Filipino population in Canada stands out, statistically speaking

The Filipino population in Canada has grown rapidly over the past several decades, driven largely by immigration, particularly through economic and caregiving pathways. In 2021, over 957,000 individuals in Canada reported being Filipino, representing 2.6% of Canada’s population and making Filipinos the fourth-largest racialized group in the country.

The Filipino population was among the fastest-growing populations in Canada from 1996 to 2021. Over 957,000 individuals in Canada reported being Filipino in the 2021 Census, representing nearly a fourfold increase since 1996, largely driven by immigration. 

Out of 647,270 Filipinos who immigrated to Canada from 1980 to 2021, more than three in four (76.4%) were economic immigrants. Almost three in five (58.5%) of these people were women, the highest share among all groups of economic immigrants. 

Among Filipino economic immigrants, 42.9% were admitted as caregivers, nearly 33 times the rate among other economic immigrants (1.3%). Filipinos made up the vast majority of caregivers admitted to Canada from 1980 to 2021—82.1% of women and 87.9% of men in this stream were Filipinos.

In 2021, just over three in five Filipinos (60.6%) were living in either Ontario (38.0%) or Alberta (22.6%). 

As of 2021, Filipinos accounted for more than one‑fifth (22.0%) of the racialized populations in the Prairie provinces and the largest share (34.7%) among racialized populations in the territories. 

Just over 1 in 10 residents of Winnipeg reported being Filipino during the 2021 Census, making the Prairie city Canada’s most Filipino city.

Data on ethnocultural and religious diversity from the 2026 Census will be released on October 27, 2027.

The analytical paper Portrait of the Filipino populations in Canada: A Sociodemographic and Socioeconomic Analysis, which is part of the Ethnicity, Language and Immigration Thematic Series, is now available.