Population - 2006 Census | Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

Proportion of Total Population of Major Asian Ethnic Groups by Selected Metropolitan Areas

As a proportion of total metropolitan area population, Canadians of Asian origins are making the largest impact in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto. When compared to the last census, taken in 2001, the proportion of Asian Canadians increased in all cities mentioned. In the 2006 Census, almost 40% of Vancouver-area residents indicated an Asian ethnicity; for Toronto, over 30% of their population belong to an Asian ethnic group. Of notable interest, is the proportion of Chinese-Canadians residing in Vancouver - this group alone accounted for 18.99% of the city’s total population.

Proportion of Total Population of Asian Major Ethnic Groups by Selected Metropolitan Areas (%)
Western Canada
	Vancouver	Edmonton	Calgary	Saskatoon	Winnipeg
Chinese	18.99	5.19	6.99	2.12	2.40
East Indian	8.59	3.34	4.47	0.85	1.95
Filipino	3.96	2.04	2.47	0.89	5.51
Japanese	1.43	0.27	0.54	0.16	0.33
Korean	2.17	0.37	0.65	0.05	0.32
Pakistani	0.32	0.33	0.64	0.07	0.14
Punjabi	0.65	0.21	0.28	0.02	0.14
Sri Lankan	0.18	0.36	0.35	1.60	0.54
Tamil	0.18	0.01	0.01	-	0.02
Vietnamese	1.23	0.94	1.32	0.25	0.54
Other Asian*	1.44	0.61	0.58	0.50	0.61

Total	39.15	13.40	18.03	4.97	12.02

Proportion of Total Population of Asian Major Ethnic Groups by Selected Metropolitan Areas (%)
Eastern & Central Canada
	Toronto	Ottawa - Gatineau	Montreal	Quebec	Halifax
Chinese	10.50	3.24	2.27	0.31	1.00
East Indian	9.48	1.87	1.08	0.06	0.75
Filipino	3.55	0.70	0.68	0.02	0.16
Japanese	0.46	0.22	0.11	0.04	0.12
Korean	1.12	0.22	0.13	0.02	0.18
Pakistani	1.49	0.24	0.31	0.03	0.09
Punjabi	0.44	0.05	0.05	-	0.01
Sri Lankan	0.07	0.33	0.10	0.52	1.00
Tamil	0.57	0.09	0.06	-	-
Vietnamese	1.10	0.73	0.84	0.17	0.12
Other Asian*	1.63	0.91	0.92	0.11	0.13

Total	31.91	8.43	6.76	0.75	2.60

Source: Ethnic Origin. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, April 2, 2008. 2006 Census of Canada. Catalogue number 97-562-X2006006. 2 April 2009.

Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy this material and/or redisseminate the data, in an original or modified form, for commercial purposes, without the expressed permission of Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of the wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada’s Regional Offices, its World Wide Web site at http://www.statcan.gc.ca, and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136.

Note: 1. Ethnic origin refers to the ethnic or cultural origins of the respondent’s ancestors and should not be confused with his or her citizenship, nationality, language or place of birth.
2. Figures are taken from the total responses category. Multiple responses may be given.
* Other Asian includes: Afghan, Bangladeshi, Bengali, Burmese, Cambodian, Goan, Gujarati, Hmong, Indonesian, Kashmiri, Khmer, Laotian, Malaysian, Mongolian, Nepali, Pashtun, Sinhalese, Singaporean, Taiwanese, Thai and Tibetan.

Proportion of Total Population of Major Asian Ethnic Groups by Province

As a percentage of total population, the concentration of Asian Canadians increased in all provinces (since the 2001 census). Concentration is greatest in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. In B.C., the percentage of the total population who indicated an Asian ethnic origin in the 2006 census is over 27% – the highest in the country. The proportion is second-highest in Ontario (16.3%) and third-highest in Alberta (11.2%). It is interesting to note the proportion of Asian ethnicities over a 20 year span. From 1981 to 2006, the percentage of Asian Canadians in Canada has tripled. The percentage of those with East Indian origins have also increased greatly, from 0.3% to 3.1%.

Proportion of Total Population of Asian Major Ethnic Groups by Province (%)
	Canada	Western Canada
	Canada	BC	AB	SK	MB
Chinese	4.26	10.51	4.18	1.15	1.56
East Indian	3.05	5.65	2.68	0.46	1.29
Filipino	1.38	2.29	1.65	0.43	3.41
Japanese	0.31	1.01	0.41	0.08	0.22
Korean	0.46	1.26	0.38	0.08	0.20
Pakistani	0.39	0.19	0.34	0.05	0.09
Punjabi	0.17	0.45	0.16	0.01	0.09
Sri Lankan	0.33	0.10	0.05	0.02	0.04
Tamil	0.11	0.02	0.01	0.01	0.01
Vietnamese	0.57	0.75	0.76	0.17	0.34
Other Asian*	0.70	0.88	0.60	0.23	0.40

Total	11.73	23.12	11.22	2.69	7.66

Proportion of Total Population of Asian Major Ethnic Groups by Province (%)
Eastern & Central Canada
	ON	QC	NB	NS	PEI	NF
Chinese	5.30	1.22	0.40	0.56	0.22	0.33
East Indian	4.71	0.55	0.30	0.43	0.19	0.25
Filipino	1.77	0.34	0.08	0.08	0.02	0.07
Japanese	0.29	0.06	0.04	0.06	0.06	0.03
Korean	0.59	0.07	0.09	0.09	0.06	0.01
Pakistani	0.75	0.16	0.03	0.05	-	0.07
Punjabi	0.22	0.02	-	-	-	-
Sri Lankan	0.71	0.14	0.01	0.02	-	0.02
Tamil	0.26	0.03	-	-	-	-
Vietnamese	0.69	0.45	0.04	0.07	0.01	0.01
Other Asian*	0.97	0.50	0.08	0.08	0.03	0.04

Total	16.26	3.55	1.08	1.44	0.59	0.83

Source: Ethnic Origin. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, April 2, 2008. 2006 Census of Canada. Catalogue number 97-562-X2006006. 30 March 2009.

Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy the data and redisseminate them, in an original or modified form, for commercial purposes, without permission from Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of the wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada’s Regional Offices, its World Wide Web site at www.statcan.gc.ca, and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136.

Note: 1. Ethnic origin refers to the ethnic or cultural origins of the respondent’s ancestors and should not be confused with his or her citizenship, nationality, language or place of birth.
2. Figures are taken from the total responses category. Multiple responses may be given.
* Other Asian includes: Afghan, Bangladeshi, Bengali, Burmese, Cambodian, Goan, Gujarati, Hmong, Indonesian, Kashmiri, Khmer, Laotian, Malaysian, Mongolian, Nepali, Pashtun, Sinhalese, Singaporean, Taiwanese, Thai and Tibetan.

Proportion of Total Population by Asian Mother Tongue by Selected Metropolitan Areas

Since the 2001 census, the proportion of the population with an Asian mother tongue has increased in all metropolitan areas. Quebec has the lowest percentage of its population having an Asian mother tongue. Vancouver is the Canadian city with the highest percentage of its population having an Asian mother tongue. In Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto, Chinese is the most common mother tongue, followed by Punjabi and Tagalog (Filipino). Vietnamese is the second most common mother tongue in Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal and Quebec.

Proportion of Total Population by Asian Mother Tongue by Selected Metropolitan Areas (%)
Western Canada
	Vancouver	Edmonton	Calgary	Saskatoon	Winnipeg
Chinese*	15.35	3.67	5.03	1.47	1.50
Punjabi	5.51	1.34	1.96	0.11	0.88
Tagalog (Filipino)	2.17	1.11	1.37	0.48	3.17
Vietnamese	0.98	0.75	1.01	0.17	0.38
Tamil	0.14	0.04	0.07	0.05	0.04
Korean	1.95	0.31	0.59	0.03	0.27
Urdu	0.31	0.33	0.66	0.06	0.15
Gujarati	0.29	0.21	0.36	0.04	0.10
Hindi	1.04	0.48	0.34	0.07	0.14
Japanese	0.72	0.10	0.18	0.06	0.10
Bengali	0.07	0.06	0.18	0.06	0.05
Other**	0.93	0.59	0.88	0.38	0.57

Total	29.45	8.99	12.63	2.98	7.34

Proportion of Total Population by Asian Mother Tongue by Selected Metropolitan Areas (%)
Central & Eastern Canada
	Toronto	Ottawa-Gatineau	Montreal	Quebec	Halifax
Chinese*	8.04	2.33	1.63	0.12	0.64
Punjabi	2.60	0.28	0.32	0.01	0.08
Tagalog (Filipino)	1.96	0.34	0.32	0.01	0.10
Vietnamese	0.89	0.58	0.64	0.12	0.09
Tamil	1.83	0.19	0.32	-	0.02
Korean	0.93	0.16	0.10	-	0.18
Urdu	1.93	0.32	0.26	0.01	0.09
Gujarati	1.06	0.10	0.16	0.01	0.04
Hindi	0.66	0.18	0.07	0.01	0.06
Japanese	0.17	0.08	0.04	0.02	0.06
Bengali	0.49	0.22	0.26	0.01	0.08
Other**	1.23	0.54	0.51	0.06	0.14

Total	21.78	5.31	4.63	0.37	1.59

Source: Detailed Mother Tongue. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 4 December 2007. 2006 Census of Canada. Catalogue number 97-555-XCB2006007. 13 April 2009.

Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy this material and/or redisseminate the data, in an original or modified form, for commercial purposes, without the expressed permission of Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of the wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada’s Regional Offices, its World Wide Web site at http://www.statcan.gc.ca, and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136.

Notes: 1. Mother tongue refers to the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the individual at the time of the census.
2. Figures are taken from the single response category.
* The figures for Chinese include Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Taiwanese, Chaochow (Teochow), Fukien and Shanghainese, as well as Chinese languages not otherwise specified.
** Other Asian Mother Tongue includes: Konkani, Marathi, Sindhi, Sinhalese, Pashto, Indo-Iranian languages (not specified), Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Dravidian languages (not specified), Tibetan languages (not specified), Sino-Tibetan languages (not specified), Lao, Thai, Khmer (Cambodian), Bisayan languages (not specified), Ilocano, Malay-Bahasa, Pampango and Malayo-Polynesian languages (not specified).

Proportion of Total Population by Asian Mother Tongue by Province

While over 8% of Canadians have an Asian mother tongue, the percentage is greater in British Columbia and Ontario, and lower in all other provinces, especially the Maritimes. In B.C., those having an Asian mother tongue form over 17% of the population. The 2006 census data reveals that Chinese has replaced French as the second most commonly spoken language outside of Quebec.

Proportion of Total Population by Asian Mother Tongue by Province (%)
Western Canada
	Canada	BC	AB	SK	MB
Chinese*	3.20	8.34	2.96	0.77	0.96
Punjabi	1.16	3.86	1.10	0.09	0.55
Tagalog (Filipino)	0.75	1.23	0.90	0.22	1.96
Vietnamese	0.45	0.60	0.59	0.13	0.24
Tamil	0.37	0.08	0.04	0.03	0.02
Korean	0.40	1.13	0.33	0.07	0.17
Urdu	0.46	0.17	0.34	0.03	0.10
Gujarati	0.26	0.16	0.19	0.02	0.08
Hindi	0.25	0.56	0.27	0.04	0.10
Japanese	0.13	0.49	0.14	0.03	0.06
Bengali	0.14	0.04	0.08	0.02	0.03
Other**	0.49	0.56	0.53	0.18	0.37

Total	8.05	17.21	7.48	1.64	4.64

Proportion of Total Population by Asian Mother Tongue by Province (%)
Central & Eastern Canada
	ON	QC	NB	NS	PEI	NF
Chinese*	3.97	0.84	0.30	0.37	0.14	0.21
Punjabi	1.26	0.16	0.01	0.05	-	0.02
Tagalog (Filipino)	0.97	0.16	0.05	0.05	0.01	0.04
Vietnamese	0.55	0.34	0.03	0.05	0.01	-
Tamil	0.81	0.15	-	0.01	-	0.03
Korean	0.49	0.05	0.09	0.09	0.05	0.01
Urdu	0.94	0.13	0.04	0.06	0.02	0.11
Gujarati	0.50	0.08	0.02	0.02	-	0.01
Hindi	0.34	0.03	0.03	0.04	0.03	0.01
Japanese	0.10	0.03	0.02	0.03	0.06	0.01
Bengali	0.25	0.13	0.02	0.04	-	0.03
Other**	0.70	0.28	0.07	0.08	-	0.04

Total	10.88	2.37	0.66	0.90	0.32	0.53

Source: Detailed Mother Tongue. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 4 December 2007. 2006 Census of Canada. Catalogue number 97-555-XCB2006007. 13 April 2009.

Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy this material and/or redisseminate the data, in an original or modified form, for commercial purposes, without the expressed permission of Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of the wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada’s Regional Offices, its World Wide Web site at http://www.statcan.gc.ca, and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136.

Notes: 1. Mother tongue refers to the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the individual at the time of the census.
2. Figures are taken from the single response category.
* The figures for Chinese include Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Taiwanese, Chaochow (Teochow), Fukien and Shanghainese, as well as Chinese languages not otherwise specified.
** Other Asian Mother Tongue includes: Konkani, Marathi, Sindhi, Sinhalese, Pashto, Indo-Iranian languages (not specified), Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Dravidian languages (not specified), Tibetan languages (not specified), Sino-Tibetan languages (not specified), Lao, Thai, Khmer (Cambodian), Bisayan languages (not specified), Ilocano, Malay-Bahasa, Pampango and Malayo-Polynesian languages (not specified).

Population by Ethnic Origin by Selected Metropolitan Areas

Of the 3.2 million Asian Canadians residing in metropolitan areas across Canada, 37.4% are ethnic Chinese and a quarter are of East Indian origin. Ethnic Chinese are the largest Asian-Canadian group in all metropolitan areas with the exception of Winnipeg, where Filipinos account for nearly half the Asian Canadian population. Of notable interest is the large number of Chinese Canadians living in Toronto - they make up over 16% of all Asian Canadians in Canada. East Indians are the second largest group in all major Canadian cities with the exception of Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Quebec.

Population by Ethnic Origin by Selected Metropolitan Areas
Western Canada
	Vancouver	Edmonton	Calgary	Saskatoon	Winnipeg
Chinese	402,000	53,665	75,410	4,970	16,695
East Indian	181,895	34,605	48,270	1,985	13,545
Filipino	83,765	21,155	26,685	2,075	38,275
Japanese	30,235	2,835	5,825	365	2,265
Korean	46,035	3,860	7,005	115	2,205
Pakistani	6,875	3,460	6,960	160	985
Punjabi	13,735	2,155	3,000	55	1,000
Sri Lankan	3,740	795	835	140	410
Tamil	3,740	105	95	10	110
Vietnamese	26,110	9,740	14,285	575	3,745
Other Asian*	30,555	6,270	6,235	1,180	4,250

Total	828,685	138,645	194,605	11,630	83,485

Population by Ethnic Origin by Selected Metropolitan Areas
Eastern & Central Canada
	Toronto	Ottawa - Gatineau	Montreal	Quebec	Halifax
Chinese	537,060	36,605	82,665	2,245	3,720
East Indian	484,655	21,170	39,300	410	2,780
Filipino	181,330	7,925	24,900	130	595
Japanese	23,305	2,435	3,860	270	450
Korean	57,235	2,440	4,850	160	665
Pakistani	76,110	2,720	11,400	185	340
Punjabi	22,615	575	1,835	-	45
Sri Lankan	80,615	1,840	10,710	10	150
Tamil	29,245	985	2,215	-	-
Vietnamese	56,095	8,310	30,510	1,195	460
Other Asian*	83,105	10,335	33,550	770	495

Total	1,631,370	95,340	245,795	5,375	9,700

Source: Ethnic Origin. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, April 2, 2008. 2006 Census of Canada. Catalogue number 97-562-X2006006. 25 March 2009.

Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy this material and/or redisseminate the data, in an original or modified form, for commercial purposes, without the expressed permission of Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of the wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada’s Regional Offices, its World Wide Web site at http://www.statcan.gc.ca and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136.

Note: 1. Ethnic origin refers to the ethnic or cultural origins of the respondent’s ancestors and should not be confused with his or her citizenship, nationality, language or place of birth.
2. Figures are taken from the total responses category. Multiple responses may be given.
* Other Asian includes: Afghan, Bangladeshi, Bengali, Burmese, Cambodian, Goan, Gujarati, Hmong, Indonesian, Kashmiri, Khmer, Laotian, Malaysian, Mongolian, Nepali, Pashtun, Sinhalese, Singaporean, Taiwanese, Thai and Tibetan.

Population by Ethnic Origin by Province

Ethnic origin is defined as the cultural group(s) to which the respondents ancestors belong. The number of Canadian residents with Asian ethnicity has increased 27% since the 2001 census. As of 2006, Canadians of Asian origin make up over 11% of Canada’s total population. Chinese - the group which has now passed the 1 million mark - is the largest Asian ethnic group in all provinces except Manitoba, where Filipino is the largest group. The second largest Asian ethnic group consists of Canadians reporting their ethnicity as East Indian, except in Quebec where they are the third largest group.

Population by Ethnic Origin by Province
	Canada	Western Canada
	Canada	BC	AB	SK	MB
Chinese	1,346,510	432,435	137,600	11,100	17,930
East Indian	962,670	232,370	88,165	4,465	14,860
Filipino	436,195	94,255	54,300	4,160	39,205
Vietnamese	180,130	30,835	25,170	1,640	3,875
Korean	146,545	51,860	12,340	745	2,320
Japanese	98,905	41,585	13,470	785	2,525
Pakistani	124,730	7,975	11,220	470	1,070
Sri Lankan	103,625	4,150	1,740	240	445
Punjabi	53,515	18,525	5,270	120	1,015
Tamil	34,590	850	215	50	165
Other Asian*	221,370	36,080	19,815	2,230	4,545

Total	3,708,785	950,920	369,305	26,005	87,955

Population by Ethnic Origin by Province
Eastern Canada
	ON	QC	NB	NS	PEI	NF
Chinese	644,460	91,900	2,895	5,140	300	1,650
East Indian	573,250	41,595	2,215	3,890	255	1,275
Filipino	215,755	25,680	620	770	25	340
Vietnamese	83,330	33,815	315	600	15	55
Korean	72,060	5,555	635	845	80	70
Japanese	34,730	4,560	285	560	85	160
Pakistani	91,160	11,710	250	500	-	330
Sri Lankan	85,935	10,745	45	155	-	115
Punjabi	26,645	1,865	-	45	-
Tamil	31,010	2,255	-	10	-	20
Other Asian*	118,350	38,060	595	710	35	190

Total	1,976,685	267,740	7,855	13,225	795	4,205

Source: Ethnic Origin. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, April 2, 2008. 2006 Census of Canada. Catalogue number 97-562-X2006006. 24 March 2009.

Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy this material and/or redisseminate the data, in an original or modified form, for commercial purposes, without the expressed permission of Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of the wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada’s Regional Offices, its World Wide Web site at http://www.statcan.gc.ca and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136.

Note: 1. Ethnic origin refers to the ethnic or cultural origins of the respondent’s ancestors and should not be confused with his or her citizenship, nationality, language or place of birth.
2. Figures are taken from the total responses category. Multiple responses may be given.
* Other Asian includes: Afghan, Bangladeshi, Bengali, Burmese, Cambodian, Goan, Gujarati, Hmong, Indonesian, Kashmiri, Khmer, Laotian, Malaysian, Mongolian, Nepali, Pashtun, Sinhalese, Singaporean, Taiwanese, Thai and Tibetan.

Population by Asian Mother Tongue by Selected Metropolitan Areas

Chinese is the most common Asian mother tongue in the ten metropolitan areas, except Winnipeg, where Tagalog (Filipino) is the largest group. In Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto, Punjabi is the second most common Asian mother tongue. In Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal and Quebec, Vietnamese is the second most commonly spoken Asian mother tongue.

Population by Asian Mother Tongue by Selected Metropolitan Areas
Western Canada
	Vancouver	Edmonton	Calgary	Saskatoon	Winnipeg
Chinese*	324,835	37,990	54,260	3,430	10,395
Punjabi	116,635	13,905	21,185	265	6,130
Tagalog (Filipino)	45,830	11,460	14,795	1,120	22,055
Vietnamese	20,720	7,720	10,890	395	2,665
Tamil	2,925	435	765	120	270
Korean	41,325	3,260	6,370	75	1,850
Urdu	6,515	3,450	7,110	145	1,035
Gujarati	6,080	2,185	3,835	85	660
Hindi	22,025	4,925	3,635	170	990
Japanese	15,275	1,020	1,985	145	675
Bengali	1,475	625	1,980	140	320
Other*	19,620	6,115	9,485	885	3,960

Total	623,260	93,090	136,295	6,975	51,005

Population by Asian Mother Tongue by Selected Metropolitan Areas
Central & Eastern Canada
	Toronto	Ottawa-Gatineau	Montreal	Quebec	Halifax
Chinese*	410,860	26,320	59,130	875	2,400
Punjabi	132,745	3,135	11,735	40	305
Tagalog (Filipino)	100,425	3,885	11,495	55	360
Vietnamese	45,325	6,535	23,235	845	340
Tamil	93,590	2,120	11,525	-	60
Korean	47,750	1,800	3,755	25	680
Urdu	98,575	3,610	9,435	80	350
Gujarati	54,165	1,080	5,920	45	150
Hindi	33,550	2,065	2,455	55	235
Japanese	8,690	885	1,615	120	235
Bengali	25,060	2,500	9,480	65	290
Other**	62,660	6,100	18,630	420	520

Total	1,113,395	60,035	168,410	2,625	5,925

Source: Detailed Mother Tongue. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 4 December 2007. 2006 Census of Canada. Catalogue number 97-555-XCB2006007. 13 April 2009.

Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy this material and/or redisseminate the data, in an original or modified form, for commercial purposes, without the expressed permission of Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of the wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada’s Regional Offices, its World Wide Web site at http://www.statcan.gc.ca, and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136.

Notes: 1. Mother tongue refers to the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the individual at the time of the census.
2. Figures are taken from the single response category.
* The figures for Chinese include Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Taiwanese, Chaochow (Teochow), Fukien and Shanghainese, as well as Chinese languages not otherwise specified.
** Other Asian Mother Tongue includes: Konkani, Marathi, Sindhi, Sinhalese, Pashto, Indo-Iranian languages (not specified), Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Dravidian languages (not specified), Tibetan languages (not specified), Sino-Tibetan languages (not specified), Lao, Thai, Khmer (Cambodian), Bisayan languages (not specified), Ilocano, Malay-Bahasa, Pampango and Malayo-Polynesian languages (not specified).

Population by Asian Mother Tongue by Province

Mother tongue is defined as the first language a child learns and still understands at the time of the census. Chinese is the most widely spoken mother tongue across all provinces, with the exception of Manitoba where Tagalog (Filipino) is the largest group. In British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, Punjabi is the second most common Asian mother language. In New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Korean is the second most common Asian mother tongue.

Population by Asian Mother Tongue by Province
	Canada	Western Canada
	Canada	BC	AB	SK	MB
Chinese*	1,012,055	342,915	97,265	7,475	11,040
Punjabi	367,505	158,745	36,315	845	6,340
Tagalog (Filipino)	235,620	50,420	29,740	2,175	22,490
Vietnamese	141,630	24,560	19,350	1,305	2,740
Tamil	115,880	3,200	1,365	310	280
Korean	125,575	46,505	10,840	680	1,950
Urdu	145,805	7,025	11,275	335	1,190
Gujarati	81,465	6,565	6,285	205	890
Hindi	78,235	23,240	8,985	355	1,120
Japanese	40,200	20,035	4,560	295	705
Bengali	45,680	1,685	2,705	195	340
Other**	154,030	23,200	17,505	1,720	4,200

Total	2,543,680	708,095	246,190	15,895	53,285

Population by Asian Mother Tongue by Province
Central & Eastern Canada
	ON	QC	NB	NS	PEI	NF
Chinese*	482,565	63,415	2,165	3,370	190	1,085
Punjabi	152,650	11,905	55	415	-	120
Tagalog (Filipino)	117,365	11,785	330	420	20	180
Vietnamese	67,150	25,370	205	500	10	20
Tamil	98,905	11,570	15	80	-	40
Korean	60,000	3,970	630	860	65	50
Urdu	114,820	9,685	300	550	30	550
Gujarati	61,035	6,045	160	220	-	45
Hindi	41,160	2,620	240	410	40	50
Japanese	12,080	1,930	115	295	80	70
Bengali	30,410	9,660	110	395	-	165
Other**	84,660	21,110	505	695	-	210

Total	1,322,800	179,065	4,830	8,210	435	2,585

Source: Detailed Mother Tongue. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 4 December 2007. 2006 Census of Canada. Catalogue number 97-555-XCB2006007. 13 April 2009.

Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy this material and/or redisseminate the data, in an original or modified form, for commercial purposes, without the expressed permission of Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of the wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada’s Regional Offices, its World Wide Web site at http://www.statcan.gc.ca, and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136.

Notes: 1. Mother tongue refers to the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the individual at the time of the census.
2. Figures are taken from the single response category.
* The figures for Chinese include Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Taiwanese, Chaochow (Teochow), Fukien and Shanghainese, as well as Chinese languages not otherwise specified.
** Other Asian Mother Tongue includes: Konkani, Marathi, Sindhi, Sinhalese, Pashto, Indo-Iranian languages (not specified), Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Dravidian languages (not specified), Tibetan languages (not specified), Sino-Tibetan languages (not specified), Lao, Thai, Khmer (Cambodian), Bisayan languages (not specified), Ilocano, Malay-Bahasa, Pampango and Malayo-Polynesian languages (not specified).

Geographical Distribution of Major Asian Ethnic Groups by Selected Metropolitan Areas

For each of the top ten Asian ethnic groups mentioned here, the majority live in either Toronto or Vancouver. The exception are Vietnamese Canadians (those indicating Vietnamese ethnicity in the 2006 Census) with large percentages living in Montreal and Calgary. Among the metropolitan areas mentioned here, Quebec city has the lowest percentage of Canadians with an Asian mother tongue, in contrast to Montreal which has over 7%.

Geographical Distribution of Major Asian Ethnic Groups by Selected Metropolitan Areas (%)
Western Canada
	Vancouver	Edmonton	Calgary	Saskatoon	Winnipeg
Chinese	33.09	4.42	6.21	0.41	1.37
East Indian	21.95	4.18	5.83	0.24	1.63
Filipino	21.65	5.47	6.90	0.54	9.89
Vietnamese	17.29	6.45	9.46	0.38	2.48
Korean	36.96	3.10	5.62	0.09	1.77
Japanese	42.08	3.95	8.11	0.51	3.15
Pakistani	6.30	3.17	6.37	0.15	0.90
Sri Lankan	3.77	0.80	0.84	0.14	0.41
Punjabi	30.51	4.79	6.66	0.12	2.22
Tamil	10.25	0.29	0.26	0.03	0.30
Other Asian*	17.29	3.55	3.53	0.67	2.40

Total Asian	25.54	4.27	6.00	0.36	2.57

Geographical Distribution of Major Asian Ethnic Groups by Selected Metropolitan Areas (%)
Eastern & Central Canada
	Toronto	Ottawa-Gatineau	Montreal	Quebec	Halifax
Chinese	44.20	3.01	6.80	0.18	0.31
East Indian	58.49	2.55	4.74	0.05	0.34
Filipino	46.88	2.05	6.44	0.03	0.15
Vietnamese	37.14	5.50	20.20	0.79	0.30
Korean	45.95	1.96	3.89	0.13	0.53
Japanese	32.44	3.39	5.37	0.38	0.63
Pakistani	69.70	2.49	10.44	0.17	0.31
Sri Lankan	81.23	1.85	10.79	0.01	0.15
Punjabi	50.24	1.28	4.08	-	0.10
Tamil	80.11	2.70	6.07	-	-
Other Asian*	47.02	5.85	18.98	0.44	0.28

Total Asian	50.28	2.94	7.58	0.17	0.30

Source: Ethnic Origin. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, April 2, 2008. 2006 Census of Canada. Catalogue number 97-562-X2006006. 2 April 2009.

Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy this material and/or redisseminate the data, in an original or modified form, for commercial purposes, without the expressed permission of Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of the wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada’s Regional Offices, its World Wide Web site at http://www.statcan.gc.ca, and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136.

Note: 1. Ethnic origin refers to the ethnic or cultural origins of the respondent’s ancestors and should not be confused with his or her citizenship, nationality, language or place of birth.
2. Figures are taken from the total responses category. Multiple responses may be given.
* Other Asian includes: Afghan, Bangladeshi, Bengali, Burmese, Cambodian, Goan, Gujarati, Hmong, Indonesian, Kashmiri, Khmer, Laotian, Malaysian, Mongolian, Nepali, Pashtun, Sinhalese, Singaporean, Taiwanese, Thai and Tibetan.

Geographical Distribution of Major Asian Ethnic Groups by Province

Over 47% of all Canadians indicating Chinese ethnicity in the 2006 census reside in Ontario; for those indicating Tamil ethnicity, the percentage is over 89%. By contrast, less than one percent of each of the top ten Asian ethnic groups in Canada reside in the Maritime provinces.

Geographical Distribution of Major Asian Ethnic Groups by Province (%)
Western Canada
	BC	AB	SK	MB
Chinese	32.12	10.22	0.82	1.33
East Indian	24.14	9.16	0.46	1.54
Filipino	21.61	12.45	0.95	8.99
Vietnamese	17.12	13.97	0.91	2.15
Korean	35.39	8.42	0.51	1.58
Japanese	42.05	13.62	0.79	2.55
Pakistani	6.39	9.00	0.38	0.86
Sri Lankan	4.00	1.68	0.23	0.43
Punjabi	34.62	9.85	0.22	1.90
Tamil	2.46	0.62	0.14	0.48
Other Asian*	16.30	8.95	1.01	2.05

Total Asian	25.64	9.96	0.70	2.37

Geographical Distribution of Major Asian Ethnic Groups by Province (%)
Eastern & Central Canada
	ON	QC	NB	NS	PEI	NF
Chinese	47.86	6.83	0.22	0.38	0.02	0.12
East Indian	59.55	4.32	0.23	0.40	0.03	0.13
Filipino	49.46	5.89	0.14	0.18	0.01	0.08
Vietnamese	46.26	18.77	0.17	0.33	0.01	0.03
Korean	49.17	3.79	0.43	0.58	0.05	0.05
Japanese	35.11	4.61	0.29	0.57	0.09	0.16
Pakistani	73.09	9.39	0.20	0.40	-	0.26
Sri Lankan	82.93	10.37	0.04	0.15	-	0.11
Punjabi	49.79	3.49	-	0.08	-	-
Tamil	89.65	6.52	-	0.03	-	0.06
Other Asian*	53.46	17.19	0.27	0.32	0.02	0.09

Total Asian	53.30	7.22	0.21	0.36	0.02	0.11

Source: Ethnic Origin. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, April 2, 2008. 2006 Census of Canada. Catalogue number 97-562-X2006006. 2 April 2009.

Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy this material and/or redisseminate the data, in an original or modified form, for commercial purposes, without the expressed permission of Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of the wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada’s Regional Offices, its World Wide Web site at http://www.statcan.gc.ca, and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136

Note: 1. Ethnic origin refers to the ethnic or cultural origins of the respondent’s ancestors and should not be confused with his or her citizenship, nationality, language or place of birth.
2. Figures are taken from the total responses category. Multiple responses may be given.
* Other Asian includes: Afghan, Bangladeshi, Bengali, Burmese, Cambodian, Goan, Gujarati, Hmong, Indonesian, Kashmiri, Khmer, Laotian, Malaysian, Mongolian, Nepali, Pashtun, Sinhalese, Singaporean, Taiwanese, Thai and Tibetan.