Although an imperfect and incomplete measure, the percentage of the population
made up of visible minorities reflects, in part, the degree of social diversity
present.* Visible minorities account for the majority of new immigrants to Canada and
provide vitally important portals to the
global economy and the interpersonal linkages upon which trade and business opportunities
can grow. Social diversity generates a competitive economic advantage
as tourists, residents
and businesses are attracted to cultural opportunities. It also presents challenges and depending on immigration sources,
individual provinces may experience
greater need for cultural policies, language training and related
services.
Provinces differ greatly
in the percentage of their populations identifying themselves as visible minorities.
Western provinces differ from the rest of Canada in the ethnic backgrounds of their
visible minority populations. However, as in the rest of Canada,
visible minorities are more likely to reside in urban rather than rural areas
and three of Canada's five most diverse cities are found in western Canada. The variation among
western Canadian cities with respect to the size and composition of visible minority populations reflects
provincial variation.
*Aboriginal peoples are not classified as visible minorities in the
Statistics Canada data presented in this section.
Excerpts reprinted from Robert Roach and Loleen Berdahl, State
of the West: Western Canadian Demographic and Economic Trends(Calgary: Canada West Foundation: 2001), with permission
from the Canada West
Foundation.
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This digital collection was
produced with financial assistance from Canada's Digital
Collections initiative, Industry Canada.