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Ethnic origins in Canada

Enter an answer into the box. Ethnic labels are chosen by Census Canada and multiple responses were counted. Updated to reflect the 2016 census, some movement up and down but only one change. Some categories were renamed though.
Quiz by hwes
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Last updated: December 17, 2022
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First submittedNovember 27, 2013
Times taken1,654
Average score70.0%
Rating2.80
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Answer
Canadian
English
Scottish
French
Irish
German
Chinese
Italian
First Nations
Indian
Answer
Ukrainian
Dutch
Polish
Filipino
Russian
Metis
Portuguese
Welsh
Norwegian
Spanish
13 Comments
+1
Level 86
Nov 27, 2013
Additional notes; Metis refers to the descendants of French and Scottish fur traders and Native women. They are considered a distinct ethnic group in Canada. The original 19th place was for British (not otherwise defined) but since all British were listed separately, I skipped it.
+1
Level 81
Nov 28, 2013
Why skip British since all of these are labels people chose to describe themselves? Similar to the quiz on American ancestry, lots of people choose to identify as "European" or "American"...
+1
Level 86
Nov 28, 2013
Somewhat arbitary but I didn't think people would type British once they typed in English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh so I listed the next ethnic group.
+1
Level 70
Nov 26, 2015
Seems silly to skip 'British' as nobody would put both, Until I became Australian I thought of myself as 'British' (Born England, Irish Mother, a Scottish Grandfather etc). With that thinking you should skip 'Canadian'.
+2
Level 55
Oct 27, 2016
A huge chunk of people who identified as Canadian ethnicity are actually in Quebec and the Maritimes where most of their population is not of British origin but of french or Irish.
+4
Level 43
Nov 28, 2013
Seems odd to have 'Canadian' as an answer. My family has been in Canada for generations, but my ethnic origins are in Europe. The only ethnic Canadians are the Native tribes.
+2
Level 81
Nov 28, 2013
The "natives" did not crawl out of the Earth in Canada, or Australia, or anywhere else. Their ancestors also migrated to Canada. Longer ago than yours, but if being born there isn't good enough to qualify you as Canadian if you ancestors came from somewhere else, then nobody is Canadian. Ethnicity is a pretty flexible term.
+1
Level 86
Nov 28, 2013
Census Canada started to include it in the 1980s or 90s. On the form, they had a blank space if your ethnicity wasn't listed, you could write it in. So many people wrote in Canadian, they added it to the form. Most people who list Canadian are several generations in Canada and are usually Loyalist, British, French or Native in some form or other. French Canadiens usually list themselves as Canadien not French.
+3
Level 53
Apr 28, 2014
My ancestors were already called "canadiens" by metropolitan french officials, as early as the 17th century. Quickly, the descendants of the first european settlers, born and raised in North America, developed a distinct culture. Hence the canadian ethnicity... and thus the lies of uninformed people claiming that there is supposedly no such thing as a canadian ethnicity.
+1
Level 39
Jul 16, 2014
Please consider making First Nations acceptable for North American Indian. That is what I tried and I got it wrong. Thanks
+1
Level 86
Jul 17, 2014
Add First Nations as a type in. North American Indian is the category used by Statistics Canada. I also accept Native and Aboriginal.
+1
Level 26
Feb 20, 2015
hwes, this was an excellent quiz! I also like how you are responsive to quiz takers' suggestions and concerns. I am kicking myself for not spelling "Filipino" with an "f". I used "ph" and when it didn't work, I wrongly assumed they were't a large enough group to qualify on a national basis. I live in Manitoba where we have a large number, both in actual and proportional terms. This is *not* a suggestion to change it--it's just a wake-up call for me to learn the correct spelling.

I do have one question--are Mennonite considered to be included under German? They are, again, a large proportion of my home province's ethnic makeup.

+1
Level 86
Feb 20, 2015
I imagine Mennonites could be counted as dutch, German, or Russian depending on their origin, but the census allows you to self identify. In Ontario most Mennonites came via the US but would count as German. In Manitoba some came from Germany others from Russia but both groups spoke German. I imagine they self identify as German.