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Chinese New Year... by the numbers
February 18, 2007 marks the Chinese New Year: the Year of the Pig.
A traditional festival for the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese population, many other people in Canada also celebrate the event.
A long history
In Canada since before Confederation, the Chinese community now make up
the largest visible minority group in the country.
History played a role in Chinese immigration to Canada, first with the gold rush in British Columbia and during the late 1800s when Chinese labourers arrived in western Canada to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. For decades following its completion, Chinese immigration was discouraged. Until the 1960s, restrictions on immigration kept the Chinese population in Canada fairly small.
Since then, however, waves of Chinese immigrants, largely from Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China, have made Chinese one of Canada's fastest growing visible minority populations.
Over one million and growing
1,029,395 - The number of Chinese living in Canada in 2001, up from 626,435 just ten years earlier and 17,312 a century before. They also accounted for 3.5% of the total population in 2001, up from 2.3% a decade earlier. Chinese represented just over one-quarter of the visible minority population in 2001.
Source: "Chinese Canadians: Enriching the cultural mosaic", Canadian Social Trends, Spring 2005.
Population projections
1.8 million - The projected population of Chinese in Canada by 2017. Toronto's population could be home to over 735,000 Chinese, about 40% of all Chinese in Canada. Vancouver's could reach 591,000, about 33% of Chinese in Canada.
The South Asian population may catch up to the Chinese. The visible minority groups that would grow fastest between now and 2017 are the West Asian, Korean and Arab groups. According to most of the projection scenarios, the population of each group would more than double.
Source: "Study: Canada's visible minority population in 2017", The Daily, Tuesday March 22, 2005.
See also: "Study: Initial destinations and redistribution of major immigrant groups in Canada", The Daily, Wednesday, June 29, 2005.
Provincial and territorial breakdown
481,505 - The number of Chinese living in Ontario in 2001, highest among the provinces and territories and second only to the South Asian community among visible minority groups in Ontario.
British Columbia had the second highest number of Chinese residents with 365,490. Alberta, Quebec and Manitoba also had large Chinese communities in 2001.
9.4% - The percentage of the population of British Columbia who were of Chinese descent in 2001, the highest proportion among the provinces and territories. Ontario followed B.C. with 4.3%.
Sources: 2001 Census, Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada. See also 2001 Census: Analysis series, Ethnocultural portrait, Visible minority population, "Chinese largest visible minority group".
Most live in big cities
409,530 - The number of Chinese living in Toronto in 2001. Vancouver had the next largest Chinese community with 342,665, followed by Montréal at 52,110, Calgary with 51,850 and Edmonton at 41,290.
8 in 10 Chinese in Canada called either Toronto, Vancouver or Montréal home in 2001.
40% - The percentage of the Chinese population in Canada who live in Toronto. One-third, or about 33% of all Chinese living in Canada call Vancouver home. A further 14% live in either Montréal, Calgary or Edmonton.
17% - The percentage of the total population of Vancouver who were of Chinese descent in 2001, up from 9% a decade earlier. In Toronto, Chinese represented 9% of the population, up from 6% a decade earlier.
Although immigration is the main source of population growth, Chinese have settled in Canada for over 150 years. In fact, 25% of Chinese are born in Canada.
Sources: 2001 Census, Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada; "Chinese Canadians: Enriching the cultural mosaic", Canadian Social Trends, Spring 2005.
Mother tongue
Nearly 872,400 - The number of people who reported Chinese as their mother tongue in 2001, an increase of 18.5% from 1996. These people accounted for 2.9% of the total population of Canada in 2001, up from 2.6% five years earlier. Chinese is the third most common mother tongue in Canada.
Source: 2001 Census, Analysis series, Profile of languages in Canada, "Chinese affirmed as third most common mother tongue".
Traditional nuclear family values
46% - Almost half the Chinese were a spouse in a census family in 2001, compared with one-quarter of the total population.
16% - The percentage of Chinese aged 65 and older who were living with relatives in 2001. This proportion was four times higher than among the same age group in the general population. In fact, only 1 in 10 senior Chinese Canadians lived alone compared with 3 in 10 non-Chinese seniors.
Source: "Chinese Canadians: Enriching the cultural mosaic", Canadian Social Trends, Spring 2005.
Chinese better educated than the general population
31% - Nearly one-third of Chinese, whether foreign-born or Canadian-born, had a university education in 2001, almost double the rate of 18% among the general population.
About 16% of prime working age Chinese, that is, those aged 25 to 54, worked in natural and applied sciences occupations in 2001, more than twice the share for the general population.
Source: "Chinese Canadians: Enriching the cultural mosaic", Canadian Social Trends, Spring 2005.
Trade with China
China is Canada's second largest source of imported goods, after the United States. China sends more than the combined value of third and fourth place Japan and Mexico. China is Canada's fourth largest export market.
Imports
$29.5 billion - The value of imports to Canada from China in 2005.
$24.9 billion - The value of imports to Canada from China during the first nine months of 2006, up from $21.3 billion in the same period of 2004. Monthly values in the third quarter of 2005 were all over $3.0 billion, thus ensuring that Q3 imports were a record $9.4 billion.
Products that showed gains in 2006 included consumer goods, such as apparel and footwear, as well as toys and house furnishings; however, Canadian demand was also strong for iron and steel products, as well as electronics, machinery and vehicle parts.
Exports
$7.1 billion - The value of merchandise goods Canada exported to China in 2005. Exports between January and September of 2006 reached $5.1 billion, down by about $200 million from the same period in 2005.
Exports to China included grains, fertilizers, agricultural materials such as potash, wood pulp and plastics, copper, nickel and aluminum. There has also been strong Chinese demand for organic chemicals, specifically ethylene glycol, used in the production of fibres such as polyester.
Sources: "Canadian international merchandise trade", The Daily, Thursday, November 9, 2006; "Canadian international merchandise trade", The Daily, Wednesday, January 10, 2007.
21% - The average annual growth rate in Canadian exports to China since 1998. Between 1998 and 2004, Canadian exports to China more than tripled to over US $7 billion.
Given that Canada's exports to the world grew by less than 7% a year on average over the same period, China has emerged as an important source of growth for Canadian exporters.
Source: "Study: Canadian exporters and a booming China", The Daily, Tuesday, March 14, 2006.
Trade in culture goods
7% - The share of imports of culture goods to Canada from China in 2005. China solidified its hold on second place in terms of imports, after the United States and ahead of France and the United Kingdom.
0.5% - China's share of Canada's exports, putting it at a distant fifth behind the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
$278.0 million - The value of imports of culture goods from China by Canadian companies in 2005, predominantly books and postcards.
$13.0 million - The value of exports of culture goods to China in 2005, the first drop in five years. This was down 15.7% from the record high of $15.5 million exported in 2004.
Source: "International trade in culture goods", The Daily, Monday, June 12, 2006.
Travel to and from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan
113,000 - The number of overnight trips from China to Canada in 2005, up from 95,000 the year before.
China was the 9th most important overseas market for travel to Canada in 2005, followed by Hong Kong in 10th place and Taiwan in 11th. Combined, visitors from all three countries took 320,000 overnight trips to Canada in 2005.
161,000 - The number of overnight visits Canadian residents made to China in 2005, making it the 10th most popular travel destination for Canadians. Hong Kong ranked 11th with 151,000 visits.
Source: International Travel: Analysis, 2005, released December 22, 2006.
The
pork industry in Canada
The primary product of pigs is pork, but a pig's contribution doesn't end at the dinner table-it continues in the closet and medicine chest. Pig products help clothe and heal us, and are found in hundreds of items people use every day.
Source: "There's a pig in your closet" (pdf 300kb) in Canadian Agriculture at a Glance, 2001.
Pig farms
14,821,000 - The average number of pigs in Canada in 2005. By province, Quebec had the largest number of pigs, at 4.3 million head, followed (in descending order) by Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador.
Source: CANSIM, table 003-0004 (Livestock Survey)
12,486 - The number of farms raising pigs in Canada in 2006.
1,151 - The average number of pigs per farm in Canada in 2006.
Source: Hog Statistics, vol. 5 no. 4, released October 26, 2006.
$3,938,236,000 - The value of pigs on farms in Canada in 2005.
Source: Summary tables, Farm cash receipts (pigs).
Pork consumption
10.0 kg - The weight of pork consumed per person in Canada in 2005, down from 11.6 kilograms in 2004 and 10.9 kilograms in 2003.
Pork exports
$2.3 billion - The record value of pork exports in 2005, up 12% from 2004.
Canadians are exporting more pork than they are consuming. Sales of pork to Japan escalated dramatically in 2005, rising 30% to $950 million, surpassing sales to the United States.
Source: "Food consumption", The Daily, Thursday, June 1, 2006
Some rice on the side?
7.17 kg - the amount of rice consumed per person in Canada in 2005, down from 7.32 kilograms in 2004, but up from less than 2 kilograms in 1976.
Source: Food Statistics, Vol. 5, no. 2, released October 25, 2006.
Ginseng
Wild ginseng was known to Aboriginals for centuries. A Jesuit priest was the first European to document the plant in 1716, and in 1721 exports began to China. Soon after, their export value was second only to fur.
Today, the export of truly wild ginseng is prohibited in Canada, but cultivated ginseng is grown in Ontario and in British Columbia.
Farms across the country are increasingly growing medicinal herbs such as ginseng to diversify their operations. It's a trend that started small but appears to be spreading.
$2.8 million - The value of farm cash receipts for ginseng in Ontario in 1980, the only province where the crop was grown at that time.
$400,000 - The value of farm cash receipts for ginseng in British Columbia in 1987, the first year production of the crop was reported in that province. Ontario registered $18.8 million dollars that same year.
$70.1 million - The value of farm cash receipts for ginseng in Canada in 2005. Nearly $62 million of the crop was grown in Ontario, with $8.5 million worth of ginseng grown in British Columbia that same year.
Sources: Growing herbs for the medicine chest; CANSIM, table 002-0001 (Farm cash receipts).
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