Census of Population: Income of individuals, families and households; religion

The eighth and last round of data from the 2001 Census of Population provides an analysis of changes in the income of families from 1990 to 2000, as well as shifts in the religious makeup of the population.

This release includes detailed information on the median income of various types of families, changes in the composition of family income, and low income among children and seniors. It also analyses developments in religious affiliation and the growth in the number of Canadians who reported "no religion" to the census.

High-income families make gains, while incomes remain stable for other families

The median income before taxes of Canadian families, at $55,000, remained essentially unchanged from 1990 to 2000 after adjusting for inflation, according to new data from the 2001 Census.

Incomes of families in the bottom half of the income distribution showed little or no improvement through the 1990s. However, the 10% of families with the highest incomes experienced substantial gains.

In 2000, the combined income before taxes of the 10% of families with the highest incomes accounted for 28% of total family income; in 1990, they accounted for 26% of all family income. The 10% of families with the lowest incomes made up less than 2% of all family income, the same as in 1990.

Census data also showed that the proportion of total income among working-age families that came from government transfer payments declined from 6.4% in 1990 to 5.6% in 2000.

Based on before-tax income, an estimated 19% of children were living in low-income families in 2000. This proportion was virtually unchanged from a decade earlier.

Unlike the results from the 1981 and 1991 Censuses, the low-income rate was lower among seniors (people aged 65 and over) than among children in 2001. Among the population of seniors who were not institutionalized, the low-income rate based on income before tax declined from 20% in 1990 to 17% in 2000. This continued a long-term downward trend that has seen low income rates among seniors nearly cut in half over the past two decades.

Lone-parent families with children aged 17 and under made particularly big gains between 1990 and 2000, the result of greater labour market activity and increased government transfers. In 2000, the median income of these lone-parent families was $26,000, up 19% from $21,800 in 1990.

Canada still predominantly Roman Catholic and Protestant

In 2001, 7 out of every 10 people still identified themselves as either Roman Catholic or Protestant.

Census data showed a continuation of a long-term downward trend in the population who report Protestant denominations. The number of Roman Catholics increased slightly during the 1990s, but their share of the total population fell marginally.

At the same time, the number of Canadians who reported religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism has increased substantially.

Much of the shift in the nation's religious makeup during the past several decades is the result of the changing sources of immigrants, which has created a more diverse religious profile. As well, many major Protestant denominations that were dominant in the country 70 years ago, such as Anglican and United Church, are declining in numbers, in part because their members are aging and fewer young people are identifying with these denominations.

In addition, far more Canadians reported that they had no religion. This group accounted for 16% of the population in 2001, compared with 12% a decade earlier.

In 2001, Roman Catholics were still the largest religious group, drawing the faith of just under 12.8 million people, or 43% of the population, down from 45% in 1991. The proportion of Protestants, the second largest group, declined from 35% of the population to 29%, or about 8.7 million people.

Combined, the two groups represented 72% of the total population in 2001, compared with 80% a decade earlier.

Detailed analysis of these new census data is presented in two online reports, Income of Canadian families and Religions in Canada, available on Statistics Canada's website (). Both documents include several tables and charts.

These reports also link to various products and services available from the Census module, which was designed to provide easy access to census data using new electronic tools. Information in the module is organized into four broad categories: analysis, data, maps and reference material.

In addition, in the Community profiles module, data on income and religion are available for Canada and the provinces and territories, as well as for 27 metropolitan areas and nearly 6,000 cities, towns, villages and Indian reserves.

Information on methods and data quality available in the Integrated Meta Data Base: survey number 3901.

For more information, contact Media Relations (613-951-4636), Communications Division.