Abstract
This chapter begins with a review of the history of population censuses in Canada, in order to discuss how ethnicity is tracked in the census and how this impacts data on mixed race populations. Using the 2016 Census, the authors discuss how question 17, the census question on ethnicity, elicits multiple responses because it asks respondents to consider the ethnicity of their ‘ancestors’, which is defined as one’s grandparents and beyond. The chapter then looks at the category of ‘Métis’, which is a mixed Indigenous identity based on a nationhood formed in the Red River area of (now) Manitoba, but which recent censuses have shown is on the rise primarily in Eastern Canada, where there have not historically been populations who identify as Métis. Finally, the paper looks at mixed race identities in the census, and at the use of the ‘visible minority’ category in Canadian censuses since 1996. This chapter then considers issues related to the inconsistent tracking of ethnicity from year to year in the census, with examples of how some mixed identities, such as mixed Black and Indigenous identities, are not consistently tracked in the census due to the way that data is made available and the way that census questions are formulated.
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Notes
- 1.
Canadian parlance includes several common terms for Indigenous peoples. In this chapter, the term ‘Indigenous’ is used as an umbrella term that includes all Indigenous peoples. The term Aboriginal remains in common usage as an umbrella term in both scholarly work and government policy, but it has fallen out of favour in recent decades, in part because of its Latin roots. ‘Ab’ means ‘away from’ or ‘not’ and, therefore, the etymology of the word suggests the opposite of its implied meaning and usage in Canada. The term ‘First Nations’ refers to those belonging to nations that predate Canada and who signed treaties with the government. Métis (or any other specific nation name, e.g. Cree, Dene, Maliseet, Ojibway, and so on) are used when specificity to a particular nation is implied. The term ‘Inuit’, an umbrella term for Indigenous peoples from northern Canada, is written about separately, because their nation-to-nation relationship with Canada has had a very different legal and legislative trajectory than other First Nations. And finally, the term ‘Indian’, a term rooted in Columbus’ historical error (thinking North America was India), is only used when required because it is still in usage in government policy, most notably in the ‘Indian Act’.
- 2.
It is worth noting that another important aspect of national social context and which likely positively impacted the rise of ‘ethnic categories’ is the Multicultural Act (1970), which advocates for hyphenated identities (e.g. Chinese-Canadian, Jamaican-Canadian, Brazilian-Canadian). Multiculturalism in Canada is a major aspect of social policy, and should be duly noted though it is beyond the scope of this chapter to fully explore. Worth considering is that both the multicultural policies, the census of population questions, and the creation of the ‘visible minority’ category have enabled the Federal government to serve as an influencer of ethnic identities Canada. This is further explored in the section of this chapter on the rise of the ‘Canadian’ ethnic category.
- 3.
Recent texts in the field of critical mixed race studies that shaped this chapter’s understanding of the topic include Canadian scholar Dr Minelle Mahtani’s 2014 book, Mixed Race Amnesia; UK/Canadian scholar Dr Daniel McNeil’s 2011 text, Sex and Race in the Black Atlantic: Mulatto Devils and Multiracial Messiahs; and U.S. scholar Kimberly McClain DaCosta’s 2007 book, Making Multiracials: State, Family and Market in the Redrawing of the Color Line.
- 4.
Expert scholars in Métis identity and nationhood have explored the complex social and political reasons for the rise in Métis identities, especially in Eastern Canada, in far more depth and with more nuance than the authors of this chapter can do here. Chris Andersen, Adam Gaudry, Chelsea Vowel and Darryl Leroux, and Jacqueline Peterson have each written about this topic in detail and should be referred to for more information.
- 5.
Often Métis is used to refer to Métis communities with ties back to the Red River Métis, while métis is used to signify those with mixed ancestry; however, this debate continues to be contentious.
- 6.
The definition of mixed race or multiracial employed here is consistent with Kwan-Lafond’s past work in the field of critical mixed race studies, which defines mixed race persons as those whose two biological parents were racialized through different social processes in the social context in which they live. This is also consistent with the definitions that other mixed race scholars doing work in Canada have used. These include works by Minelle Mahtani, Daniel McNeil, Leanne Taylor, and Jillian Parragg, whose work should be referred to for more in-depth analysis of mixed race in Canada.
- 7.
The quality of the data produced by such a question may be poor. For example, in the 1998 Canadian National Census Test, the non-response rate for birthplace of grandparents was about 11.5%, although invalid responses were small (about 1% for each of the four grandparents).
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Kwan-Lafond, D., Winterstein, S. (2020). The Canadian Census and Mixed Race: Tracking Mixed Race Through Ancestry, Visible Minority Status, and Métis Population Groups in Canada. In: Rocha, Z.L., Aspinall, P.J. (eds) The Palgrave International Handbook of Mixed Racial and Ethnic Classification. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22874-3_4
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