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Canadian, eh? Ethnic Origin Shifts in the Canadian Census
ABSTRACT/RÉSUMÉ
In the 1986 census only 0.5 percent of the Canadian population gave "Canadian/Canadien" as their ethnic origin. This figure rose to 4 percent in the 1991 census, making Canadian the fastest growing ethnic origin group between 1986 and 1991, and the fourth largest group after British (including the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh groups), French, and German. The swing upwards was even more dramatic in the 1996 census where 31 percent gave a "Canadian" or "Canadien" response, making it the largest ethnic origin group in Canada. This paper traces the temporal trends, presents data on geographical variations in the "Canadian/ Canadien" ethnic origin responses, suggests reasons for the upward spurts, and indicates the impacts of these increases in the policy arena and for researchers.
Dans le cadre du Recensement de 1986, 0,5 % seulement de la population canadienne a indiqué "Canadian/Canadien" comme origine ethnique. Ce chiffre est passé à 4 % dans le Recensement de 1991, faisant ainsi des Canadiens le groupe d'origine ethnique le plus en croissance de 1936 à 1991 et le quatrième en importance après ceux des Britanniques (Anglais, Irlandais, Écossais et Gallois), des Français et des Allemands. La progression a été encore plus considérable dans le Recensement de 1996 où 31 % de la population s'est dite "Canadian/Canadien," constituant ainsi le groupe d'origine ethnique le plus nombreux au Canada. Le présent document dégage les tendances dans le temps, livre des données sur la variation géographique des réponses "Canadian/Canadien," tente d'expliquer les bonds de cette variable et précise l'incidence des hausses sur les politiques et les recherches.
Introduction
Until recently, a "Canadian" ethnic origin was both difficult to declare and unlikely to be noticed in national enumerations of the Canadian population. During the first half of the twentieth century, census questions emphasized racial origins. Only with the 1951 census did "ethnic origin" replace the racial focus (see: Boyd, Goldmann and White, 2000; White, Badets and Renaud, 1993). Although the ethnic origin question conflated country of origin, race and religion, and until 1981 emphasized only paternal lineage, the wording was designed to elicit non-Canadian ancestral designations. Manuals and instruction booklets for the 1951, 1961 and 1971 censuses discouraged responses of "Canadian" or "American"...