European Population in Canada 2024

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European Origin in Canada

European Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to the continent of Europe. People of European ancestry form the largest population group in several countries in North and South America. They are the largest group in Canada and more than half of the Canadian population is of European ancestry.

European Canadians account for about 52.47% of the total population of Canada. According to the Canadian Census 2021, there were 19,062,115 (19 million) people of European descent in Canada.

“Statistics Canada asks people to self-identify. A significant percentage of individuals identify themselves simply as Canadians. Therefore, it is challenging to precisely determine the exact percentage of Europeans. This is because many people who identify as Canadians have British or French origins. After residing in Canada for an extended period, they come to consider themselves simply as Canadians.”

Source: Census 2021

also read about Race and Ethnicity in Canada

European Ancestry by Nation of Origin

There are several subgroups of Canadians of European origin. Statistics Canada does not use the term “European Canadian”. The 2021 census asked individuals to self-identify their ethnic origins, within seven general categories: British Isles origins, French origins, Western European origins, Northern European origins, Southern European origins, Southeast European origins, and Eastern European origins.

The Top Five European Ancestry are English, French, Irish, Scottish, and German.

#	Origin	Responses 2021	% of Total
1	English	5,322,825	14.65%
2	French	4,917,985	13.54%
3	Irish	4,413,120	12.15%
4	Scottish	4,392,200	12.09%
5	German	2,955,695	8.14%
6	Italian	1,546,390	4.26%
7	Ukrainian	1,258,635	3.46%
8	Dutch	988,585	2.72%
9	Polish	982,815	2.71%
10	Russian	548,145	1.51%
11	Norwegian	466,495	1.28%
12	Welsh	455,725	1.25%
13	Portuguese	448,305	1.23%
14	Spanish	342,045	0.94%
15	Swedish	334,505	0.92%
16	Hungarian	320,155	0.88%
17	Greek	262,135	0.72%
18	Romanian	215,885	0.59%
19	Danish	196,945	0.54%
20	Austrian	189,535	0.52%
21	Belgian	182,175	0.50%
22	Swiss	145,570	0.40%
23	Finnish	144,055	0.40%
24	Czech	132,060	0.36%
25	Croatian	130,820	0.36%
26	Icelandic	101,990	0.28%
27	Serbian	93,355	0.26%
28	Armenian	68,850	0.19%
29	Slovak	68,210	0.19%
30	Albanian	41,620	0.11%

Souce: Census 2021

European population in Canadian Provinces

Ontario, with 7,798,615 (7.8 million) people of European ancestry, has the largest population of European Canadians in Canada followed by Quebec (2.9 million) and British Columbia (2.8).

Percentage-wise Prince Edward Island (70%) has the highest percentage of Europeans followed by Nova Scotia (67%) and Saskatchewan (66%).

List of Provinces by European Ancestry

#	Province	Population 2021	% of Total
1	Alberta	2,491,695	59.64%
2	British Columbia	2,825,340	57.47%
3	Manitoba	761,420	58.25%
4	New Brunswick	413,000	54.40%
5	Newfoundland	291,330	58.02%
6	Northwest Territories	16,520	40.91%
7	Nova Scotia	637,380	66.68%
8	Nunavut	5,840	15.96%
9	Ontario	7,798,615	55.58%
10	Prince Edward Island	105,140	69.87%
11	Quebec	296,1770	35.65%
12	Saskatchewan	728,030	65.99%
13	Yukon	26,050	65.81%
	Canada	19,062,130	52.47%

Source: Canada Census 2021

read about Candian Provinces by Population

Top Canadian metropolitan areas by European population

Toronto Metro area with 2,429,570 (2.4 million) people of European ancestry, has the largest population of European Canadians. It’s followed by Montreal (1.64 million) and Vancouver (1.1 million).

Top Cities by European Population

#	City ( Metropolitan Area)	Province	European origins	% of Total
1	Toronto	Ont	2,429,570	39.55%
2	Montreal	Que	1,645,200	39.11%
3	Vancouver	B.C	1,109,105	42.54%
4	Edmonton	Alta	802,935	57.44%
5	Ottawa – Gatineau	Ont./Que	796,655	54.40%
6	Calgary	Alta	783,690	53.49%
7	Hamilton	Ont	526,615	68.09%
8	Winnipeg	Man	468,195	57.12%
9	Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo	Ont	354,275	62.37%
10	London	Ont	351,370	65.58%
11	St. Catharines – Niagara	Ont	312,930	73.55%
12	Halifax	N.S	300,830	65.24%
13	Victoria	B.C	291,500	75.04%
14	Quebec	Que	287,625	35.20%
15	Windsor	Ont	260,000	62.57%
16	Oshawa	Ont	254,610	61.89%
17	Saskatoon	Sask	205,825	66.07%
18	Kelowna	B.C	169,795	77.70%
19	Regina	Sask	158,325	64.64%
20	Barrie	Ont	149,880	71.32%
21	St. John’s	N.L	135,305	64.80%
22	Kingston	Ont	122,085	72.64%
23	Greater Sudbury	Ont	112,030	66.84%
24	Guelph	Ont	110,920	67.85%
25	Abbotsford – Mission	B.C	106,535	55.45%
26	Brantford	Ont	101,630	71.62%
27	Peterborough	Ont	97,210	77.15%
28	Thunder Bay	Ont	93,795	77.54%
29	Saint John	N.B	87,490	68.15%
30	Lethbridge	Alta	86,400	71.70%
31	Nanaimo	B.C	84,075	74.79%
32	Kamloops	B.C	83,900	75.90%
33	Chilliwack	B.C	83,770	75.09%
34	Moncton	N.B	82,090	53.22%
35	Sherbrooke	Que	80,480	36.56%
36	Belleville – Quinte West	Ont	79,355	72.64%
37	Chatham-Kent	Ont	74,120	72.60%
38	Sarnia	Ont	72,550	75.35%
39	Fredericton	N.B	71,395	66.62%
40	Red Deer	Alta	65,925	67.24%
41	Cape Breton	N.S	65,570	67.85%
42	Prince George	B.C	62,630	71.24%
43	Kawartha Lakes	Ont	60,195	77.94%
44	Sault Ste. Marie	Ont	59,345	78.69%
45	Medicine Hat	Alta	57,650	77.29%
46	Vernon	B.C	52,905	80.99%
47	Charlottetown	P.E.I	52,765	68.19%
48	North Bay	Ont	50,975	72.64%
49	Courtenay	B.C	50,970	82.17%
50	Norfolk	Ont	50,355	76.04%