Indians, Pakistanis to become biggest non-white group in Canada

TORONTO - With immigration and higher birth rates among non-whites fast changing the demographic face of Canada, minorities will account for almost a third of the country\’s population by 2031, according to figures released Tuesday.Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis will become the biggest group, accounting for 28 percent of the non-white population.

Their population will be between 3.2 million and 4.1 million - up from 1.3 million in the 2006 census.

By 2031, one in every three Canadians will be non-white, Statistics Canada said in its report. In fact, in Toronto - Canada\’s biggest city - every two in three persons will be non-whites by then.

The Muslims - currently over million - would more than triple by that date, becoming the fastest growing group in Canada.

Between 29 percent and 32 percent of the country\’s population would visible minorities by that date, almost doubling their percentage from the 2006 census.

As per the 2006 census, Canada had about 5.3 million non-whites in its population of over 33 million.

If the projections made Tuesday are correct, Canada could have between 11.4 million and 14.4 million non-whites by 2031, the report said.

After South Asians, the Chinese will be the second biggest group by 2031, accounting for 21-24 percent of non-white population. Their population is expected to grow from 1.3 million to between 2.4 million and 3 million by that date. Currently, the Chinese are the largest immigrant group to come to Canada each year, followed by Indians.

Canada\’s three top cities - Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver - will change drastically as 71 percent of all visible minorities will live in these cities.

By that date, visible minorities would comprise 63 percent of the population of Toronto, 59 percent in Vancouver and 31 percent in Montreal.

Interestingly, Toronto, Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis will number about 2.1 million or about 24 percent of the city\’s population within two decades, up from 13 percent in the 2006 census.

Canada\’s Black and Filipino populations, which were the third and fourth largest visible minority groups in 2006, could also double in size.

The Muslims (Arab and West Asian groups) could more than triple, the fastest growth among all groups, the report said.

By 2031, Christianity would decline from 75 percent to 65 percent of the population, while followers of other religions will double from eight percent to 14 percent.

Islam will account for one-half of the rise in non-Christian religions, up from 35 percent in 2006.

(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at