By the numbers: Asian Heritage Month 2023 (PDF, 15.93 MB)
Description: By the numbers: Asian Heritage Month 2023
Population
According to the 2021 Census of Population, 7,013,835 people in Canada have Asian origins, representing 19.3% of Canada’s population.
Mother tongue
In 2021, the top four most reported mother tongues, after English and French, were Punjabi (Panjabi), Mandarin, Arabic and Yue (Cantonese).
Employment
In 2021, the highest employment rates among Asian Canadians were seen among Filipino people (70.1%), followed by South Asian people (62.3%) and Southeast Asian people (56.7%).
Immigration
For decades, Asia (including the Middle East) has accounted for the largest share of recent immigrants in Canada. This proportion has grown, with Asian-born immigrants making up a record of 62.0% of recent immigrants admitted from 2016 to 2021.
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.