Population of Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Non-Religious in Canada According to 2021 Census

Statistics Canada has released a report on the religious makeup of the country according to the 2021 census.

The report says while the majority of Canadians are Christians (19.3 million), their population reduced from 67.3% in 2011 to 53.3% in 2021.

Credit: Statistics Canada

Credit: Statistics Canada

Highlights – Religious Diversity According to 2021 Census:

Christianity: 19.3 million or 53.3% of the population identified as Christians. This is down from 67.3% in 2011 and 77.1% in 2001.
- - Catholics form the largest Christian denomination with 10.9 million people (29.9%)
  - The United Church has more than 1 million people – 3.3% of the Canadian population.
  - Anglican Church has more than 1 million people – 3.1% of the Canadian population.
  - Orthodox Christians – 1.7%
  - Baptists – 1.2%
  - Pentecostals and other Charismatics – 1.1%
  - Around 2.8 million people or 7.6% did not identify a specific Christian denomination.
Non-Religious: 34.6% or 12.6 million people reported having no religious affiliation. Those identifying as non-religious doubled from 16.5% in 2001 to 34.6% in 2021.
Muslims: 4.9% are Muslims, up from 2.0% in 2001. Around 1.8 million people identify as Muslims in Canada.
Hindus: 830,000 people or 2.3% of the total population reported affiliation with Hinduism. In 2001, only 1.0% identified as Hindus.
Sikhism: 2.1% of Canadians or about 770,000 people identified as Sikhs. In 2001, only 0.9% reported Sikhism as their religion.
Jewish: Approximately 335,000 people reported being Jewish in 2021. Statistics Canada says though the number has not changed much over the last 20 years, the proportion of the Jewish population reduced in Canada from 1.1% (330,000 people) in 2001 to 0.9% in 2021.
Buddhism: 1.0% of Canada’s population or close to 360,000 people reported Buddhism as their religion. This is the same percentage as in the 2001 Census.
Indigenous spirituality: 0.2% of the total population or approximately 81,000 people reported a traditional Indigenous spirituality.

You may like:

Religious Diversity Across Canada’s Provinces:

Catholicism is the religious affiliation reported most often in all provinces and territories, except Nunavut.

Yukon (three in five) and British Columbia (52.1%) have the most people reporting no religious affiliation.

Ontario and British Columbia have the largest proportion of religious people who identified themselves as non-Christians.

Credit: Statistics Canada

British Columbia:
- - No religion and secular perspectives : 1,610,355 (52.1%)
  - Christians: 823,415 (34.3%)
  - Other Religions: 13.7%
    - - Sikhs: 103,830 (5.9% of the entire population in the province)
      - Hindus: 16,845
      - Muslims: 29,715
Alberta:
- - Christians: 1,201,720 (48.1%)
  - No religion and secular perspectives : 1,280,765 (40.1%)
  - Other Religions: 11.8%
    - - Muslims: 65,895
      - Hindus: 15,835
      - Sikhs: 28,145
Saskatchewan:
- - Christians: 704,880 (56.3%)
    - - United Church: 7.4%
  - No religion and secular perspectives : 484,730 (36.6%)
  - Other Religions: 7.1%
    - - Muslims: 6,625
      - Hindus: 2,595
      - Sikhs: 1,790
Manitoba:
- - Christians: 644,430 (54.2%)
  - No religion and secular perspectives : 519,955 (36.7%)
  - Other Religions: 9.0%
    - - Muslims: 7,790
      - Hindus: 3,475
      - Sikhs: 7,265
Ontario:
- - Christians: 5,077,050 (52.1% )
  - No religion and secular perspectives : 3,531,350 (31.6%)
  - Other Religions: 16.3%
    - - Muslims: 272,685 (6.7%)
      - Hindus: 131,155 (4.1%)
      - Sikhs: 86,110
Quebec:
- - Christians: 4,821,780 (64.8%)
    - Catholic: 53.8%
  - No religion and secular perspectives : 1,985,795 (27.3%)
  - Other Religions: 7.9%
    - - Muslims: 134,485
      - Hindus: 15,610
      - Sikhs:5,545
New Brunswick:
- - Christians: 530,920 (67.5%)
  - No religion and secular perspectives : 234,375 (29.7%)
  - Other Religions: 2.8%
    - - Muslims: 1,675
      - Hindus: 375
      - Sikhs: 85
Prince Edward Island:
- - Christians: 98,970 (67.6%)
    - United Church: 9.7%
  - No religion and secular perspectives : 40,300 (28.5%)
  - Other Religions: 3.9%
    - - Muslims: 340
      - Hindus: 100
      - Sikhs: 10
Nova Scotia:
- - Christians: 550,635 (58.2%)
    - - United Church: 7.5%
  - No religion and secular perspectives: 346,960 (37.6%)
  - Other Religions: 4.2%
    - Muslims: 3,525
    - Hindus: 930
    - Sikhs: 225
Newfoundland and Labrador:
- - Christians: 512,225 (82.4%)
    - - United Church: 12.1%
      - Anglican: 21.5%
  - No religion and secular perspectives: 120,230 (16.0%)
  - Other Religions: 1.6%
    - Muslims: 1,150
    - Hindus: 250
    - Sikhs: 70
Nunavut:
- - Christians: 15,035 (73.5%)
    - - Anglican: 39.1%
  - No religion and secular perspectives: 5,800 (24.9%)
  - Other Religions: 1.6%
    - - Muslims: 55
      - Hindus: 25
      - Sikhs: 0
Northwest Territories:
- - Christians: 24,455 (55.2%)
  - No religion and secular perspectives: 19,220 (39.8%)
  - Other Religions: 5.0%
    - - Muslims: 245
      - Hindus: 35
      - Sikhs: 25
Yukon:
- - Christians: 8,330 (35.0%)
  - No religion and secular perspectives: 18,210 (59.7%)
  - Other Religions: 5.3%
    - - Muslims: 40
      - Hindus: 25
      - Sikhs: 30