page_title: Multiracial people
section_title: Canada
hierarchical_section_title: Multiracial people / Regions with significant multiracial populations / North America / Canada
caption_attribution_description: English: Canada Census Multiple Visible Minority 1996 - 2016 Source is Template:Demographics of Canada which uses census data
context_page_description: Multiracial people is defined as made up of or relating to people of many races. Many terms exist for people of various multiracial backgrounds, including multiracial, biracial, multiethnic, polyethnic, Métis, Creole, mulatto, Colored, Dougla, half-caste, mestizo, Melungeon, quadroon, Chindian, sambo/zambo, Eurasian, hapa, hāfu, Garifuna, honhyeol, pardo, and Guran
  Individuals of multiracial backgrounds make up a significant portion of the population in many parts of the world. In North America, studies have found that the multiracial population is continuing to grow. In many countries of Latin America, mestizos make up the majority of the population. In the Caribbean, multiracial people officially make up the majority of the population in the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
context_section_description: Multiracial Canadians in 2006 officially totaled 1.5% of the population, up from 1.2% in 2001. The official mixed race population grew by 25% since the previous census. Of these, the most frequent combinations were multiple visible minorities (for example, people of mixed black and South Asian heritage form the majority, specifically in Toronto), followed closely by white-black, white-Chinese, white-Arab and many other smaller mixes.
  During the time of slavery in the United States, a very large but unknown number of African American slaves escaped to Canada, where slavery was made illegal in 1834, via the Underground Railroad. Many of these people married in with European Canadian and Native Canadian populations, although their precise numbers and the numbers of their descendants, are not known.
  Another 1.2% of Canadians officially are Métis (descendants of a historical population who were partially Aboriginal—also called "Indian" or "Native"—and European, particularly English, Scottish, Irish and French ethnic groups). Although listed as a single "race" in Canada, the Métis are therefore multiracial. In particular the Métis population may be far higher than the official numbers state, due to earlier racism causing people to historically hide their mixed heritage. This however is changing, although many Canadians may now be unaware of their mixed race heritage, especially those of Métis descent.
caption: Canada Census Multiple Visible Minority 1996 - 2016
exif: {}