# 1996 Canadian census

The 1996 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 14, 1996. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 28,846,761. This was a 5.7% increase over the 1991 census of 27,296,859.
The previous census was the 1991 census and the following census was in 2001 census.

## Canada by the numbers

A summary of information about Canada.
| Total population | 28,846,761 |
| Dwellings | 10,899,427 |
| Men | 14,170,025 |
| Women | 14,676,735 |
| Median age | 35.3 years |
| Average earnings | $26,474 |

## Population by province

| Rank | Province or territory | Population as of 1996 census | Population as of 1991 census | Change | Percent change |
| 1 | Ontario | 10,753,573 | 10,084,885 | 668,688 | 6.6 |
| 2 | Quebec | 7,138,795 | 6,895,963 | 242,832 | 3.5 |
| 3 | British Columbia | 3,724,500 | 3,282,061 | 442,439 | 13.5 |
| 4 | Alberta | 2,696,826 | 2,545,553 | 151,273 | 5.9 |
| 5 | Manitoba | 1,113,898 | 1,091,942 | 21,956 | 2.0 |
| 6 | Saskatchewan | 990,237 | 988,928 | 2,969 | 0.1 |
| 7 | Nova Scotia | 909,282 | 899,942 | 9,340 | 1.0 |
| 8 | New Brunswick | 738,133 | 723,900 | 14,233 | 2.0 |
| 9 | Newfoundland and Labrador | 551,792 | 568,474 | -16,682 | -2.9 |
| 10 | Prince Edward Island | 134,557 | 129,765 | 4,792 | 3.7 |
| 11 | Northwest Territories | 64,402 | 57,649 | 6,753 | 11.7 |
| 12 | Yukon | 30,766 | 27,797 | 2,969 | 10.7 |
| | Canada | 28,846,761 | 27,296,859 | 1,549,902 | 5.7 |

## Demographics
### Mother tongue

Population by mother tongue of Canada's official languages:
| Mother tongue | Population |
| English | 16,890,615 |
| French | 6,636,660 |
| Bilingual | 107,945 |
| Other | 4,598,290 |

### Aboriginal peoples

Population of Aboriginal peoples in Canada:
| Aboriginal Population | 799,010 |
| North American Indian | 529,035 |
| Metis | 204,115 |
| Inuit | 40,225 |

### Ethnic origin

Population by ethnic origin. Only those origins with more than 250,000 respondents are included here. This is based entirely on self reporting.
| Ethnic origins | Total responses | Single responses | Multiple responses 2 |
| Total population | 28,528,125 | 18,303,625 | 10,224,495 |
| Canadian | 8,806,275 | 5,326,995 | 3,479,285 |
| English | 6,832,095 | 2,048,275 | 4,783,820 |
| French | 5,597,845 | 2,665,250 | 2,932,595 |
| Scottish | 4,260,840 | 642,970 | 3,617,870 |
| Irish | 3,767,610 | 504,030 | 3,263,580 |
| German | 2,757,140 | 726,145 | 2,030,990 |
| Italian | 1,207,475 | 729,455 | 478,025 |
| North American Indian | 1,101,955 | 477,630 | 624,330 |
| Ukrainian | 1,026,475 | 331,680 | 694,790 |
| Chinese | 921,585 | 800,470 | 121,115 |
| Dutch (Netherlands) | 916,215 | 313,880 | 602,335 |
| Polish | 786,735 | 265,930 | 520,805 |
| East Indian | 723,345 | 590,145 | 133,200 |
| Jewish | 351,705 | 195,810 | 155,900 |
| Norwegian | 346,310 | 47,805 | 298,500 |
| Welsh | 338,905 | 27,915 | 310,990 |
| Portuguese | 335,110 | 252,640 | 82,470 |
| Swedish | 278,975 | 31,200 | 247,775 |
| Russian | 272,335 | 46,885 | 225,450 |
| Hungarian (Magyar) | 250,525 | 94,185 | 156,340 |

### Visible minorities

| Visible minority | Total responses | % of Population |
| Chinese | 860,150 | 3.02 |
| South Asian | 670,590 | 2.35 |
| Black | 573,860 | 2.01 |
| Arab/West Asian | 244,665 | 0.86 |
| Filipino | 234,195 | 0.82 |
| Others | 614,025 | 2.15 |
| Not a visible minority | 25,330,645 | 88.79 |

### Age

Population by age:
| Age | Population |
| Under 15 years | 5,901,275 |
| 15–24 years | 3,857,175 |
| 25–44 years | 9,360,615 |
| 45–64 years | 6,199,855 |
| 65–74 years | 2,061,935 |
| 75 years and over | 1,465,910 |