended to curb Chinese immigration by levying a $50 head tax. The head tax was increased to $500 by 1903, with exemptions provided to some, including merchants, diplomats, tourists and students (Chui, Tran and Flanders, 2005; Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, 2025).   

The Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, also known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, banned almost all Chinese immigration (Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 2025b). Fewer than 50 Chinese immigrants entered Canada between the passage of this act and its repeal in 1947 (Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, 2025b). The number of Chinese people in Canada fell from around 47,000 in the 1931 Census of Population to around 33,000 in the 1951 Census (Chui, Tran and Flanders, 2005). These cumulative restrictions also perpetuated the gender imbalance, with the 1931 Census counting 12 times more Chinese men than Chinese women in Canada (Statistics Canada, 1935).

Following the Second World War, the Chinese Immigration Act was repealed in 1947 (Chui, Tran and Flanders, 2005). Chinese people gained the right to vote in provincial elections in British Columbia in 1947 (Elections BC, 2025) and in Canadian federal elections in 1948 (Elections Canada, 2021). The removal of racial and nationality-focused restrictions on immigration over the course of the 1960s and their replacement with a points-based immigration system focused on education and skills led to increased immigration from Asia and other parts of the world (Chui, Tran and Flanders, 2005; Statistics Canada, 2016).

Immigration from Hong Kong to Canada increased following the formalization of the 1985 agreement between the United Kingdom and China regarding the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997 (Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, 2021). In the 1991 and 1996 censuses, Hong Kong was the most frequent country of birth for recent immigrants to Canada (Statistics Canada, 2008). As of the 2021 Census, most Chinese people who had immigrated to Canada since 2000 were from China.

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Executive summary

• The Chinese populations in Canada doubled from 1996 to 2021, reaching 1.7 million people and representing 4.7% of the total population of Canada. According to the latest available population projections, by 2041, the Chinese populations could number 2.6 million to 3.5 million people and make up 6.1% to 6.7% of the total population of Canada.
• Among the Chinese populations in Canada, nearly one-half (47.8%) were born in China, over one-quarter (28.4%) were born in Canada, 12.8% were born in Hong Kong, 4.1% were born in Taiwan, 4.1% were born in Southeast Asia and 2.8% were born in other places.
• Based on the 2021 Census, the majority of Chinese people who had immigrated from 1970 to 1996 were born in either Hong Kong (40.1%), Southeast Asia (13.0%) or Taiwan (7.1%), whereas most Chinese people who had immigrated from 1998 to 2021 were born in China (86.8%).
• Based on the 2021 Census, Chinese people who had immigrated to Canada since 1980 were mainly either economic immigrants (64.9%) or sponsored by family (28.7%). However, one-quarter (25.1%) of those born in Southeast Asia were refugees.
• Nearly all Chinese people (97.7%) lived in census metropolitan areas (CMAs; cities of 100,000 people or more), and more than two-thirds lived in the CMAs of Toronto (39.6%) and Vancouver (29.9%).
• Chinese people made up the majority of the population in the municipality of Richmond (54.3%), which is in the CMA of Vancouver, and nearly half (47.9%) of the population in the municipality of Markham, which is in the CMA of Toronto.
• Chinese people in Canada were more likely than any other population group to report having no religion or having secular perspectives (71.7%). Their most common religions were Christianity (20.2%) and Buddhism (7.2%), with over 20% of those born in Southeast Asia or Taiwan being Buddhist.
• More than 6 in 10 Chinese people aged 25 to 54 (61.8%) had a bachelor’s degree or higher, including 40.9% who had a bachelor’s degree or higher from a Canadian institution. This compares with 36.6% of the overall Canadian population of the same age who had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
• Despite their high levels of education, Chinese people had higher unemployment rates and lower employment rates than the non-racialized non-Indigenous population.
• As of 2021, Chinese people with a bachelor’s degree or higher were less likely than the non-racialized non-Indigenous population with the same level of education to have jobs that matched their level of education.
• Chinese people were more likely than the non-racialized non-Indigenous population to be in the two lowest deciles of adjusted after-tax economic family income, but also more likely to be in the top decile.
• More than 8 in 10 Chinese people (84.5%) lived in households that owned their homes, a higher share than among any other population group.
• More than 6 in 10 Chinese people (61.4%) experienced discrimination at some point from 2015 to 2020.
• Chinese people who had experienced discrimination reported lower confidence in institutions (for example, the federal parliament, banks and major corporations) than Chinese people who had not experienced discrimination.
• Chinese people reported a lower sense of belonging to their local communities than the rest of the population, and this lower sense of belonging was correlated with lower life satisfaction.

Section 1: Demography, geography and immigration

The Chinese populations in Canada doubled from 1996 to 2021

In 2021, the Chinese populations in Canada numbered 1,715,775 people, twice as many as in 1996 (857,370; Chart 1). This 25-year growth rate was slower than that among any racialized group except the Japanese populations (which were 1.5 times larger in 2021 than in 1996). However, in absolute terms, the increase of 858,405 people was the third largest of any racialized group, after the South Asian and Black populations.

Data table for Chart 1

Data table for chart 1
Table summary
The information is grouped by Place of birth (appearing as row headers), 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021, calculated using number units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Place of birth	1996	2001	2006	2011	2016	2021
	number
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2016 and 2021; and National Household Survey, 2011.
Total	857,370	1,026,595	1,213,270	1,324,745	1,577,060	1,715,775
Born in Canada	205,000	249,995	307,290	354,315	429,580	486,805
Born outside Canada	652,365	776,590	905,980	970,430	1,147,475	1,228,970

In 1996 and 2001, the Chinese populations were the largest racialized group in Canada. From 2006 onwards, the South Asian populations have been the largest racialized group in Canada, and the Chinese populations have been the second largest. In 2021, the Chinese populations made up 4.7% of the population of Canada.

According to the latest available population projections by racialized group and based on the low-growth and high-growth scenarios, by 2041, the Chinese populations in Canada could number 2.6 million to 3.5 million people and make up 6.1% to 6.7% of the total population.

Over one-quarter of Chinese people in Canada were born in Canada

Nearly half (47.8%, or 819,840) of Chinese people in Canada were born in China, and over one-quarter (28.4%, or 486,805) were born in Canada. The next most common places of birth were Hong Kong (12.8%, or 220,450), Southeast Asia (4.1%, or 70,220) and Taiwan (4.1%, or 69,740), while 2.8% (48,730) were born in other areas (Chart 2).

Data table for Chart 2

Data table for chart 2
Table summary
The information is grouped by Place of birth (appearing as row headers), , calculated using (appearing as column headers).

Place of birth	Percent
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Canada	28.4
China	47.8
Hong Kong	12.8
Taiwan	4.1
Southeast Asia	4.1
All other places of birth	2.8

Vietnam was the most common place of birth for Chinese people born in Southeast Asia, accounting for 45.8% (32,165) of them. Other places of birth in Southeast Asia included Malaysia (13,650), Singapore (6,220), the Philippines (4,665), Indonesia (3,730), Brunei Darussalam (3,370) and Cambodia (3,340). The majority of people in Canada who were born in Malaysia, Singapore or Brunei Darussalam either were Chinese or were both Chinese and in one or more other racialized groups (Chart 3). Those who were Chinese and in one or more other racialized groups were mostly Chinese and Filipino (for those born in the Philippines) or Chinese and Southeast Asian (for those born elsewhere in Southeast Asia).

Data table for Chart 3

Data table for chart 3
Table summary
The information is grouped by Place of birth (appearing as row headers), Chinese, Chinese and other racialized groups, Southeast Asian, Filipino and All other population groups, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Place of birth	Chinese	Chinese and other racialized groups	Southeast Asian	Filipino	All other population groups
	percent
Note: This chart omits Timor-Leste because of the small population size (there were 30 people in Canada born in Timor-Leste). Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Viet Nam	15.9	7.8	74.5	0.0	1.8
Laos	9.6	6.8	79.6	0.2	3.8
Cambodia	14.0	9.4	73.7	0.1	2.9
Thailand	2.7	3.8	84.0	0.5	9.0
Myanmar	12.0	3.6	68.6	0.3	15.5
Malaysia	50.0	12.2	21.1	0.4	16.3
Singapore	42.2	10.7	13.6	3.3	30.2
Brunei Darussalam	72.4	10.3	6.7	3.9	6.8
Indonesia	19.5	15.4	52.7	0.3	12.1
Philippines	0.6	1.5	2.0	93.4	2.4

Other places of birth that accounted for over 1,000 Chinese people in Canada were, in the Americas, the United States of America (9,955), Jamaica (2,755), Trinidad and Tobago (2,360), and Guyana (1,520); in Europe, the United Kingdom (2,295); in Africa, Mauritius (3,760), South Africa (2,030) and Madagascar (1,025); and in Asia, India (6,135), Macao (5,370) and Japan (1,045).

The majority of Chinese immigration to Canada from the 1970s to mid-1990s was from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, while from 1998 onwards, it was mainly from China

This section looks at the year of admission of Chinese immigrants who were living in Canada in 2021. It does not include people who immigrated in those years who were no longer living in Canada in 2021 (whether because they had returned to their country of birth, moved to another country or died before 2021).

The majority of Chinese people who had immigrated from 1970 to 1996 were born in either Hong Kong (40.1%), Southeast Asia (13.0%) or Taiwan (7.1%). In contrast, 86.8% of Chinese people who had immigrated from 1998 to 2021 were born in China.

The most common years of admission for Chinese people born in Southeast Asia were 1979 and 1980, as Canada accepted refugees and other emigrants following the Vietnam War (Employment and Immigration Canada, 1982). Chinese people born in Hong Kong had mostly immigrated during the period from 1987 to 1997 (Chart 4). This corresponds to the period between 1985, when the United Kingdom and China formalized an agreement on the handover of Hong Kong, and 1997, when the handover occurred (Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, 2021).

Data table for Chart 4

Data table for chart 4
Table summary
The information is grouped by Year of immigration (appearing as row headers), Total, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and All other places of birth, calculated using number units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Year of immigration	Total	China	Hong Kong	Taiwan	Southeast Asia	All other places of birth
	number
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
1960	325	250	50	0	0	20
1961	240	120	50	0	25	45
1962	450	265	55	35	40	55
1963	540	275	125	10	30	105
1964	1,300	680	345	35	65	175
1965	2,260	1,170	600	60	125	310
1966	2,485	1,100	795	95	180	320
1967	1,965	570	780	50	165	400
1968	2,580	720	1,175	80	215	395
1969	2,735	940	930	90	230	555
1970	2,750	800	1,000	150	255	545
1971	3,135	1,040	1,105	185	300	500
1972	3,585	1,110	1,535	140	280	520
1973	11,430	3,445	5,530	360	720	1,370
1974	10,670	3,115	4,520	395	970	1,665
1975	8,935	2,505	4,085	450	855	1,040
1976	8,650	2,815	3,695	390	740	1,005
1977	6,045	1,860	2,400	325	565	895
1978	4,680	1,365	1,810	180	710	615
1979	13,055	3,200	2,500	195	6,600	560
1980	15,995	4,290	2,770	355	7,840	740
1981	11,550	5,070	2,720	370	2,720	665
1982	9,655	3,290	3,090	350	2,185	735
1983	7,630	2,165	2,705	285	2,030	430
1984	8,570	2,115	2,780	230	3,135	310
1985	8,075	2,360	2,910	180	2,305	320
1986	7,130	2,430	2,470	360	1,360	505
1987	16,250	4,460	7,980	725	1,995	1,085
1988	21,815	5,265	11,280	935	3,335	1,005
1989	20,655	5,505	9,480	1,280	3,390	1,000
1990	27,170	8,505	13,580	1,585	2,495	1,020
1991	24,100	11,215	8,560	1,560	1,845	915
1992	31,660	12,060	13,460	2,845	2,170	1,125
1993	32,735	11,785	14,175	3,815	1,830	1,130
1994	36,745	13,855	16,980	2,960	1,775	1,170
1995	30,880	12,580	12,410	3,625	1,250	1,015
1996	34,400	14,790	12,245	5,535	765	1,070
1997	30,340	15,160	8,555	4,895	620	1,110
1998	22,540	14,960	3,155	3,140	545	735
1999	25,330	20,095	1,685	2,285	595	675
2000	30,965	26,765	1,360	1,585	690	575
2001	32,925	28,630	1,010	1,625	855	795
2002	27,480	24,055	935	1,270	590	640
2003	30,610	27,240	935	1,260	660	525
2004	28,330	25,360	845	1,035	575	520
2005	35,340	31,035	1,060	1,720	760	765
2006	27,815	23,570	1,050	1,545	795	860
2007	23,580	19,745	955	1,490	720	665
2008	26,195	22,295	990	1,640	645	630
2009	26,605	23,065	900	1,450	535	655
2010	27,100	23,715	675	1,390	665	655
2011	25,870	22,880	830	1,230	410	520
2012	29,425	26,495	1,315	690	390	540
2013	28,890	26,530	935	505	335	590
2014	23,070	20,375	1,065	555	340	735
2015	18,995	16,605	875	635	375	505
2016	26,150	23,045	1,380	690	370	665
2017	27,365	24,715	980	665	330	670
2018	27,475	24,300	1,255	760	355	800
2019	25,320	22,415	1,135	710	290	765
2020	16,255	14,235	870	455	170	530

Most Chinese immigrants born in China who had immigrated since 2000 had Mandarin as their mother tongue

Patterns in immigration can be further disaggregated by mother tongue. Among Chinese people born in China, 65.5% had Mandarin as their only mother tongue and 23.9% had Cantonese as their only mother tongue, whereas 86.7% of Chinese people born in Hong Kong had Cantonese as their only mother tongue.

The immigration patterns of Chinese people born in China who had Cantonese as their only mother tongue were similar to those of Chinese people born in Hong Kong who had Cantonese as their only mother tongue: in both cases, the most common years of immigration were approximately 1990 to 1997. In contrast, the most common years of immigration of Chinese people born in China who had Mandarin as their only mother tongue were from 2000 onwards (Chart 5).

Data table for Chart 5

Data table for chart 5
Table summary
The information is grouped by Year of immigration (appearing as row headers), Born in China, Mandarin as only mother tongue, Born in China, Cantonese as only mother tongue and Born in Hong Kong, Cantonese as only mother tongue, calculated using number units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Year of immigration	Born in China, Mandarin as only mother tongue	Born in China, Cantonese as only mother tongue	Born in Hong Kong, Cantonese as only mother tongue
	number
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
1970	130	555	800
1971	165	750	905
1972	120	830	1,275
1973	230	2,765	4,840
1974	205	2,475	3,885
1975	230	2,035	3,475
1976	200	2,315	3,235
1977	150	1,475	2,090
1978	95	1,145	1,625
1979	215	2,585	2,225
1980	250	3,585	2,470
1981	340	4,165	2,440
1982	235	2,670	2,690
1983	175	1,805	2,485
1984	165	1,690	2,515
1985	250	1,855	2,495
1986	210	1,995	2,170
1987	410	3,530	7,210
1988	580	4,100	9,960
1989	740	4,245	8,340
1990	2,345	5,265	12,175
1991	4,455	5,540	7,705
1992	2,870	7,860	12,205
1993	2,975	7,490	12,855
1994	3,540	9,065	15,530
1995	4,100	7,280	11,115
1996	6,685	6,695	10,830
1997	7,900	5,755	7,490
1998	9,400	4,175	2,755
1999	14,405	3,760	1,450
2000	20,415	4,005	1,115
2001	22,815	3,450	820
2002	17,795	4,220	795
2003	20,145	4,650	770
2004	18,410	4,360	635
2005	22,800	5,470	885
2006	16,880	4,400	925
2007	14,055	3,695	780
2008	16,610	3,685	770
2009	17,245	3,825	730
2010	17,895	3,765	470
2011	17,605	3,185	605
2012	20,275	3,840	985
2013	20,675	3,790	640
2014	16,140	2,640	765
2015	13,310	1,880	680
2016	18,325	2,555	1,125
2017	20,470	2,440	805
2018	20,135	2,300	960
2019	18,925	1,635	915
2020	11,765	1,375	685
2021	6,505	805	265

In addition, among Chinese immigrants born in China, few of those with Mandarin as their mother tongue had immigrated before 1990, while the number with Cantonese as their mother tongue who had immigrated before 1990 was higher. The number of Chinese immigrants born in China with Mandarin as their mother tongue was higher in 1990 and 1991 than in previous years, following the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 (Global Affairs Canada, 2024). This immigration included temporary residents from China with work, visit or student visas who were granted permanent residency under the Backlog Clearance Program (Hou and Bonikowska, 2015).

Economic immigrants made up the majority of Chinese immigrants admitted since 1980 who were living in Canada in 2021

Based on the 2021 Census, nearly two-thirds (64.9%) of Chinese people who had immigrated from 1980 to 2021 were economic immigrants, and most of the rest were sponsored by family (28.7%; Chart 6).

Data table for Chart 6

Data table for chart 6
Table summary
The information is grouped by Place of birth (appearing as row headers), Economic immigrants, Immigrants sponsored by family, Refugees and Other immigrants, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Place of birth	Economic immigrants	Immigrants sponsored by family	Refugees	Other immigrants
	percent
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Total	64.9	28.7	4.4	2.1
China	63.2	31.2	4.1	1.6
Hong Kong	71.8	23.3	0.4	4.5
Taiwan	83.3	13.9	0.2	2.6
Southeast Asia	42.0	31.8	25.1	1.1
All other places of birth	67.4	27.5	2.5	2.6

Chinese immigrants born in Southeast Asia were the exception to this pattern, with one-quarter (25.1%) of them being refugees. Most Chinese immigrants born in Southeast Asia who immigrated in 1980 (87.6%) were refugees, while this was the case for 14.7% of those who immigrated from 1981 to 2021. As discussed in the previous section, the number of Chinese immigrants born in Southeast Asia was much higher in 1980 than in subsequent years, and this was associated with the Southeast Asian refugee crisis in 1979 and 1980 (Hou, 2020).

More than 4 in 10 Canadian-born Chinese people had both parents born in China

Overall, 71.6% of Chinese people in Canada were first generation (born outside Canada), 24.9% were second generation (born in Canada, with at least one parent born outside Canada) and 3.5% were third generation or more (born in Canada, with both parents born in Canada). There were 59,660 Chinese people in the third generation or more, the second largest number for any racialized group, after the Black populations (132,770).

More than 4 in 10 Canadian-born Chinese people (43.1%) had both parents born in China (Chart 7). For Canadian-born Chinese people aged 25 to 54, this share was lower, at 31.5%. This was because, by definition, people over the age of 25 in 2021 had been born in the mid-1990s or earlier. If they were born in Canada, their parents must have come to Canada in the mid-1990s or earlier. As mentioned previously, the majority of Chinese immigration to Canada from the 1970s to the mid-1990s was from places other than China.

Data table for Chart 7

Data table for chart 7
Table summary
The information is grouped by Region of birth of parents (appearing as row headers), All age groups and 25 to 54 years, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Region of birth of parents	All age groups	25 to 54 years
	percent
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Both parents born outside Canada
Both in China	43.1	31.5
Both in Hong Kong	9.8	17.3
One in China, one in Hong Kong	4.7	8.5
Both in Southeast Asia	4.8	8.7
Both in Eastern or Southeast Asia, other places and combinations	7.1	8.2
One in Eastern or Southeast Asia, one in other place of birth	2.6	3.3
Both in other places of birth	1.6	3.0
One parent born in Canada, one outside Canada
One in Canada, one in Eastern or Southeast Asia	11.6	8.4
One in Canada, one in other place of birth	2.5	2.0
Both parents born in Canada
Both in Canada	12.3	9.1

These data on place of birth of parents mean that, in the analyses of the education and employment of the population aged 25 to 54 later in this portrait, about 7 in 10 people in the Canadian-born Chinese population did not have both parents born in China.

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Chinese people who were also in other racialized groups

There were 140,280 people in Canada who reported being both Chinese and in one or more other racialized groups. They accounted for 42.3% of all people in Canada who were in multiple racialized groups. They also made up 7.6% of all people who responded “Chinese” on the population group question.

The majority of people who were both Chinese and in one or more other racialized groups were either Chinese and Southeast Asian (42.2%, or 59,190) or Chinese and Filipino (15.9%, or 22,325). Other populations included those who were Chinese and Black (10,645), Chinese and South Asian (8,435), Chinese and Japanese (6,405), Chinese and Korean (6,065), Chinese and Latin American (4,690), Chinese along with a write-in response for another racialized group (4,310), Chinese and West Asian (1,150), or Chinese and Arab (1,100). There were also 15,970 people who were Chinese and in two or more other racialized groups: some of the most common combinations were people who were Chinese, Black and at least one other Asian or Arab group (7,730) and those who were Chinese and multiple other Asian or Arab groups and were not Black or Latin American (5,390).

About half of those who were Chinese and Southeast Asian (49.3%) or Chinese and Filipino (51.6%) were born in Canada, while this figure was over 70% for people who were Chinese and Korean, Chinese and Japanese, Chinese and West Asian, or Chinese and Arab.

Places of birth of parents differed widely between groups (Chart 8). The majority (58.3%) of those who were Chinese and Southeast Asian had parents who were both born in Southeast Asia other than the Philippines. Nearly half (49.3%) of those who were Chinese and Filipino had parents who were both born in the Philippines. Over two-thirds (70.0%) of people who were Chinese and Latin American had at least one parent born in the Caribbean or Central or South America, as did the majority (57.2%) of people who were Chinese and Black, 31.0% of people who were Chinese and in two or more other racialized groups, and 21.8% of people who were Chinese and South Asian.

Data table for Chart 8

Data table for chart 8
Table summary
The information is grouped by Place of birth of parents (appearing as row headers), Chinese and Southeast Asian, Chinese and Filipino and All other combinations, calculated using count units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Place of birth of parents	Chinese and Southeast Asian	Chinese and Filipino	All other combinations
	count
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Both parents born outside Canada
Both born in Southeast Asia, other than the Philippines	34,490	575	1,555
Both born in the Philippines	120	11,005	1,795
Both born in Eastern or Southeast Asia, other places and combinations	14,330	4,105	10,600
Both born in the Caribbean or Central or South America	35	10	10,010
One born in Eastern or Southeast Asia, one in the Caribbean or Central or South America	155	270	3,150
One born in Eastern or Southeast Asia, one in other place of birth	960	560	4,170
All born in other places of birth and combinations	165	80	6,085
One parent born in Canada, one outside Canada
One born in Canada, one in Eastern or Southeast Asia	5,470	3,280	5,160
One born in Canada, one in the Caribbean or Central or South America	30	100	4,040
One born in Canada, one in other place of birth	435	325	3,220
Both parents born in Canada
Both in Canada	3,000	2,015	8,980

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More than two-thirds of Chinese people in Canada lived in Toronto or Vancouver

Chinese people in Canada lived mainly in Ontario (47.8%) and British Columbia (32.1%), while 9.6% lived in Alberta, 6.7% in Quebec, and 3.8% in other provinces and territories. More specifically, over two-thirds of Chinese people lived in the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Toronto (39.6%) and Vancouver (29.9%), while 6.0% lived in Montréal, 5.5% in Calgary, 3.7% in Edmonton and 2.9% in Ottawa–Gatineau. Chinese people made up 19.6% of the population of the Vancouver CMA and 11.1% of the population of the Toronto CMA.

There were some variations in the places of residence of Chinese populations by place of birth and immigrant status. The geographical distribution of Chinese people born in China was similar to that of Chinese people overall: 39.9% lived in the CMA of Toronto and 27.4% in the CMA of Vancouver. Chinese people born in Hong Kong were more likely to live in these two cities: 46.2% lived in Toronto and 35.8% in Vancouver. Over half (58.1%) of Chinese people born in Taiwan lived in Vancouver. Chinese people born in Southeast Asia were comparatively more likely than the rest of the Chinese population to live in Calgary (8.4%) or Edmonton (7.9%).

Overall, 97.7% of Chinese people lived in CMAs (cities of 100,000 people or more), while 1.4%, or 23,645, lived in census agglomerations (CAs; cities of 10,000 to fewer than 100,000 people) and 0.9%, or 15,040, lived outside CMAs and CAs.^{Note 7} The CAs with the largest Chinese populations were Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (2,865), and Brandon, Manitoba (1,500). The census subdivision (municipality) outside a CMA or CA with the largest Chinese population was Whistler, British Columbia (250).

Richmond, in the CMA of Vancouver, was the only census subdivision (CSD) where the majority of the population was Chinese (54.3%). Other CSDs where over 20% of the population was Chinese were Markham (47.9%) and Richmond Hill (31.9%) in the CMA of Toronto, and Metro Vancouver A^{Note 8} (38.7%), Burnaby (33.3%), the municipality of Vancouver (25.9%), Coquitlam (22.2%) and West Vancouver (20.2%) in the CMA of Vancouver. In all of these CSDs except for West Vancouver, the majority of the overall population was part of a racialized group.

The Chinese populations were the only racialized group in which the number of people aged 65 and over was larger than the number of children under 15

The proportion of Chinese people who were seniors (aged 65 or over) was, at 15.7%, higher than for any other racialized group except the Japanese population (also 15.7%). However, it was lower than for the non-racialized non-Indigenous population (22.1%). Likewise, the proportion of Chinese people who were children under 15 years old (15.2%) was lower than for any other racialized group, though higher than for the non-racialized non-Indigenous populations (14.3%). The Chinese populations were the only racialized group in which the number of seniors was larger than the number of children.

Age groups differed substantially by place of birth, generation status and immigrant characteristics. Chinese seniors were mainly born outside Canada (97.3%). More than two-thirds (69.7%) of Chinese seniors had immigrated to Canada before age 55, meaning they had immigrated to Canada as working-age people or as children and were now retirement age. Another 26.7% had immigrated to Canada at age 55 or over; the bulk of these (84.5%) were immigrants sponsored by family, likely people whose children had immigrated to Canada and then sponsored their parents. Over three-quarters (77.4%) of Chinese people aged 15 to 64 were also born outside Canada. In contrast, 81.0% of the Chinese population under 15 years old was born in Canada.

Chinese seniors were much less likely than seniors overall to live alone

The share of Chinese seniors who lived alone^{Note 9} was about half as high (13.5%) as for all seniors in Canada (25.9%). Chinese seniors were more likely to live in a multigenerational household (19.5%) than seniors overall (6.5%). They were also comparatively more likely (17.5%) than seniors overall (9.7%) to live with childless adult children (either as a couple living with only their adult children, or as one person living with only their adult children). Living with only a spouse or partner was their most common household type (37.4%), as was the case for seniors overall (49.5%).

Chinese seniors who were born in Canada were more likely to live alone (28.3%) or with only their spouse or partner (45.8%), while 3.8% lived in a multigenerational household and 10.6% lived with their childless adult children. In contrast, Chinese seniors who were born in China were particularly likely to live in multigenerational households, with 27.4% doing so.

The Chinese populations in Canada were more than half women

The majority of the Chinese populations in Canada were women (52.9%). This was driven by the immigrant population, since 54.9% of Chinese immigrants were women, whereas the proportions of women and men were relatively equal among the non-immigrant Chinese population (49.1% women and 50.9% men) and Chinese non-permanent residents (50.8% women and 49.2% men). In particular, women accounted for large shares of secondary-applicant Chinese economic immigrants (60.7%) and immigrants sponsored by family (63.3%), while men were the majority of principal-applicant economic immigrants (60.0%) and refugees (52.4%).

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Chinese non-permanent residents

The 2021 Census counted 109,170 Chinese non-permanent residents in Canada as of May 2021, making up 6.4% of the Chinese population. They were mostly born in China (88.2%). More than three-quarters of them (75.5%) were aged 15 to 34.

Over half (56.6%) of all Chinese non-permanent residents had a study permit, with or without a work permit, and for Chinese non-permanent residents aged 15 to 34, this figure was 63.5%. Women made up just under half (49.0%) of Chinese non-permanent residents who had a study permit, but the majority (54.0%) of those with only a work permit.

In all, 36,075 Chinese non-permanent residents aged 15 and over attended university at some point between September 2020 and May 2021; 10,930 attended a college, trades school or similar institution; 7,115 attended secondary or elementary school; and 730 attended multiple types of schools. The number of Chinese non-permanent residents who attended university was higher than for any other racialized group; the same was true of the number who attended secondary or elementary school. Chinese people made up 26.5% of non-permanent residents who attended university and 22.0% of non-permanent residents who attended secondary or elementary school, whereas they made up 8.1% of non-permanent residents who attended a college, trades school or similar institution.

The most common CMAs of residence of Chinese non-permanent residents who attended university were Toronto (29.6%), Vancouver (16.4%), Montréal (7.9%) and Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo (6.4%). For those who attended a college, trades school or similar institution, the most common CMAs of residence were Toronto (28.5%), Vancouver (22.5%) and Montréal (15.2%).

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Section 2: Linguistic, ethnocultural and religious diversity

Chinese people born in China or Taiwan mainly spoke Mandarin, while those born in Hong Kong mainly spoke Cantonese

In 2021, the main languages spoken at home on a regular basis by the Chinese populations were English (62.6%), Mandarin (44.9%) and Cantonese (33.4%). Use of French at home was much less common (3.2%). Overall, 63.8% of Chinese people spoke an official language (English or French) at home, and 75.0% spoke a non-official language; this included 38.7% who spoke both official and non-official languages at home.  

Among Chinese people living in Quebec, about one-third (32.9%) spoke French on a regular basis at home, while over half (57.9%) knew French well enough to have a conversation in it.

In terms of the non-official languages the Chinese populations spoke at home, Mandarin was the most common for those born in Taiwan (80.2%) or China (69.2%), while Cantonese^{Note 10} was the most common for those born in Hong Kong (85.2%) or Southeast Asia (51.3%; Chart 9). There were also sizable shares who spoke other languages than these at home: for those born in China, Cantonese (26.3%);^{Note 11} for those born in Taiwan, Min Nan (which includes Taiwanese, Fukien, Chaochow and Teochow; 25.3%); and for those born in Southeast Asia, Mandarin (20.9%) or non-Chinese non-official languages (18.6%). The most common non-Chinese non-official language spoken by Chinese people born in Southeast Asia was Vietnamese (11.2%).

Data table for Chart 9

Data table for chart 9
Table summary
The information is grouped by Generation status/Place of birth (appearing as row headers), Official languages (English or French), Mandarin, Cantonese, Min Nan (includes Taiwanese), Other Chinese languages and Non-official languages other than Chinese languages, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Generation status/Place of birth	Official languages (English or French)	Mandarin	Cantonese	Min Nan (includes Taiwanese)	Other Chinese languages	Non-official languages other than Chinese languages
	percent
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Total	63.8	44.9	33.4	1.7	1.6	1.7
First generation
China	47.3	69.2	26.3	0.4	2.0	0.7
Hong Kong	60.3	7.6	85.2	0.2	0.5	0.4
Taiwan	62.6	80.2	3.8	25.3	1.0	1.4
Southeast Asia	65.3	20.9	51.3	6.8	3.7	18.6
All other places of birth	85.9	16.4	23.9	0.5	7.7	9.6
Second generation
Canada	89.6	24.8	27.2	0.7	0.7	0.8
Third generation or more
Canada	99.2	1.5	5.8	0.1	0.1	0.7

In addition to Mandarin, Cantonese and Min Nan, other Chinese languages that were spoken at home by more than 2,000 Chinese people were Wu (including Shanghainese; 9,935) and Hakka (8,535). Chinese people who spoke Hakka at home were mainly born outside China, particularly in Southern Asia (34.4%) or Southeast Asia (20.9%, with 10.8% born in Malaysia). Another 8,005 Chinese people responded that they spoke Chinese at home but did not specify an exact language. Non-official languages other than Chinese languages that were spoken at home by more than 2,000 Chinese people included Vietnamese (8,635), Japanese (2,810) and Spanish (2,635).

Nearly 4 in 10 Chinese people spoke an official language (English or French) alongside another language at home

Overall, 25.0% of Chinese people spoke English or French and no other languages at home, 38.7% spoke English or French alongside another language at home, and 36.2% spoke only languages other than English or French at home.

Languages spoken at home varied by place of birth, period of immigration and generation status. A little over half of Chinese people born in China spoke only languages other than English or French at home (52.7%); this figure was highest for those who had immigrated from 1980 to 1990 (62.3%) and lowest for those who had immigrated before 1980 (49.8%) and non-permanent residents (43.1%). In contrast, the share who spoke only languages other than English or French at home was between 30% and 40% for Chinese people born in Hong Kong, Taiwan or Southeast Asia, and 14.1% for Chinese people born in other places outside Canada (Chart 10).

Data table for Chart 10

Data table for chart 10
Table summary
The information is grouped by Generation status/Place of birth (appearing as row headers), Official languages (English or French) only, Official and non-official languages and Non-official languages only, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Generation status/Place of birth	Official languages (English or French) only	Official and non-official languages	Non-official languages only
	percent
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Total	25.0	38.7	36.2
First generation
China	10.2	37.1	52.7
Hong Kong	13.4	46.9	39.7
Taiwan	13.9	48.7	37.4
Southeast Asia	26.9	38.3	34.7
All other places of birth	49.9	35.9	14.1
Second generation
Canada	48.8	40.8	10.4
Third generation or more
Canada	92.2	7.0	0.8

Nearly two-thirds (64.0%) of the Chinese second-generation population knew a Chinese language well enough to conduct a conversation, and 50.7% spoke a Chinese language at home. The shares were much lower for Chinese people in the third generation or more: 9.4% knew a Chinese language, and 7.2% spoke one at home.

About four in five people in the Chinese first-generation population (81.5%) knew English or French well enough to have a conversation in it; this was higher among non-permanent residents (92.3%) than Chinese immigrants (80.0%). Among Chinese immigrants who were under age 55 when they immigrated, 84.8% knew an official language, and this proportion was slightly higher (87.6%) for those who had immigrated from 2016 to 2021. However, among Chinese immigrants who had immigrated at age 55 or over, less than 2 in 10 (18.9%) reported in the 2021 Census that they knew an official language; this figure was lower for those who had immigrated from 2011 to 2021 (12.8%) than those who had immigrated before 2011 (24.8%).

Most Chinese people reported “Chinese” as their sole ethnic or cultural origin, while some gave responses associated with other places of birth

Over three-quarters (78.1%) of Chinese people in Canada (defined by the population group question) also had Chinese as their only reported ethnic or cultural origin. In particular, this was the case for 91.4% of Chinese people born in China. It was also the case for 76.9% of Chinese people born in Southeast Asia, 71.3% of those born in Hong Kong, 66.5% of those born in Canada, 31.0% of those born in Taiwan and 70.8% of those born in other places outside Canada. Data on ethnic and cultural origins are based on write-in responses.

Of Chinese people born in Taiwan, 51.4% reported “Taiwanese” as their only ethnic or cultural origin, and 11.8% reported it alongside other origins. Of Chinese people born in Hong Kong, 17.8% reported only “Hong Konger” and 5.4% reported it alongside other origins. Reporting only “Hong Konger” was more common among recent immigrants born in Hong Kong (37.6% of those who immigrated from 2016 to 2021) and non-permanent residents born there (42.4%).

Overall, 83.7% of Chinese people (around 1.4 million people) reported “Chinese”, “Taiwanese” or “Hong Konger” as their only ethnic or cultural origin, while 4.3% reported “Asian” as their only ethnic or cultural origin. A little under 1 in 10 Chinese people (9.4%, or 160,835) reported multiple ethnic or cultural origins; this was a smaller share than for any other racialized group except Koreans (6.6%). Most of these reported Chinese (145,700) alongside one or more other origins, such as Hong Konger, Canadian, English, Taiwanese, Scottish or Irish. 

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Other ethnic or cultural origins associated with China

There were two categories of ethnic or cultural origins other than “Chinese” for which the majority of people had both parents born in China. Nearly three-quarters (73.4%) of people reporting Uyghur ethnic or cultural origins had parents who were both born in China, and just over half (50.3%) were born in China themselves. More than half (52.6%) of people reporting Tibetan ethnic or cultural origins had parents who were both born in China.

People reporting Tibetan or Uyghur ethnic or cultural origins did not generally respond as “Chinese” on the population group question, and thus most of them were not in the main population of interest for this portrait. Over two-thirds of people with Tibetan ethnic or cultural origins (69.1%) provided write-in responses to the population group question (mainly “Tibetan”), which were classified in the population group category “racialized group not included elsewhere (n.i.e.).” Over two-thirds of people with Uyghur ethnic or cultural origins (67.6%) reported being West Asian in the population group question. Given the connection of both groups to China, some additional information on each is provided here.

Tibetan ethnic or cultural origins

There were 9,350 people reporting Tibetan ethnic or cultural origins in Canada in 2021. Their most common places of birth were India (45.5%), Canada (21.0%), China (16.7%) and Nepal (13.5%). The relationships between their places of birth and the places of birth of their parents were complex. About one-quarter (25.6%) were born in India to parents who were both born in China, and 8.5% were born in Nepal to parents who were both born in China. Another 16.5% were born in China to parents who were both born in China, and 14.9% were born in India to parents who were both born in India. Additionally, 8.0% were born in Canada to parents who were both born in India.

More than 9 in 10 people reporting Tibetan ethnic or cultural origins (90.8%) were Buddhist. Their most common mother tongues were Tibetan (77.3%) and English (24.5%). Over two-thirds (68.7%) spoke an official language regularly at home, typically English (68.0%). Nearly three-quarters (73.9%) of Tibetans lived in the CMA of Toronto. Among people reporting Tibetan ethnic or cultural origins who had immigrated to Canada from 1980 to 2021, 70.1% were refugees, 20.3% were sponsored by family and 9.1% were economic immigrants.

Uyghur ethnic or cultural origins

There were 2,065 people reporting Uyghur ethnic or cultural origins in Canada in 2021. Most were born either in China (50.4%) or in Canada (26.6%), while smaller numbers were born in Kazakhstan (9.7%) or Kyrgyzstan (5.3%). About 6 in 10 (61.3%) were immigrants, a little under 3 in 10 (28.3%) were non-immigrants and 1 in 10 (10.2%) were non-permanent residents. Among people reporting Uyghur origins who had immigrated to Canada from 1980 to 2021, 42.3% were economic immigrants, 36.8% were refugees and 20.6% were sponsored by family.

A little over three-quarters (75.8%) of people reporting Uyghur ethnic or cultural origins were Muslim. Their most common mother tongues were Uyghur (63.7%), Russian (15.3%) and English (14.5%). Over three-quarters (76.3%) spoke at least one official language regularly at home, including 72.6% who spoke English at home and 13.1% who spoke French at home.

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Over 70% of Chinese people had no religion or had secular perspectives, more than for any other racialized group

The Chinese populations were more likely than any other population group to report having no religion or having secular perspectives (71.7%). The only other racialized group where the majority of people had no religion or had secular perspectives was the Japanese population (67.7%). For comparison, 34.6% of people in the Canadian population overall had no religion or had secular perspectives.

In contrast to most other racialized groups and the non-racialized non-Indigenous population, Chinese people in the third generation or more (those who were born in Canada and whose parents were both born in Canada) were less likely to have no religion or to have secular perspectives (69.1%) than the Chinese second-generation (73.4%) and first-generation (71.2%) populations. The only other racialized group for which this was the case was, again, the Japanese population.

The most common religions among the Chinese populations in Canada were Christianity (20.2%) and Buddhism (7.2%), but there was considerable variation in religion by place of birth (Chart 11). The share of the Chinese populations who had no religion or had secular perspectives was highest among those born in China (80.2%). The share who were Buddhist was highest among those born in Southeast Asia (28.5%) or Taiwan (21.1%), particularly in the mainland Southeast Asian countries of Myanmar (55.7%), Cambodia (44.1%), Vietnam (38.1%) and Laos (33.3%).

Data table for Chart 11

Data table for chart 11
Table summary
The information is grouped by Generation status/Place of birth (appearing as row headers), No religion or secular perspectives, Christian, Buddhist, Chinese religions and spiritual traditions and All other religions, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Generation status/Place of birth	No religion or secular perspectives	Christian	Buddhist	Chinese religions and spiritual traditions	All other religions
	percent
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Total	71.7	20.2	7.2	0.6	0.3
First generation
China	80.2	12.2	6.8	0.6	0.2
Hong Kong	56.8	37.2	5.5	0.3	0.2
Taiwan	54.8	21.4	21.1	2.3	0.3
Southeast Asia	44.9	25.8	28.5	0.7	0.1
All other places of birth	48.2	45.3	5.3	0.2	1.1
Second generation
Canada	73.4	21.7	4.1	0.3	0.4
Third generation or more
Canada	69.1	28.9	0.9	0.1	0.9

Christians made up 12.2% of the Chinese population born in China and 7.8% of those born in Vietnam. In contrast, Christians made up the majority or a large minority of the Chinese population born in several Southeast Asian countries: the Philippines (71.5%), Indonesia (54.4%), Singapore (48.5%) and Malaysia (39.4%). Over one-third of Chinese people born in Hong Kong (37.2%) were Christian. The majority of Chinese people born in Africa (72.3%), the Caribbean and Central and South America (59.7%), or Southern Asia (51.9%) were Christian, as were more than one-quarter (28.9%) of the Chinese population in the third generation or more.

In addition, 0.6% of Chinese people, or 9,500, followed Chinese religions and spiritual traditions (3,440 were Taoist, 1,065 practised ancestor veneration, 885 were Confucian, and 4,105 reported other Chinese religions and spiritual traditions). This was more common among Chinese people born in Taiwan, 1.5% of whom were Taoist.

Section 3: Education and economic outcomes

The Chinese populations had high educational attainment

Over 6 in 10 Chinese people aged 25 to 54 (61.8%) had a bachelor’s degree or higher, ranging from 44.9% of those born in Southeast Asia to about two-thirds of those born in Canada (66.7%), Hong Kong (66.3%) or Taiwan (66.0%). In comparison, 36.6% of the overall population of Canada in that age group had a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Moreover, Chinese people were more likely to have a bachelor’s degree or higher completed in Canada (40.9%) than one completed outside Canada (20.9%; Chart 12). This remained true among the Chinese first-generation population (those born outside Canada): a larger share had a bachelor’s degree completed in Canada (35.1%) than a bachelor’s degree completed outside Canada (25.5%). This was not the case for people born outside Canada among any other racialized group or the non-racialized non-Indigenous population.

Data table for Chart 12

Data table for chart 12
Table summary
The information is grouped by Generation status/Place of birth (appearing as row headers), Bachelor's degree or higher from Canada, Bachelor's degree or higher from outside Canada, Postsecondary certificate or diploma below bachelor level from Canada, Postsecondary certificate or diploma below bachelor level from outside Canada, High school diploma or equivalency certificate and No certificate, diploma or degree, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Generation status/Place of birth	Bachelor's degree or higher from Canada	Bachelor's degree or higher from outside Canada	Postsecondary certificate or diploma below bachelor level from Canada	Postsecondary certificate or diploma below bachelor level from outside Canada	High school diploma or equivalency certificate	No certificate, diploma or degree
	percent
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Total	40.9	20.9	13.2	6.7	13.2	5.2
First generation
China	30.0	29.8	9.7	10.1	13.6	6.8
Hong Kong	56.1	10.2	15.1	2.9	12.7	3.0
Taiwan	42.1	23.9	16.3	5.9	10.8	1.0
Southeast Asia	35.2	9.8	21.1	2.5	17.9	13.5
All other places of birth	46.3	18.0	16.8	3.4	13.0	2.4
Second generation
Canada	65.1	3.2	18.7	0.1	11.4	1.5
Third generation or more
Canada	48.5	2.3	25.9	0.1	19.7	3.6

One of the largest differences in educational attainment between Chinese populations was seen between the population in the second generation (people born in Canada with at least one parent born outside Canada) and that in the third generation or more (people born in Canada with both parents born in Canada). Over two-thirds of the second-generation population had a bachelor’s degree or higher (68.3%), compared with about half of the population in the third generation or more (50.8%)—though the latter figure was still nearly twice as high as the Canadian average for the population in the third generation or more (26.8%).^{Note 12} The Chinese population in the third generation or more was comparatively more likely than the rest of the Chinese population to instead have a postsecondary certificate or diploma below the bachelor level (for example, a college or trades certificate or diploma; 26.0%) or a high school diploma or equivalency certificate (19.7%) as their highest level of education.

The educational attainment of Canadian-born Chinese populations also differed by gender (Chart 13). While educational attainment was essentially equal between women and men in the first-generation Chinese population, women were more likely than men to complete a bachelor’s degree or higher among the second generation and third generation or more. Men were more likely than women to have a postsecondary certificate or diploma below the bachelor level or a high school diploma or equivalency certificate as their highest level of education.

Data table for Chart 13

Data table for chart 13
Table summary
The information is grouped by Generation status/Gender (appearing as row headers), Bachelor's degree or higher from Canada, Bachelor's degree or higher from outside Canada, Postsecondary certificate or diploma below bachelor level from Canada, Postsecondary certificate or diploma below bachelor level from outside Canada, High school diploma or equivalency certificate and No certificate, diploma or degree, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Generation status/Gender	Bachelor's degree or higher from Canada	Bachelor's degree or higher from outside Canada	Postsecondary certificate or diploma below bachelor level from Canada	Postsecondary certificate or diploma below bachelor level from outside Canada	High school diploma or equivalency certificate	No certificate, diploma or degree
	percent
Note: Given that the non-binary population is small, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is sometimes necessary to protect the confidentiality of responses. In these cases, individuals in the category “non-binary persons” are distributed into the other two gender categories and are denoted by the “+” symbol. The category “Men+” includes men, as well as some non-binary persons. The category “Women+” includes women, as well as some non-binary persons. Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Total
Women+	40.5	21.9	12.2	8.1	12.3	5.1
Men+	41.4	19.8	14.3	4.9	14.3	5.3
First generation
Women+	34.2	26.0	11.0	9.9	12.9	5.9
Men+	36.1	24.9	12.2	6.3	14.1	6.3
Second generation
Women+	70.3	3.5	16.6	0.1	8.5	1.0
Men+	60.3	2.9	20.7	0.2	14.1	1.9
Third generation or more
Women+	55.0	2.2	23.9	0.2	16.1	2.5
Men+	42.0	2.4	27.7	0.0	23.2	4.6

Chinese people were more likely than the non-racialized non-Indigenous population to study fields such as engineering, computer science and accounting

Among the population aged 25 to 54 with a bachelor’s degree or higher, the proportions of Chinese people who studied engineering (14.1%) or mathematics and computer and information science (12.0%) were higher than those of the non-racialized non-Indigenous population (7.3% of whom studied engineering and 3.8% of whom studied mathematics and computer and information science). Additionally, Chinese women were more likely to have studied business and administration (30.8%, compared with 14.8% for non-racialized non-Indigenous women), particularly accounting and related services (7.6%, compared with 2.6% for non-racialized non-Indigenous women).

In contrast, Chinese people with a bachelor’s degree or higher were less likely than the non-racialized non-Indigenous population to have studied education and teaching (3.3% vs. 12.4%) or social and behavioural sciences (11.9% vs. 17.3%). Chinese women were also less likely than non-racialized non-Indigenous women to have studied nursing (2.4% vs. 6.9%), and Chinese men were less likely than non-racialized non-Indigenous men to have studied the humanities (3.2% vs. 8.0%).

Chinese people with a postsecondary certificate or diploma below the bachelor level (for example, a college or trades certificate) were about twice as likely to have studied business and administration (36.7%) as the non-racialized non-Indigenous population (18.3%). Chinese women with this level of education were half as likely as non-racialized non-Indigenous women to have studied health care (12.8% vs. 25.1%), and Chinese men were less than half as likely as non-racialized non-Indigenous men to have studied mechanics and repair, architecture, construction and precision production (14.6% vs. 39.0%).

The Chinese populations had higher unemployment rates than the non-racialized non-Indigenous population, across all levels of education

Despite their high educational attainment, and the large share with Canadian degrees, the 2021 Census found that as of May 2021, Chinese people had lower employment rates and higher unemployment rates than the non-racialized non-Indigenous population. This was the case across all levels of education (charts 14 and 15).

Data table for Chart 14

Data table for chart 14
Table summary
The information is grouped by Highest certificate, diploma or degree and location of study/Gender (appearing as row headers), Chinese populations, Non-racialized non-Indigenous populations and Difference in employment rate, calculated using percent and percentage point units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Highest certificate, diploma or degree and location of study/Gender	Chinese populations	Non-racialized non-Indigenous populations	Difference in employment rate
	percent		percentage point
Note: Given that the non-binary population is small, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is sometimes necessary to protect the confidentiality of responses. In these cases, individuals in the category “non-binary persons” are distributed into the other two gender categories and are denoted by the “+” symbol. The category “Men+” includes men, as well as some non-binary persons. The category “Women+” includes women, as well as some non-binary persons. Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Total
Women+	68.5	78.8	-10.3
Men+	77.4	83.8	-6.4
No certificate, diploma or degree
Women+	44.2	48.1	-3.9
Men+	58.6	64.8	-6.2
High school diploma or equivalency certificate
Women+	49.6	67.6	-18.0
Men+	62.5	77.7	-15.2
Postsecondary certificate or diploma below bachelor level from outside Canada
Women+	50.3	71.3	-21.0
Men+	66.7	86.3	-19.6
Postsecondary certificate or diploma below bachelor level from Canada
Women+	71.2	80.9	-9.7
Men+	78.6	87.5	-8.9
Bachelor's degree or higher from outside Canada
Women+	63.6	81.1	-17.5
Men+	77.0	90.1	-13.1
Bachelor's degree or higher from Canada
Women+	82.7	88.8	-6.1
Men+	86.0	91.5	-5.5

Data table for Chart 15

Data table for chart 15
Table summary
The information is grouped by Highest certificate, diploma or degree and location of study/Gender (appearing as row headers), Chinese populations and Non-racialized non-Indigenous populations, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Highest certificate, diploma or degree and location of study/Gender	Chinese populations	Non-racialized non-Indigenous populations
	percent
Note: Given that the non-binary population is small, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is sometimes necessary to protect the confidentiality of responses. In these cases, individuals in the category “non-binary persons” are distributed into the other two gender categories and are denoted by the “+” symbol. The category “Men+” includes men, as well as some non-binary persons. The category “Women+” includes women, as well as some non-binary persons. Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Total
Women+	10.8	7.2
Men+	9.1	7.1
No certificate, diploma or degree
Women+	25.2	15.7
Men+	17.7	12.9
High school diploma or equivalency certificate
Women+	20.5	11.4
Men+	15.6	9.8
Postsecondary certificate or diploma below bachelor level from outside Canada
Women+	17.9	10.9
Men+	14.5	7.1
Postsecondary certificate or diploma below bachelor level from Canada
Women+	11.6	7.4
Men+	9.9	6.2
Bachelor's degree or higher from outside Canada
Women+	11.5	6.9
Men+	8.6	4.9
Bachelor's degree or higher from Canada
Women+	5.9	3.8
Men+	5.9	4.0

Since the data from the 2021 Census are as of May 2021, they may have been affected by the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, so earlier data (from the 2016 Census) and later data (from the Labour Force Survey in 2024) are also examined.

The 2021 Census findings differed from 2016. In the 2016 Census, the overall unemployment rate of Chinese men aged 25 to 54 (6.1%) was similar to that of non-racialized non-Indigenous men (6.2%), while in 2021, it was higher (9.1% of Chinese men vs. 7.1% of non-racialized non-Indigenous men). Additionally, in 2016, Chinese people aged 25 to 54 with no certificate, diploma or degree had a lower unemployment rate (8.1%) than the non-racialized non-Indigenous population with the same level of education (11.3%), and a higher employment rate than them (65.0% vs. 62.4%).

Data from the Labour Force Survey on the population aged 25 to 54 show that in 2024, the unemployment rate of Chinese women was 6.5%, compared with 3.7% for non-racialized women^{Note 13} and 5.3% for all women. Among men, the unemployment rates were 6.1% for Chinese men, 4.9% for non-racialized men and 5.6% for all men. Likewise, the employment rate of Chinese women (75.8%) was lower than that of non-racialized women (83.7%) or women overall (80.3%), and the employment rate of Chinese men (83.9%) was lower than that of non-racialized men (87.3%) or men overall (86.7%; Statistics Canada, 2025).

Chinese people with a bachelor’s degree or higher were less likely than non-racialized non-Indigenous people to have jobs matching their level of education

Among the population aged 25 to 54 who worked in 2020 or 2021, about 4 in 10 Chinese people (41.3%) worked as professionals (that is, in occupations typically requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher) or as senior or specialized managers, compared with about 3 in 10 people (29.0%) in the non-racialized non-Indigenous population. This is because the share of Chinese people who had a bachelor’s degree or higher was larger than that among the non-racialized non-Indigenous population.^{Note 14}

However, the picture changed when comparing people with similar levels of education. Among the population aged 25 to 54 who worked in 2020 or 2021 and who had a bachelor’s degree or higher, 57.4% of Chinese people worked as professionals or senior or specialized managers, lower than the figure for the non-racialized non-Indigenous population (65.7%). This was a gap of 8.3 percentage points; the gap was larger for Chinese women (12.0 percentage points) than Chinese men (3.7 percentage points).

For men, this gap was attributable to Chinese men with a bachelor’s degree or higher from outside Canada being comparatively less likely to work as professionals or senior or specialized managers (50.9%). Among people with a Canadian bachelor’s degree or higher, the share of Chinese men working as professionals or senior or specialized managers (64.3%) was similar to that of non-racialized non-Indigenous men (64.7%).

Compared with non-racialized non-Indigenous women who had a bachelor’s degree or higher (67.0%), Chinese women with the same level of education were less likely to work as professionals or senior or specialized managers. This was the case whether the Chinese women had a Canadian degree and were born in Canada (63.6%), had a Canadian degree and were born outside Canada (59.2%), or had a degree from outside Canada (41.3%).

Differences in job match between the Chinese and non-racialized non-Indigenous populations in the same major field of study were mostly related to location of study

Across all major fields of study, Chinese people with a degree from outside Canada were less likely to work as professionals or senior or specialized managers than either the Chinese or non-racialized non-Indigenous populations with a Canadian degree (Chart 16).

Data table for Chart 16

Data table for chart 16
Table summary
The information is grouped by Major field of study/Gender (appearing as row headers), Chinese population with degree from outside Canada, Chinese population with Canadian degree and Non-racialized non-Indigenous population with Canadian degree, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Major field of study/Gender	Chinese population with degree from outside Canada	Chinese population with Canadian degree	Non-racialized non-Indigenous population with Canadian degree
	percent
Note: Given that the non-binary population is small, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is sometimes necessary to protect the confidentiality of responses. In these cases, individuals in the category “non-binary persons” are distributed into the other two gender categories and are denoted by the “+” symbol. The category “Men+” includes men, as well as some non-binary persons. The category “Women+” includes women, as well as some non-binary persons. Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Business and administration
Women+	38.5	60.5	64.6
Men+	43.0	59.5	61.9
Engineering
Women+	48.1	74.9	75.7
Men+	50.7	77.0	77.4
Computer and information science
Women+	57.2	72.8	70.8
Men+	68.1	78.4	80.9
Health care
Women+	52.5	86.2	89.9
Men+	62.2	87.1	88.7
Education and teaching
Women+	38.7	72.4	85.9
Men+	37.5	79.0	85.8
All other fields of study
Women+	39.6	49.8	57.0
Men+	46.3	52.2	55.4

Within the same field of study, differences between Chinese people with a Canadian degree and non-racialized non-Indigenous people with a Canadian degree were mostly small. For example, 77.0% of Chinese men and 77.4% of non-racialized non-Indigenous men with a Canadian degree in engineering worked as professionals or senior or specialized managers. The same pattern applied when looking at occupation in more detail (not shown in chart): 64.9% of Chinese men and 64.3% of non-racialized non-Indigenous men with a Canadian degree in engineering worked as professionals and specialized managers in natural and applied sciences and related occupations.

The main exception to this pattern was the major field of study of education and teaching. Working as a manager or professional in education was less common for Chinese women (57.9%) or men (61.4%) with a Canadian degree in education and teaching than for non-racialized non-Indigenous women (77.1%) or men (75.8%) with a Canadian degree in education and teaching. These differences were primarily driven by Chinese people being less likely to work as secondary and elementary school teachers and principals.

Place of birth was a major factor in these gaps. Chinese people with a Canadian degree in education and teaching who were born outside Canada were less likely to work as managers or professionals in education and teaching (45.8%) than Chinese people with such a degree who were born in Canada (72.9%).

Chinese people with a postsecondary certificate or diploma below the bachelor level were less likely to have occupations closely connected to their field of study than the non-racialized non-Indigenous population

Chinese women aged 25 to 54 with a postsecondary certificate or diploma below the bachelor level in business and administration who worked in 2020 or 2021 were less likely than non-racialized non-Indigenous women with the same characteristics to work in business, finance and administration occupations (43.0% vs. 56.2%) and more likely to work in sales and service occupations requiring at most a high school education (23.2% vs. 13.2%).

Chinese men with a postsecondary certificate or diploma below the bachelor level in mechanics and repair, architecture, construction and precision production were less likely to work in technical trades (45.5%) than non-racialized non-Indigenous men with the same credentials (57.3%). However, Chinese men with a postsecondary certificate or diploma below the bachelor level in engineering technology were slightly more likely to work in natural and applied sciences and related occupations (37.6%) than non-racialized non-Indigenous men with the same credentials (34.4%).

Chinese people without a postsecondary credential were more likely than the non-racialized non-Indigenous population to work in sales and service occupations

Chinese women and men aged 25 to 54 without a postsecondary credential who worked in 2020 or 2021 were more likely than non-Indigenous non-racialized women and men with the same characteristics to work in sales and service occupations, by 21.3 percentage points for men and 13.7 percentage points for women (Chart 17). In particular, they were more likely to work in food service occupations, for example, as chefs; cooks; or food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations. Compared with non-racialized non-Indigenous populations of the same gender, Chinese women with no postsecondary credentials were less likely to work in business, finance and administration occupations, and Chinese men were less likely to work in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations.

Data table for Chart 17

Data table for chart 17
Table summary
The information is grouped by Broad occupational category (appearing as row headers), Non-racialized non-Indigenous men+, Chinese men+, Non-racialized non-Indigenous women+ and Chinese women+ , calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Broad occupational category	Non-racialized non-Indigenous men+	Chinese men+	Non-racialized non-Indigenous women+	Chinese women+
	percent
Notes: The category "All other occupations" includes the broad occupational categories "Legislative and senior management occupations", "Natural and applied sciences and related occupations", "Health occupations" and "Occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport". Given that the non-binary population is small, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is sometimes necessary to protect the confidentiality of responses. In these cases, individuals in the category “non-binary persons” are distributed into the other two gender categories and are denoted by the “+” symbol. The category “Men+” includes men, as well as some non-binary persons. The category “Women+” includes women, as well as some non-binary persons. Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Business, finance and administration occupations	7.8	8.8	26.0	17.1
Occupations in education, law and social, community and government services	3.3	1.9	8.2	3.5
Sales and service occupations	22.6	43.9	42.9	56.7
Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations	40.9	27.4	6.4	3.8
Natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations	7.5	2.0	2.3	1.1
Occupations in manufacturing and utilities	9.6	7.3	4.7	11.5
All other occupations	8.3	8.7	9.4	6.3

Over one-fifth of Chinese workers used Chinese languages regularly at work

Over one-fifth of Chinese people aged 25 to 54 who had a job in 2020 or 2021 used a Chinese language regularly at work: 15.8% (97,195) used Chinese languages along with official languages and 7.2% (44,450) used only Chinese languages.^{Note 15}

The languages people spoke at home and those they used at work were related. Among Chinese people who spoke Chinese and no official languages at home, 20.8% used only Chinese languages at work, and another 20.6% used Chinese languages along with official languages. Among Chinese people who spoke Chinese along with an official language at home, 19.9% used Chinese along with an official language at work, while few (2.4%) used only Chinese languages at work. Nearly all (96.1%) Chinese people who spoke only official languages at home also used only official languages at work (Chart 18).

Data table for Chart 18

Data table for chart 18
Table summary
The information is grouped by Language spoken at home (appearing as row headers), Other languages and combinations used at work, Only Chinese languages used at work, Official languages and Chinese languages used at work and Only official languages (English or French) used at work, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Language spoken at home	Other languages and combinations used at work	Only Chinese languages used at work	Official languages and Chinese languages used at work	Only official languages (English or French) used at work
	percent
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.
Total	0.4	7.2	15.8	76.6
Only official languages (English or French) spoken at home	0.2	0.5	3.3	96.1
Official and non-official languages spoken at home	0.5	2.4	19.9	77.2
Only non-official languages spoken at home	0.4	20.8	20.6	58.2

Chinese people who used only Chinese languages at work were more likely to work in non-managerial occupations typically requiring at most a high school diploma (40.6%)^{Note 16} than those who used Chinese languages along with official languages (27.5%) or those who used only official languages (18.8%) at work.

Some occupations had higher shares of people who used Chinese at work. For example, only Chinese languages were used at work by 41.5% of Chinese people working as chefs; 27.5% of those working as cooks; and 23.2% of those working as food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations. A little less than half (44.9%) of Chinese people who were real estate agents and salespersons used Chinese languages along with official languages at work, as did 34.8% of those who were insurance agents and brokers and 34.3% of those who were financial advisors. In addition, among Chinese people who were senior managers, 21.0% used Chinese languages along with official languages at work, while 11.1% used only Chinese languages at work.

Chinese people were more likely to be in either the top or the bottom income decile than non-racialized non-Indigenous people

Start of text box

Adjusted after-tax income of economic family for all persons

The adjusted after-tax income of economic family concept is used in this portrait series to measure income for each person. In this income concept, a person’s income is measured as the after-tax income of their economic family (people who are related to each other and live in the same household), adjusted for the number of people in the economic family. The adjustment for family size is done because of economies of scale: for example, two people living together would typically have lower expenses for things such as housing than two people living separately. The adjustment for family size is done by dividing the after-tax income of the economic family by the square root of the number of people in the economic family. This adjustment allows income to be analyzed in a comparable way between population groups with different family sizes.

End of text box

The median adjusted after-tax economic family income of Chinese people in 2020 was $49,600, which was 92.5% that of non-racialized non-Indigenous people ($53,600). However, looking only at the median does not take into account variability across the income distribution.

The Chinese populations included an above-average number of people in the bottom two deciles of adjusted after-tax economic family income (that is, in the 20% of the population that had the lowest incomes) and an above-average number in the top decile (that is, the 10% of the population with the highest incomes). They were comparatively less likely to have incomes in the middle part of the income distribution (Chart 19). No other population group had this pattern of income distribution.

Data table for Chart 19

Data table for chart 19
Table summary
The information is grouped by Adjusted after-tax economic family income group/Economic family after-tax income decile group (appearing as row headers), Total population, Chinese populations, Other racialized groups and Non-racialized non-Indigenous populations, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Adjusted after-tax economic family income group/Economic family after-tax income decile group	Total population	Chinese populations	Other racialized groups	Non-racialized non-Indigenous populations
	percent
Source : Statistique Canada, Recensement de la population, 2021.
Less than 2,500 dollars
In bottom decile	1.0	3.3	1.6	0.7
2,500 dollars or more
In bottom decile	9.0	12.9	10.3	7.8
In second decile	9.9	10.5	10.9	9.3
In third decile	10.0	9.4	11.4	9.5
In fourth decile	10.0	8.4	11.1	9.8
In fifth decile	10.0	8.2	10.7	10.0
In sixth decile	10.0	8.1	10.1	10.2
In seventh decile	10.0	8.4	9.8	10.3
In eighth decile	10.0	8.9	9.0	10.5
In ninth decile	10.0	10.0	8.3	10.7
In top decile	10.0	11.9	6.8	11.2

The income distribution also differed by place of birth. Incomes in the bottom decile were more common among Chinese people born in China (22.0%), Taiwan (19.9%) or Hong Kong (14.9%) and less common among Canadian-born Chinese people (7.8%). Incomes in the top decile were more common among Canadian-born Chinese people (16.8%) and Chinese people born in Hong Kong (15.0%) or Southeast Asia (12.5%) and least common among Chinese people born in China (8.0%).

The chart also shows that Chinese people in Canada were more likely than the non-racialized non-Indigenous population to have little or no adjusted after-tax economic family income (under $2,500). This population was mostly people with $0 to $2,499 in economic family income (rather than a negative amount of income^{Note 17}): there were 50,010 Chinese people in this situation.

Chinese people with income of $0 to $2,500 belonged to a few different main groups. A little over half rented (53.7%) and a little under half owned (46.3%) their homes. Of the renters, the majority (54.5%) were students who were either living alone or living with other people not in a census family (for example, roommates). Of the homeowners, most were either immigrants (45.9%) or non-permanent residents (43.0%), and most (80.5%) were under age 55 and thus less likely to be retired. They may have been people with high wealth and little income who were living off savings.^{Note 18}

Chinese people were more likely to be homeowners than any other population group

More than 8 in 10 Chinese people (84.5%) lived in households that owned their home, a higher share than among the non-racialized non-Indigenous population (75.7%) or any other racialized group (the next highest was the Southeast Asian populations, at 71.9%). This stands out particularly because, as mentioned previously, about two-thirds of Chinese people lived in the CMAs of Toronto and Vancouver, the two Canadian cities with the highest housing prices. Even the majority of Chinese people under age 55 who lived alone owned their home (58.5%); this was not the case for any other population group.

More than 3 in 10 Chinese people (31.8%) lived in a household that owned their home mortgage-free, a higher share than among the non-racialized non-Indigenous population (27.2%) and any other racialized group.

That said, some Chinese people did face housing challenges. Looking at the population with an adjusted after-tax economic family income of at least $2,500,^{Note 19} 4 in 10 Chinese people whose households had a mortgage (40.6%) were spending 30% or more of total household income on housing. This was more than for any racialized group, except West Asian people (44.6%), and compared with a figure of 12.4% for the non-racialized non-Indigenous population. Additionally, these data are from the 2021 Census, before the increases in interest rates in 2022 to 2023, so they likely understate current housing costs.

Section 4: Social inclusion and well-being

One in six Chinese people had a disability

According to the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability, about one in six Chinese people had a disability (16.4%). The Canadian Survey on Disability uses a social model of disability, meaning it regards disability as resulting from the interaction between a person’s functional limitations and barriers in the environment, including social and physical barriers that make it harder to function day to day. By this understanding, disability is related to social inclusion and not only to health (Pianosi et al., 2023).

Older people were more likely to have a disability: 27.0% of Chinese people aged 55 and over had a disability, compared with 11.1% of Chinese people aged 15 to 54. Among the total Canadian population, 35.9% of those aged 55 and over had a disability, as did 21.5% of those aged 15 to 54.

The most common types of disability reported by Chinese people aged 15 to 54 were mental health-related disabilities (4.8%), pain-related disabilities (4.8%) and vision disabilities (4.5%). Among Chinese people aged 55 and over, 16.4% had a physical disability (mobility, flexibility or dexterity), 14.2% had a pain-related disability, 10.8% had a vision disability and 10.1% had a hearing disability. Persons with disabilities often have multiple co-occurring disability types; therefore, disability type categories are not mutually exclusive.

Chinese people had a lower sense of belonging to their local community than other population groups

Chinese people were less likely than both non-racialized non-Indigenous people and people from other racialized groups to have a very strong sense of belonging to their local community, their city or town, their province, Canada, their country of origin, or people with the same first language (Chart 20). They were also less likely than people from other racialized groups to have a very strong sense of belonging to people with the same ethnic or cultural background as themselves. As well, they were more likely than people from other racialized groups to have a weak sense of belonging to each of the above communities (Chart 21).^{Note 20}

Data table for Chart 20

Data table for chart 20
Table summary
The information is grouped by Community (appearing as row headers), Chinese populations (ref.), Non-racialized non-Indigenous populations and Other racialized groups, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Community	Chinese populations (ref.)	Non-racialized non-Indigenous populations	Other racialized groups
	percent
Note * significantly different from reference category (ref.) (p < 0.05) Return to note&nbsp;* referrer Note: Data on sense of belonging to country of origin are collected only for populations born outside Canada. Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey – Social Identity, 2020.
Local community	20.3	25.4 Data table for chart 20 Note *	36.6 Data table for chart 20 Note *
City or town	22.0	28.1 Data table for chart 20 Note *	43.5 Data table for chart 20 Note *
Province	20.3	35.7 Data table for chart 20 Note *	43.3 Data table for chart 20 Note *
Canada	33.2	49.3 Data table for chart 20 Note *	60.2 Data table for chart 20 Note *
Country of origin	23.1	29.1 Data table for chart 20 Note *	47.1 Data table for chart 20 Note *
People with same ethnic or cultural background	21.6	24.6	41.0 Data table for chart 20 Note *
People with same first language	20.6	29.1 Data table for chart 20 Note *	42.3 Data table for chart 20 Note *

Data table for Chart 21

Data table for chart 21
Table summary
The information is grouped by Community (appearing as row headers), Chinese populations (ref.), Non-racialized non-Indigenous populations and Other racialized groups, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Community	Chinese populations (ref.)	Non-racialized non-Indigenous populations	Other racialized groups
	percent
Note * significantly different from reference category (ref.) (p < 0.05) Return to note&nbsp;* referrer Note: Data on sense of belonging to country of origin are collected only for populations born outside Canada. Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey – Social Identity, 2020.
Local community	24.3	20.8	15.7 Data table for chart 21 Note *
City or town	18.4	18.1	12.3 Data table for chart 21 Note *
Province	21.5	13.7 Data table for chart 21 Note *	12.1 Data table for chart 21 Note *
Canada	14	9.9 Data table for chart 21 Note *	6.3 Data table for chart 21 Note *
Country of origin	29.2	28.2	18.6 Data table for chart 21 Note *
People with same ethnic or cultural background	17.5	12.7 Data table for chart 21 Note *	13.2 Data table for chart 21 Note *
People with same first language	18.9	9.7 Data table for chart 21 Note *	11.8 Data table for chart 21 Note *

Place of birth played a role in these differences. Among other racialized populations and the non-racialized non-Indigenous population, people born outside Canada were significantly more likely than people born in Canada to have a very strong sense of belonging to their local community, their city or town and Canada, but this was not the case for the Chinese populations. For example, the proportion of Chinese people born outside Canada who had a very strong sense of belonging to their local community (20.0%) was not significantly different than the proportion among Chinese people born in Canada (21.4%), and it was significantly lower than the proportions among other racialized populations born outside Canada (39.4%) or the non-racialized non-Indigenous population born outside Canada (30.3%). 

Among people born in Canada, there was no significant difference in the proportions of people with a very strong sense of belonging to their local community between the Chinese (21.4%), non-racialized non-Indigenous (24.7%) and other racialized (25.2%) populations.

Another factor in sense of belonging was that Chinese people living in a census subdivision where at least 20% of the population was Chinese were more likely to have a very strong sense of belonging to their local community (27.1%) than those living in a census subdivision where less than 20% of the population was Chinese (16.7%).

Chinese people with a stronger sense of belonging to their local community had higher reported life satisfaction

Just under half (49.9%) of Chinese people had high life satisfaction (rated as 8 to 10 out of 10), significantly lower than among the non-racialized non-Indigenous population (56.1%). In particular, Chinese people born in Canada were less likely to have high life satisfaction (37.3%) than non-racialized non-Indigenous people born in Canada (55.7%).

Consistently, Chinese people with a stronger sense of belonging to their local community, to their city, to their province, to Canada, or to people with the same ethnic or cultural background had higher reported life satisfaction than those with a weaker sense of belonging to those communities. For example, 68.7% of Chinese people with a very strong sense of belonging to their local community had high life satisfaction, while this figure was 32.8% for Chinese people with a weak sense of belonging to their local community.

Among people with a very strong sense of belonging to their local community, there was no significant difference between the share of Chinese people with high life satisfaction (68.7%) and the share of non-racialized non-Indigenous people with high life satisfaction (70.9%). In contrast, among people who did not have a very strong sense of belonging to their local community, the Chinese populations were significantly less likely to have high life satisfaction (45.5%) than the non-racialized non-Indigenous population (51.1%).

More than 6 in 10 Chinese people reported having experienced discrimination in the past six years

Well over half (61.4%) of Chinese people reported having experienced discrimination either in the five years before the COVID-19 pandemic or during the pandemic (the survey was conducted from August 2020 to February 2021).^{Note 21} Over half (56.2%) of Chinese people reported having experienced discrimination during the five years before the pandemic. Furthermore, 4 in 10 Chinese people (40.9%) reported having experienced discrimination during the pandemic, a higher proportion than among any other racialized group.^{Note 22}

The most common types of discrimination experienced by Chinese people were discrimination based on race or colour (43.9%), ethnicity or culture (36.9%), language (26.6%), or physical appearance (14.6%). Discrimination based on language was more commonly faced by Chinese people born outside Canada (31.2%) than those born in Canada (10.8%).

Disaggregating the data sheds light on other forms of discrimination. Among Chinese women, 16.2% reported experiencing discrimination based on sex; this rate was significantly lower for those born in China (9.1%) than for those with other places of birth (23.2%).

Chinese people aged 15 to 29 were more likely to report having experienced discrimination based on age (16.0%) than those aged 30 to 64 (6.6%); for both the Chinese population overall and the Chinese population aged 65 and over, the proportion was 10.3%.

Among Chinese persons with a disability, 5.0% reported having experienced discrimination based on a disability. This was not significantly different from the proportions for other racialized groups (5.3%) or for the non-racialized non-Indigenous population (7.5%).

The most common circumstances in which Chinese people experienced discrimination were in a store, bank or restaurant (41.7%) and at work or when applying for a job or promotion (21.5%). Among Chinese people who were attending school during the period of the survey or who had graduated during the period from 2015 to 2021, 32.1% reported having experienced discrimination when attending school or classes. In addition, smaller shares of Chinese people reported having experienced discrimination when crossing the border into Canada^{Note 23} (5.1%), when dealing with the police (4.9%), when dealing with the courts (2.9%) or in other situations (12.7%).

Chinese people who had experienced discrimination had lower confidence in institutions

Chinese people who had experienced discrimination were significantly less likely to have high confidence in institutions than Chinese people who did not report having experienced discrimination. These institutions included the federal Parliament, the school system, the police, the justice system and courts, banks, and major corporations (Chart 22). Additionally, Chinese people who had experienced discrimination were significantly more likely than those who had not experienced discrimination to have low confidence in the justice system and courts (14.0% vs. 7.6%) and in banks (9.5% vs. 3.4%).^{Note 24}

Data table for Chart 22

Data table for chart 22
Table summary
The information is grouped by Institution (appearing as row headers), Did not experience discrimination in past six years (ref.) and Experienced discrimination in past six years, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Institution	Did not experience discrimination in past six years (ref.)	Experienced discrimination in past six years
	percent
Note * significantly different from reference category (ref.) (p < 0.05) Return to note&nbsp;* referrer Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey – Social Identity, 2020.
Federal Parliament	59.9	48.2 Data table for chart 22 Note *
School system	65.7	53.9 Data table for chart 22 Note *
Police	73.6	58.4 Data table for chart 22 Note *
Justice system and courts	74.0	61.4 Data table for chart 22 Note *
Canadian media	45.1	39.7
Banks	73.4	63.7 Data table for chart 22 Note *
Major corporations	50.7	39.4 Data table for chart 22 Note *
Local merchants and business people	56.9	49

These data can also be broken down by the type of discrimination experienced. Chinese people who had experienced discrimination at a store, bank or restaurant were significantly more likely than those who had not experienced such discrimination to have low confidence in banks (10.8% vs. 4.2%) and major corporations (23.1% vs. 13.3%). Those who had experienced discrimination at work or when applying for a job or promotion were also more likely to have low confidence in major corporations (26.6%) than those who had not experienced discrimination in this context (14.7%).

Additionally, Chinese people who had experienced discrimination when attending school or classes were significantly more likely to have low confidence in the school system (24.7%)^{Note 25} than Chinese people who had experienced only discrimination that was not in a context of attending school or classes (8.8%) or Chinese people who had not experienced discrimination (8.9%).

Conclusion

The history of Chinese populations in Canada dates back more than 200 years. In 2021, over one-quarter of Chinese people in Canada were born in Canada. The places of birth of those born outside Canada and the places of birth of parents of second-generation Chinese populations were varied, with the most common being China, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. The historical influences on Chinese immigration to Canada were complex, with many people coming to Canada to pursue economic opportunity and some, particularly from Southeast Asia, to escape conflicts.

Chinese populations varied in many sociocultural respects. For example, while 8 in 10 Chinese people born in China reported having no religion or having secular perspectives, the majority of Chinese people born in Southeast Asia reported a religion, mainly Buddhism or Christianity. Chinese people spoke a variety of languages that differed by place of birth: some of the more common were English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Min Nan (including Taiwanese), Wu (including Shanghainese), Vietnamese and Hakka. The Chinese populations were the only racialized group where the number of seniors was higher than the number of children under age 15; most Chinese seniors (97.3%) were born outside Canada, whereas 81.0% of Chinese children were born in Canada.

Chinese populations also varied socioeconomically. While about three-fifths of Chinese people aged 25 to 54 had a bachelor’s degree or higher, not all of those with such degrees found jobs that matched their level of education, particularly if they had completed their education outside Canada. Chinese people without a postsecondary education were disproportionately likely to be unemployed or to work in sales and service occupations. Income inequality within Chinese populations was high: they were more likely than the overall population to be in the highest income decile, but also more likely to be in the lowest income decile. They had high homeownership rates but were more likely than most other population groups to spend a large portion of their income on housing costs, even before the increases in interest rates in 2022 and 2023.

Chinese people faced barriers to social inclusion: more than three-fifths reported having experienced discrimination in the last six years, and their experiences of discrimination were correlated with lower confidence in governmental institutions, banks and major corporations. Chinese people also had less sense of belonging to their local communities than either the non-racialized non-Indigenous population or other racialized groups, and this was correlated with lower overall life satisfaction.

One notable data gap on the Chinese populations is information on net wealth, which in some cases may differ from information on income; this would provide a clearer understanding of economic stratification within the Chinese populations. These data are of interest for the Chinese populations because they could provide a clearer understanding of households with lower incomes that own their home. The data could also provide insights on relationships between income and wealth, which are of interest because the income distribution of the Chinese population differs from that of all other population groups. Other areas for detailed analyses include the barriers foreign-educated, and in some cases Canadian-educated, people face in finding employment related to their skills, as well as barriers associated with language. A greater understanding of the reasons underlying lower sense of belonging would also be valuable.

Note to readers

Data sources

This analysis was conducted principally using data from the 2021 Census of Population (long-form questionnaire). In addition, data were used from earlier years of the Census of Population long-form questionnaire (1996 to 2016) and the 2011 National Household Survey. Data from the 2020 General Social Survey – Social Identity, the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability and the Labour Force Survey were also used.

In 2021 and 2016, a sample of 25% of Canadian households received the long-form census questionnaire, while in 2006, 2001 and 1996, 20% received the long-form census questionnaire. In 2011, 33% of households received the voluntary National Household Survey.

The long-form census questionnaire covers the population in private households (that is, excluding those in collective dwellings such as nursing homes, rooming houses, military bases or prisons). The target population of the portrait when using census data was the population in private households in occupied private dwellings, meaning the portrait also excluded people who were living outside Canada on government, military or diplomatic postings.

The long-form census questionnaire covers Canadian citizens (by birth and naturalization), permanent residents, and non-permanent residents and their families living with them in Canada. Non-permanent residents are people who hold a work or study permit or who have claimed refugee status (e.g., asylum claimants, protected persons and related groups). Foreign residents, such as representatives of a foreign government assigned to an embassy, a high commission or another diplomatic mission in Canada, as well as residents of another country who are visiting Canada temporarily, are not covered by the census.

The 2020 General Social Survey – Social Identity covers a sample of non-institutionalized persons (i.e., persons in private households in occupied private dwellings) aged 15 years or over, excluding residents of the territories and of First Nations reserves.

The 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) is a postcensal survey. Its sample population is drawn from people aged 15 and over as of May 11, 2021 (Census Day), who reported having a difficulty or long-term condition in the activities of daily living question on the 2021 Census of Population long-form questionnaire. Within this sample, the target population is people who reported on the CSD that they were limited in their daily activities because of a disability. It does not include people living in collective dwellings or on First Nations reserves.

The Labour Force Survey is conducted on a monthly basis. Its reference week for information on employment and unemployment is usually the week containing the 15th day of the month. It covers a sample of persons aged 15 years and over whose usual place of residence is in Canada. It does not include people living on reserves, full-time members of the regular Armed Forces or persons living in institutions (including inmates of penal institutions and patients in hospitals and nursing homes).

Methods

This portrait provides descriptive analysis of the characteristics of Chinese populations in Canada. Data from the 2020 General Social Survey – Social Identity are tested for statistical significance using 95% confidence intervals.

Definitions

Canadian-born: In this portrait, this term refers to people born in Canada, irrespective of their immigrant status. There are some non-immigrants born outside Canada (for example, children of Canadian citizens who were living abroad or travelling when their child was born) and a small number of immigrants born in Canada (for example, children of foreign diplomatic personnel).

China: In this Portrait, China refers to the People’s Republic of China, excluding the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao. This follows the Standard Classification of Countries and Areas of Interest 2019 – Countries and Areas of Interest for Social Statistics, used to classify places of birth and locations of study in the 2021 Census of Population.

Chinese populations: Since 1996, Statistics Canada has used the population group question in the census to measure the racialized populations through the visible minority concept in accordance with the Employment Equity Act. This Portrait uses the category of “Chinese” in the visible minority variable to establish the counts of the Chinese populations in Canada and to conduct analysis. The “Chinese” category includes people who reported “Chinese”, or “Chinese” and “White”, or write-in responses associated with those categories. For more information about the derivation of the “Chinese” and other racialized populations categories, please consult the Visible Minority and Population Group Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.

Economic immigrant: This refers to an immigrant who has been selected for their ability to contribute to Canada’s economy through their ability to meet labour market needs, to own and manage or to build a business, to make a substantial investment, to create their own employment, or to meet specific provincial or territorial labour market needs.

Educational attainment: “Educational attainment,” “level of education” and “highest level of education” refer to the highest level of education that a person has successfully completed, using the classification of highest certificate, diploma or degree. The general hierarchy used in deriving this variable (high school, trades, college, university) is loosely tied to the “in-class” duration of the various types of education.

Employment rate: The employment rate for a particular group (age, sex, marital status, geographic area, etc.) is the number of persons in that group who were employed during a given reference week, expressed as a percentage of the total population in that group. In the 2021 Census, the reference week was May 2 to May 8. The concept of employment is applicable to the population aged 15 years and over. The employed population includes people who did any paid work as an employee or self-employed person; did unpaid work contributing directly to the operation of a farm, business or professional practice owned and operated by a related member of the same household; or had a job but were not at work due to factors such as their own illness or disability, personal or family responsibilities, vacation or a labour dispute.

Ethnic or cultural origin: This refers to the ethnic or cultural origins of a person’s ancestors. Ancestors may have Indigenous origins, origins that refer to different countries or other origins that may not refer to different countries. Often referred to as a person’s ancestral “roots,” ethnic or cultural origins should not be confused with citizenship, nationality, language or place of birth.

Gender: This refers to an individual’s personal and social identity as a man, woman or non-binary person (a person who is not exclusively a man or a woman) and includes the following concepts:

• gender identity, which refers to the gender that a person feels internally and individually
• gender expression, which refers to the way a person presents their gender, regardless of their gender identity, through body language, aesthetic choices or accessories (e.g., clothes, hairstyle and makeup) that may have traditionally been associated with a specific gender.

A person’s gender may differ from their sex at birth, and from what is indicated on their current identification or legal documents such as their birth certificate, passport or driver’s licence. A person’s gender may change over time. Some people may not identify with a specific gender.

The sex variable in census years before 2021 and the two-category gender variable in the 2021 Census are combined in this analysis to make historical comparisons. Although sex and gender refer to two different concepts, the introduction of gender in 2021 is not expected to have a significant impact on data analysis and historical comparability, given the small size of the transgender and non-binary populations. For additional information on changes of concepts over time, please consult the Age, Sex at Birth and Gender Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.

Given that the non-binary population is small, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is sometimes necessary to protect the confidentiality of responses. In these cases, individuals in the category “non-binary persons” are distributed into the other two gender categories. Unless otherwise indicated, the category “men” includes men, boys and some non-binary people, while the category “women” includes women, girls and some non-binary people.

Generation status: This refers to whether a person or the person’s parents were born in Canada.

• The term “first generation” includes people who were born outside Canada.
• The term “second generation” includes people who were born in Canada and had at least one parent born outside Canada.
• The term “third generation or more” includes people who were born in Canada and whose parents were both also born in Canada.

Immigrant: This refers to a person who is, or has been, a landed immigrant or permanent resident. Such a person has been granted the right to live in Canada permanently by immigration authorities. Immigrants who have obtained Canadian citizenship by naturalization are included in this group. In the 2021 Census of Population, it includes immigrants who were admitted to Canada on or prior to May 11, 2021.

Immigrant sponsored by family: This refers to an immigrant who was sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and was granted permanent resident status based on their relationship either as the spouse, partner, parent, grandparent, child or other relative of this sponsor. The terms “family class” or “family reunification” are sometimes used to refer to this category.

Location of study: This refers to the country of the institution from which a person obtained their highest certificate, diploma or degree. It refers to the location of the institution granting the certificate, diploma or degree, not the location of the person at the time they obtained the qualification or were attending the institution.

Major field of study: This refers to the predominant discipline or area of learning or training of a person’s highest completed postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree, classified according to the Classification of Instructional Programs Canada 2021.

Non-permanent resident: Non-permanent resident refers to a person from another country with a usual place of residence in Canada and who has a work or study permit or who has claimed refugee status (asylum claimant, protected person, and related groups). Family members living with work or study permit holders are also included, unless these family members are already Canadian citizens or landed immigrants or permanent residents.

Non-racialized non-Indigenous population: In this portrait, the non-racialized non-Indigenous population is defined as those who were not categorized as a “visible minority” using the visible minority variable; were not categorized as “White and Arab,” “White and Latin American” or “White and West Asian” using the population group variable; and did not report First Nations, Métis or Inuit identity in the question on Indigenous identity. In contrast to the standard definition, it excludes people who reported being both Arab and White, both Latin American and White or both West Asian and White. For more information on the visible minority and population group variables, consult the Visible Minority and Population Group Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.

Occupation: This refers to the kind of work performed in a job, a job being all the tasks carried out by a particular worker to complete their duties. An occupation is a set of jobs that are sufficiently similar in work performed. In the 2021 Census of Population, occupations are classified according to the National Occupational Classification 2021.

Place of birth: This refers to the name of the geographic location (in this portrait, the country or area of interest) where the person was born. The geographic location is specified according to geographic boundaries current at the time of data collection, not the geographic boundaries at the time of birth.

Racialized populations: In this portrait, “racialized populations” or “racialized groups” are defined as people categorized as “visible minorities” (“South Asian,” “Chinese,” “Black,” “Filipino,” “Latin American,” “Arab,” “Southeast Asian,” “West Asian,” “Korean,” “Japanese,” “multiple visible minorities” and “visible minority not identified elsewhere”) according to the visible minority variable, as well as those categorized as “White and Arab,” “White and Latin American” or “White and West Asian” according to the “population group” variable. The inclusion of the “White and Arab,” “White and Latin American” or “White and West Asian” populations as part of the racialized populations is a departure from the standard concept of the racialized populations. In this analysis, the racialized populations exclude Indigenous respondents. For more information about the derivation of the racialized populations, consult the Visible Minority and Population Group Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.

Refugee: This refers to an immigrant who was granted permanent resident status based on a well-founded fear of returning to their home country.

Religion: This refers to a person’s self-identified connection to or affiliation with any religious denomination, group, body or other religiously defined community or system of belief. Religion is not limited to formal membership in a religious organization or group. For infants or children, religion refers to the specific religious group or denomination, if any, in which they are being raised.

Unemployment rate: The unemployment rate for a particular group (age, sex, marital status, geographic area, etc.) is the number of persons in that group who were unemployed during a given reference week, expressed as a percentage of the labour force in that group. In the 2021 Census, the reference week was May 2 to May 8. The concept of unemployment is applicable to the population aged 15 years and over. The unemployed population includes persons who during the reference week were without work but had looked for work in the past four weeks ending with the reference week and were available for work; were on temporary layoff due to business conditions and were available for work; or were without work, had a job to start within four weeks from the reference week and were available for work. The labour force refers to people who were either employed or unemployed.

Year of immigration: This refers to the year in which a person obtained permanent residency in Canada. This may not be the same as the year that they first arrived in Canada.

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