Population group of person

Status

Population group of person was approved as a departmental standard on June 15, 2009.

Definition

Population group refers to the population group or groups to which the person belongs, for example, White, Chinese, South Asian, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Southeast Asian, Arab, West Asian, Korean or Japanese. These population groups are the groups used on questionnaires which collect data on the visible minority population for Employment Equity purposes. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour".

Person refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.

Derivation

Population group is derived. It is derived from responses to questions on Population group and Aboriginal group. Respondents who report being Aboriginal are classified as "Aboriginal peoples". All others are classified according to their response to the Population group question.

Relation to previous standard

The previous standard for "race (ethnicity)" is superseded by this standard.

Conformity to relevant internationally recognized standards

There are no comparable internationally recognized standards since this variable is based on a concept that is defined in Canadian legislation, specifically, the Employment Equity Act.

Classification(s)

• Population group