Population group of person

Status: This standard was approved as a departmental standard on August 25, 2021.

Definition

Population group refers to whether the person reports being White, South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Arab, Latin American, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean, Japanese and/or another population group. These specific groups are the mark-in categories used in a question which collects data on the visible minority population for employment equity purposes.

Person refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programs.

Derivation

Population group is derived from responses to the population group and Indigenous group questions.

The population group question includes 11 mark-in circles and 1 write-in space. Respondents are asked 'Is this person:' and are instructed to mark one or more of the following response categories, and/or to specify another group in the 'Other - specify' write-in space, if applicable: White, South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Arab, Latin American, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean, Japanese, Other - specify.

The Indigenous group question asks respondents if they are First Nations, Métis and/or Inuk (Inuit), or not First Nations, Métis or Inuk (Inuit). Respondents reporting one or more of the three Indigenous categories are not asked the population group question.

When deriving the population group variable, persons who have identified as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis and/or Inuit) on the Indigenous group question are included in the category 'Indigenous peoples'. All others are classified according to their mark-in and/or write-in responses to the population group question.

Single response categories in the population group variable include 'White', 'South Asian', 'Chinese', 'Black', 'Filipino', 'Arab', 'Latin American', 'Southeast Asian', 'West Asian', 'Korean', 'Japanese', and 'Other population groups, n.i.e.' and are derived as follows:

The 'White' category includes persons who provided the following responses to the population group question:

1) A mark-in response of 'White' only.
2) A write-in response associated with 'White' only, such as 'German', 'Polish', 'Scottish' or 'Swedish'.
3) A combination of mark-in and write-in responses associated with both 'White' only. For example, a mark-in response of 'White' and a write-in response of 'Swedish'.

The 'South Asian' category includes persons who provided the following responses to the population group question:

1) A mark-in response of 'South Asian' only.
2) A write-in response associated with 'South Asian' only, such as 'Bangladeshi', 'Indian (India)', 'Pakistani', 'Punjabi' or 'Sri Lankan'.
3) A combination of mark-in and write-in responses associated with 'South Asian' only. For example, a mark-in response of 'South Asian' and a write-in response of 'Pakistani'.

The 'Chinese' category includes persons who provided the following responses to the population group question:

1) A mark-in response of 'Chinese' only.
2) A write-in response associated with 'Chinese' only, such as 'Chinese' or 'Han'.
3) A combination of mark-in and write-in responses associated with 'Chinese' only. For example, a mark-in response of 'Chinese' and a write-in response of 'Han'.

The 'Black' category includes persons who provided the following responses to the population group question:

1) A mark-in response of 'Black' only.
2) A write-in response associated with 'Black' only, such as 'African American', 'Congolese', 'Haitian' or 'Nigerian'.
3) A combination of mark-in and write-in responses associated with 'Black' only. For example, a mark-in response of 'Black' and a write-in response of 'Nigerian'.

The 'Filipino' category includes persons who provided the following responses to the population group question:

1) A mark-in response of 'Filipino' only.
2) A write-in response associated with 'Filipino' only, such as 'Filipino', 'Igorot' or 'Ilocano'.
3) A combination of mark-in and write-in responses associated with 'Filipino' only. For example, a mark-in response of 'Filipino' and a write-in response of 'Igorot'.

The 'Arab' category includes persons who provided the following responses to the population group question:

1) A mark-in response of 'Arab' only.
2) A write-in response associated with 'Arab' only, such as 'Egyptian', 'Jordanian', 'Palestinian' or 'Saudi Arabian'.
3) A combination of mark-in and write-in responses associated with 'Arab' only. For example, a mark-in response of 'Arab' and a write-in response of 'Egyptian'.

The 'Latin American' category includes persons who provided the following responses to the population group question:

1) A mark-in response of 'Latin American' only.
2) A write-in response associated with 'Latin American' only, such as 'Costa Rican', 'Colombian' or 'Chilean'.
3) A combination of mark-in and write-in responses associated with 'Latin American' only. For example, a mark-in response of 'Latin American' and a write-in response of 'Costa Rican'.

The 'Southeast Asian' category includes persons who provided the following responses to the population group question:

1) A mark-in response of 'Southeast Asian' only.
2) A write-in response associated with 'Southeast Asian' only, such as 'Cambodian', 'Laotian', 'Thai' or 'Vietnamese'.
3) A combination of mark-in and write-in responses associated with 'Southeast Asian' only. For example, a mark-in response of 'Southeast Asian' and a write-in response of 'Cambodian'.

The 'West Asian' category includes persons who provided the following responses to the population group question:

1) A mark-in response of 'West Asian' only.
2) A write-in response associated with 'West Asian' only, such as 'Afghan', 'Azerbaijani', 'Iranian' or 'Uzbek'.
3) A combination of mark-in and write-in responses associated with 'West Asian' only. For example, a mark-in response of 'West Asian' and a write-in response of 'Iranian'.

The 'Korean' category includes persons who provided the following responses to the population group question:

1) A mark-in response of 'Korean' only.
2) A write-in response associated with 'Korean' only, such as 'Korean' or 'South Korean'.
3) A combination of mark-in and write-in responses associated with 'Korean' only. For example, a mark-in response of 'Korean' and a write-in response of 'South Korean'.

The 'Japanese' category includes persons who provided the following responses to the population group question:

1) A mark-in response of 'Japanese' only.
2) A write-in response associated with 'Japanese' only, such as 'Japanese' or 'Ainu'.
3) A combination of mark-in and write-in responses associated with 'Japanese' only. For example, a mark-in response of 'Japanese' and a write-in response of 'Ainu'.

The 'Other population groups, n.i.e.' category includes persons who provided a write-in response that is not associated with any of the previous categories. Such responses include, for example: 'Algerian', 'Armenian', 'Brazilian', 'Coptic', 'Cuban', 'Guyanese', 'Israeli', 'Jamaican', 'Jewish', 'Kurdish', 'Mongolian', 'Pacific Islander', 'Polynesian', 'South African', 'Tibetan', and 'West Indian'.

The population group variable also includes a category for persons who have provided responses associated with two or more population groups, 'Multiple population groups'. In the classification, this category includes subcategories for each of the possible combinations of two population groups (e.g., White and Chinese). Persons derived into these categories have reported a response associated with each of the groups in the category, with no additional responses associated with other categories. For example, the 'White and Chinese' category includes persons who provided a combination of mark-in and/or write-in responses associated just with 'White' and 'Chinese' and no other groups.

In the classification, persons who have provided responses associated with three or more population groups are included either in the subcategory 'White and multiple population groups' (if one of their three or more population groups includes a response associated with 'White') or 'Multiple population groups, n.i.e.' (if none of their three or more population groups includes a response associated with 'White').

Conformity to relevant internationally recognized standards

There are no comparable internationally recognized standards, since this variable is related to a concept that is defined in Canadian legislation, specifically, the Employment Equity Act.

Classifications

Additional information

See:

Relation to previous version

  • Population group of person August 25, 2021 to current

    The derivation of the categories in the variable has been revised slightly, placing more emphasis on the write-in responses of respondents. This is not expected to noticeably impact the historical comparability of the variable.

    The Classification of population group has been expanded to include categories for all possible combinations of two population groups (e.g., South Asian and Chinese). Previously, the population group variable largely only included multiple response combinations which included the category 'White' (e.g., White and South Asian).

  • Population group of person January 11, 2016 to August 24, 2021

    This standard has been updated by moving the category derivations from the classification to the main derivation note.

  • Population group of person June 15, 2009 to January 10, 2016

    The previous standard for "race (ethnicity)" is superseded by this standard.

  • Previous standard - Race (ethnicity) July 15, 1998 to June 14, 2009

    This standard is no longer recommended for use and is not to be used.

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