- In 2021, women1 accounted for 51.3% of the Black populations in Canada.
- Among Black immigrants, women have outnumbered men since the 1960s, representing 52.7% of Black immigrants who came to Canada from 1960 to 1990. This was mostly because of women-led immigration from the Caribbean.
- Three Caribbean countries of birth with the highest proportion of women among the Black populations in Canada were Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (62.4%), Saint Lucia (61.4%), and Dominica (60.4%).2
Note to readers
This publication is a part of our Black History Month 2025 series, examining the data on various topics concerning the Black populations across Canada. If you missed any of the Black History Month 2025 articles, you can easily find them by searching for “Black History Month 2025” in the app.
Reference
Source: The Diversity of the Black Populations in Canada, 2021: A Sociodemographic Portrait
1 The sex variable in census years before 2021 and the two-category gender variable in the 2021 Census are combined in this analysis to make historical comparisons. Although sex and gender refer to two different concepts, the introduction of gender in 2021 is not expected to have a significant impact on data analysis and historical comparability, given the small size of the transgender and non-binary populations. For additional information on changes of concepts over time, please consult the Age, Sex at Birth and Gender Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.
Given that the non-binary population is small, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is sometimes necessary to protect the confidentiality of responses. In these cases, individuals in the category “non-binary persons” are distributed into the other two gender categories. Unless otherwise indicated, the category “men” includes men, boys and some non-binary people, while the category “women” includes women, girls and some non-binary people.
2 Please note that only countries with Black populations of 1,000 and more persons in Canada are considered in this analysis for robustness of estimates. The other Caribbean countries or territories with a high proportion of women in Canada were British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Turks and Caicos Islands and Guadeloupe.
Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).