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2001 Census Visible Minority and Population Group User Guide
Definition of Visible Minorities The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The visible minority population includes the following groups: Chinese, South Asian, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Southeast Asian, Arab, West Asian, Japanese, Korean and Pacific Islander. Counts of the visible minority population in Canada were first produced using 1981 Census data. Data on the visible minority population in 1981, 1986 and 1991 were derived primarily from responses to the ethnic origin question, in conjunction with responses from the place of birth and mother tongue questions. For the 1996 Census, a new question called "population group" was introduced in order to measure the visible minority population more directly. Because of the ensuing difference in the method of collecting data, caution should be used in comparing visible minority data between censuses which used different data collection methods. For more information on the definition of the visible minority subgroups and on visible minority data collected in previous censuses, please refer to Collecting Census Data on Canada's Visible Minority Population: A Historical Perspective (Karen Kelly, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, March 1995, Catalogue No. 89F0031MPE). Population Group and Visible Minority in the 2001 Census In 2001 as in 1996, the population group question was included on the 2B census form, or "long" form, which is provided to 20% of the households, excluding institutional residents. Persons who reported "Yes" to Question 18 and thus identified themselves as Aboriginals were asked to skip the population group question. The population group question collected information on visible minorities by asking respondents to mark or specify one or more of the following groups:
A note on the census questionnaire informed respondents that Question 19 collects information to support programs which promote equal opportunity for everyone to share in the social, cultural and economic life of Canada. In addition, the 2001 Census Guide provided the following instructions:
The mark-in response categories listed in the 2001 population group question, with the exception of "White", were based on the visible minority groups identified by the Employment Equity Technical Reference Papers, published by Employment and Immigration Canada in 1987. After "White", the groups were listed in order of the frequency (highest number) of visible minority responses in 1996. Due to the relatively small counts derived for the Pacific Islander visible minority group in 1991, this group was not included in the list of mark-in response categories for the population group question in 1996. Counts for Pacific Islanders were obtained from write-in responses in 1996. The same applies for the 2001 Census. Visible Minority and Population Group Variables Two main variables were produced from the 2001 and 1996 population group question: the Visible Minority variable and the Population Group variable. The Visible Minority variable provides data on the visible minority population as defined for federal employment equity purposes by the Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee on Employment Equity Data (which includes the Canadian Human Rights Commission, Human Resources Development Canada, the Public Service Commission of Canada, Statistics Canada and the Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat). The Population Group variable provides data as reported on the census questionnaire. Legends for the Visible Minority and Population Group variables are shown in Appendices 1 and 2, respectively. The Visible Minority variable includes the following categories: Chinese, South Asian, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Southeast Asian, Arab, West Asian, Korean, Japanese, Visible minority, n.i.e., and Multiple visible minorities. Respondents who were not counted in the visible minority population, including respondents who reported a single response of "White" and respondents who reported Aboriginal identity in Question 18, are included in the "All others" category. Persons who reported a single write-in response which is likely to indicate a visible minority group, for example "Guyanese", "Mauritian", "South American" "West Indian", and "Fijian", are included in "Visible minority, n.i.e.". In Question 19, a small proportion of respondents provided a multiple response which included at least one visible minority group. Because of this, decisions had to be made regarding the aggregation of multiple responses from Question 19 to the Visible Minority variable. Persons who reported "Chinese", "South Asian", "Black", "Filipino", "Southeast Asian", "Japanese", or "Korean" in combination with "White" or a write-in response are included in the visible minority count for the specific visible minority group reported. For example, respondents who checked "Black" and "White" are included in the "Black" count. Respondents who checked "Black" and wrote-in "French" or "West Indian" are also included in the "Black" count. Persons who reported "Latin American" and "White", "Arab" and "White", or "West Asian" and "White" have been excluded from the visible minority population. Likewise, persons who reported "Latin American", "Arab" or "West Asian" and who provided a European write-in response such as "Spanish" or "French" have been excluded from the visible minority population as well. These persons are included in the "All others" category. However, persons who reported "Latin American", "Arab" or "West Asian" and a non-European write-in response are included in the visible minority population. For example, respondents who checked "Latin American" and wrote-in "Peruvian" are included in the "Latin American" count. Respondents who reported "Arab" and wrote in "Lebanese" are included in the "Arab" count. Respondents who reported "West Asian" and wrote in "Afghan" were included in the "West Asian" count. Persons who reported more than one visible minority group in Question 19 are included in the "Multiple visible minority" category in the Visible Minority variable. This includes respondents who reported two or more of the following groups: Chinese, South Asian, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Southeast Asian, Arab, West Asian, Korean, Japanese. For example, respondents who checked "Chinese" and "Southeast Asian" or who reported "South Asian" and "Black" are included in the "Multiple visible minority" category. In comparison with the Visible Minority variable, the Population Group variable does not provide data on the visible minority population as defined for federal employment equity purposes. Rather, the Population Group variable provides data which more closely match the response patterns provided by respondents. Response categories for this variable are shown in Appendix 2. Counts for the groups listed in Population Group tables do not match counts provided for the same groups listed in visible minority tables. This is because multiple responses which included "White" as one of their components were not allocated to the mark-in categories for the Population Group variable. For example, persons answering "White" and "Black" are included in the counts for "Black", in the Visible Minority variable. However, these respondents are included under the heading "White" and "Black" in the Population Group variable. Although the Population Group variable is useful in examining response patterns for Question 19, it is not recommended for use in the analysis of the visible minority population as defined for employment equity purposes. The Visible Minority variable should be used for employment equity purposes. Appendix 1: Visible Minority Groups (15) Visible Minority Groups (15)
(1) Includes respondents who belong to a visible minority group. (2) Includes respondents who reported a write-in response classified as a visible minority such as "Polynesian", "Guyanese", "Mauritian", etc. (3) Includes respondents who reported more than one visible minority group by checking two or more mark-in circles, e.g. "Black" and "South Asian". (4) Includes respondents who reported "Yes" to Question 18 (Aboriginal identity, known in the 2001 Census Dictionary as Aboriginal self-reporting) as well as respondents who were not considered to be members of a visible minority group. Appendix 2: Population Group (28) Population Group (28)
(1) Includes respondents who reported one population group only. (2) Includes respondents who reported a single write-in response which was not included in the population groups listed above. This includes respondents who reported a single write-in response such as "Guyanese", "South American", "West Indian", etc. (3) Includes respondents who checked two or more mark-in circles. (4) Includes respondents who reported "Yes" to Question 18 (Aboriginal identity, known in the 2001 Census Dictionary as Aboriginal self-reporting). |
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