The Changing Face of Religious Affiliation in Canada

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OTTAWA, CANADA, May 13, 2003: Canadian population demographics have been released on religious affiliation from the May 15, 2001, census. While seventy percent of Canadians identify their religion as Roman Catholic, the largest religious group in Canada, the churches’ devotees are dropping steadily. In contrast, the number of Canadians affiliating themselves with religions such as Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism are rising, the new census data shows. “At the same time the number of Canadians who reported religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism has increased substantially. These religions showed large increases during the 1990’s because of the large number of immigrants coming to Canada.” For example, in the 1991 census, 253,000 Canadians identified their religion as Islam but in the 2001 census the number rose to 579,600. Statistics Canada also says that the number of individuals identifying themselves as Hindu has increased by eighty-nine percent since 1991. According to the survey Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Muslims make up about one percent of the country’s population and most Hindus and Muslims live in Ontario. HPI adds: Disclosure of religious affiliation on the census was voluntary, therefore the numbers likely do not accurately reflect the Hindu population in Canada. Other estimates by Hinduism Today put the number of Hindus in Canada closer to two million, based on the number of immigrants present from India, Sri Lanka, Fiji and other countries with large Hindu populations.