Canada
Study: Portrait of the Filipino Populations in Canada
Released: 2026-06-02
Source: Statistics Canada
A new in-depth analytical portrait released today, “Portrait of the Filipino populations in Canada: A sociodemographic and socioeconomic analysis,” highlights the diverse characteristics of Filipino populations in Canada, including data on places of birth, places of residence, age, language, immigration characteristics, religion, education, employment, occupations and social inclusion. It breaks down many of these characteristics by generation status, period of immigration, admission category and gender to provide a deeper understanding of the diversity of experiences and outcomes within Filipino populations.
This is the fifth in a series of portraits on racialized groups in Canada, developed by Statistics Canada in support of Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy. The previous portraits are The Diversity of the Black Populations in Canada, 2021: A Sociodemographic Portrait, Portrait of the Arab Populations in Canada: Diversity and Socioeconomic Outcomes, Portrait of the South Asian Populations in Canada: Diversity and Socioeconomic Outcomes and Portrait of the Chinese Populations in Canada: Diversity and Socioeconomic Outcomes.
The Filipino populations in Canada quadruple from 1996 to 2021
The Filipino populations were among the fastest-growing racialized groups in Canada from 1996 to 2021. Over 957,000 individuals in Canada reported being Filipino in the 2021 Census of Population, representing a fourfold increase since 1996, largely driven by immigration. In 2021, Filipinos represented 2.6% of the total population in Canada and 9.9% of the racialized population, making them the fourth-largest racialized group in the country.
According to the latest available population projections, the Filipino populations could reach 1.7 million to 2.4 million people by 2041, constituting 4.0% to 4.6% of the population in Canada.
Three-quarters of Filipinos are born outside of Canada, with almost all born in the Philippines
In 2021, one-quarter of the Filipino populations (24.7%) were born in Canada, while the majority (75.3%) were born outside of Canada. Of the foreign-born population, 98.2% were born in the Philippines. The remaining foreign-born Filipinos were born in various countries, such as the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The majority of Filipino immigrants are admitted under the economic category
More than three-quarters (76.4%) of Filipino populations who immigrated to Canada from 1980 to 2021 were economic immigrants. Among them, 58.5% were women, the highest share among all economic immigrants. Another 23.1% were sponsored by family, while 0.2% were admitted as refugees, the lowest proportion of refugees among all immigrant populations.
Among Filipino economic immigrants, 42.9% were admitted as caregivers, nearly 33 times the rate among other economic immigrants (1.3%). Filipinos made up the vast majority of caregivers admitted to Canada from 1980 to 2021: 82.1% of women and 87.9% of men in this stream were Filipinos.
Over three in five Filipinos in Canada live in Ontario and Alberta
In 2021, about 3 in 5 Filipinos (60.6%) lived in either Ontario (38.0%) or Alberta (22.6%), followed by British Columbia (18.2%), Manitoba (9.9%), Quebec (4.7%) and Saskatchewan (4.6%). Manitoba had the largest share of Filipinos (7.2% of the provincial population), followed by Alberta (5.2%), Yukon (4.9%), the Northwest Territories (4.1%), and Saskatchewan (4.0%). As of 2021, Filipinos accounted for more than one-fifth (22.0%) of the racialized populations in the Prairie provinces, and the largest share (34.7%) among racialized populations in the territories.
As of 2021, three-quarters of Filipinos lived in six major census metropolitan areas (CMAs): Toronto, Ontario (29.4%); Vancouver, British Columbia (14.8%); Calgary, Alberta (9.3%); Winnipeg, Manitoba (8.8%); Edmonton, Alberta (8.4%); and Montréal, Quebec (4.2%). Compared with other CMAs, Winnipeg had the highest share of Filipinos. In 2021, 1 in 10 individuals living in Winnipeg (10.3%) were Filipino.
While the majority of Filipinos (89.7%) lived in CMAs in 2021, they accounted for the highest share of racialized populations living in census agglomerations (5.7%) and the second-highest share living in rural areas (4.7%), after the Japanese populations.
Working-age first-generation women account for nearly one-third of Filipino populations
In 2021, over half (58.5%) of Filipinos were of working age (aged 25 to 64). Children younger than 15 years represented 18.4% of Filipinos, followed by youth aged 15 to 24 years (15.0%). Less than 1 in 10 (8.2%) Filipinos were aged 65 and older.
First-generation Filipinos were primarily of working age (70.4%), while the Canadian-born second generation and third generation or more were younger. In 2021, 56.0% of the second generation Filipinos and 70.9% of the third generation or more were aged 14 years and younger.
Chart 1 
Filipino populations by generation status and age group, Canada, 2021
Filipino women represented a larger share of the first generation (57.6%) than men (42.4%). Working-age first-generation women accounted for nearly one-third (31.2%) of the total Filipino populations, compared with 21.8% of working-age first-generation men. Overall, Filipino women outnumbered men, but the difference has narrowed from 1.4 women per man in 1996 to 1.2 in 2021.
More than half of the Filipino populations report Tagalog as their mother tongue
In 2021, over 50 mother tongues were reported by the Filipino populations. Tagalog (Pilipino) was the most frequently reported mother tongue (58.4%), followed by English (44.1%), Ilocano (4.5%), Cebuano (2.6%) and Hiligaynon (1.3%). Tagalog is the sixth most frequently reported non-official mother tongue in Canada. First-generation Filipinos largely reported non-official languages as their mother tongue, while second-generation Filipinos most often reported English. Non-official-language mother tongues were not common among the third generation or more Filipinos.
Over 9 in 10 Filipinos in Canada report being Christian, the highest share among racialized populations and higher than that of the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population
In 2021, the Filipino populations in Canada reported more than 50 distinct religious affiliations. The most common religion among Filipino populations was Christianity (93.8%). Nearly three in four Filipinos (72.4%) reported being Roman Catholic, the highest share among racialized populations and a higher share than that observed for the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population in Canada. Overall, 94.3% of Filipinos reported a religious affiliation; however, the share reporting having no religion or having secular perspectives increased across generations (3.3% in the first generation, 11.3% in the second generation and 32.6% in the third generation or more).
Chart 2
Distribution of religious affiliation of Filipino populations; other racialized populations; non-racialized, non-Indigenous population; and total population, Canada, 2021
Nearly half of Filipinos aged 25 to 54 have a bachelor’s degree or higher
As of 2021, nearly half (46.0%) of the Filipino populations aged 25 to 54 held a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 31.7% of the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population. Filipino women aged 25 to 54 were more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (51.8%) than their male counterparts (38.3%). This difference between Filipino women and men has more than doubled since 1996.
Chart 3
Educational attainment of Filipino populations; other racialized populations; non-racialized, non-Indigenous population; and total population aged 25 to 54, Canada, 2021
Filipinos have the highest share with a post-secondary credential obtained outside Canada among racialized populations and a higher share than that of the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population
In 2021, among core working-age Filipinos (aged 25 to 54) with a bachelor’s degree or higher, 79.9% completed their studies outside Canada—the highest share among racialized groups and about 5.5 times higher than the share of the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population (14.7%). Among Filipinos aged 25 to 54 with a degree in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or optometry, the share reached 89.5%, compared with 22.9% among their non-racialized, non-Indigenous counterparts.
Nearly half of core working-age Filipinos with a bachelor’s degree or higher are overqualified for their job, more than four times the rate among the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population
In 2021, 49.5% of employed Filipinos aged 25 to 54 with a bachelor’s degree or higher were overqualified for their job, compared with 11.9% of the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population, and above the national average of 18.2%. Overqualification rates were 50.8% for Filipino women and 47.1% for Filipino men.
Among recent Filipino immigrants (admitted from 2011 to 2021) with Canadian-earned credentials, 27.9% of men and 30.1% of women were overqualified. However, overqualification rates were more than double for those educated in the Philippines (60.4% for men and 63.5% for women).
Compared with the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population, Filipinos are less likely to work in professional and management occupations and more likely to work in semi-skilled, labour, and entry-level occupations
In 2021, 19.1% of Filipinos held professional and management occupations, compared with 36.2% of the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population. Conversely, over 4 in 10 Filipinos (41.3%) were employed in semi-skilled, labour, and entry-level occupations, compared with 22.9% of the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population.
Within Filipino immigrant populations, established immigrants are twice as likely to work in professional and management occupations, while recent immigrants are more likely to work in semi-skilled, labour and entry-level occupations.
Compared with the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population, Filipinos report a stronger sense of belonging to Canada but are nearly three times as likely to experience discrimination
In 2020, Filipino populations reported a strong sense of belonging to Canada (92.0%), higher than the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population (84.7%). This held across all geographic levels studied, with 89.9% of Filipinos reporting a strong sense of belonging to their province, 89.4% to their town or city, and 87.7% to their local community.
At the same time, Filipinos (31.6%) were nearly three times as likely as the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population (11.8%) to report having experienced discrimination, especially in a store, bank or restaurant, or at work or when applying for a job or promotion.
Note to readers
The series of portraits on racialized groups in Canada was developed in partnership with the Department of Canadian Heritage to support Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy, which seeks to address racism and discrimination faced by racialized groups and Indigenous Peoples. This analytical portrait aligns with the Disaggregated data action plan: Why it matters to you, a whole-of-government approach led by Statistics Canada to enhance data collection, analysis and dissemination pertaining to diverse populations in Canada.
Data sources
This analysis was conducted principally using data from the 2021 Census of Population. Data were also used from earlier censuses, the 2011 National Household Survey, the Labour Force Survey and the 2020 General Social Survey – Social Identity. Information on the coverage of each data source is available in the portrait.
Methods
This portrait provides a descriptive analysis of the characteristics of Filipino populations in Canada.
Definitions
For terms that are not defined in this release, refer to the Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021.
Caregiver admission category: Caregivers include immigrants granted permanent residence after providing care in Canada for children, seniors, people with disabilities or individuals with chronic disease for a determinate period of time. Most immigrants classified under this category worked as caregivers in a private residence in Canada during their qualifying period of temporary work. The first immigrants admitted under this category landed in 1982. Since then, this category has included caregivers under the Foreign Domestic Movement Program (1981 to 1992), the Live-in Caregiver Program (1992 to 2014), the Caring for Children pilot and the Caring for People with High Medical Needs pilot (2014 to 2019), and the Interim Pathway for Caregivers (2019). As of June 18, 2019, caregivers can apply for permanent residence through the Home Child Care Provider Pilot or Home Support Worker Pilot if they meet eligibility requirements.
Census agglomeration and census metropolitan area: Refer to urban centres formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre (the core). A census metropolitan area must have a total population of at least 100,000, with 50,000 or more in the core, while a census agglomeration must have a core population of at least 10,000. For more information, refer to the Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021.
Core working age: In this portrait, the core working age or the core-age population is individuals aged 25 to 54 years. While the working-age population is defined more broadly, the core working-age group concentrates on those with the highest levels of labour force participation and attachment.
Economic immigrant: An economic immigrant is an immigrant who has been selected for their ability to contribute to Canada’s economy through their ability to meet labour market needs, to own and manage or to build a business, to make a substantial investment, to create their own employment or to meet specific provincial or territorial labour market needs.
Educational attainment: “Educational attainment”, “level of education” and “highest level of education” refer to the highest level of education that a person has successfully completed, using the classification “Highest certificate, diploma or degree“. The general hierarchy used in deriving this variable (high school, trades, college, university) is loosely tied to the ‘in-class’ duration of the various types of education.
Filipino populations: In this portrait, Filipino populations were defined using the population group question in the Census of Population. Since the 1996 Census, “Filipino” has been listed as a population group on the census questionnaire, based on the Employment Equity Act and its regulations. Respondents could select one or more population groups or provide a write-in response. This definition includes individuals who marked Filipino only; wrote responses associated with Filipino, such as Igorot or Ilocano; selected Filipino and wrote a related term (e.g., selecting Filipino and writing Igorot [combination response]); selected both Filipino and White only; and selected White and wrote in Filipino. Multiple responses beyond these combinations were excluded from this analysis.
Gender: This refers to an individual’s personal and social identity as a man, woman or non-binary person (a person who is not exclusively a man or a woman) and includes the following concepts:
• gender identity, which refers to the gender that a person feels internally and individually;
• gender expression, which refers to the way a person presents their gender, regardless of their gender identity, through body language, aesthetic choices or accessories (e.g., clothes, hairstyle and makeup) that may have traditionally been associated with a specific gender.
A person’s gender may differ from their sex at birth, and from what is indicated on their current identification or legal documents such as their birth certificate, passport or driver’s licence. A person’s gender may change over time. Some people may not identify with a specific gender.
The sex variable in census years before 2021 and the two-category gender variable in the 2021 Census are combined in this analysis to make historical comparisons. Although sex and gender refer to two different concepts, the introduction of gender in 2021 is not expected to have a significant impact on data analysis and historical comparability, given the small size of the transgender and non-binary populations. For additional information on changes of concepts over time, please consult the Age, Sex at Birth and Gender Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.
Given that the non-binary population is small, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is sometimes necessary to protect the confidentiality of responses. In these cases, individuals in the category “non-binary persons” are distributed into the other two gender categories. Unless otherwise indicated, the category “men” includes men, boys and some non-binary people, while the category “women” includes women, girls and some non-binary people.
Immigrant sponsored by family: An immigrant sponsored by family is an immigrant who was sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and was granted permanent resident status based on their relationship either as the spouse, partner, parent, grandparent, child or other relative of this sponsor. The terms ‘family class’ or ‘family reunification’ are sometimes used to refer to this category.
Non-racialized, non-Indigenous population: In this portrait, the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population is measured with the category “not a visible minority” in the population group question, and excludes people who identified as First Nations, Métis or Inuit on the Indigenous group question. For more information on the visible minority and population group variables, consult the Visible Minority and Population Group Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.
Occupation: Refers to the kind of work performed in a job, a job being all the tasks carried out by a particular worker to complete their duties. An occupation is a set of jobs that are sufficiently similar in work performed. In the 2021 Census of Population, occupations are classified according to the National Occupational Classification 2021.
Overqualification: Overqualification refers to the mismatch between a worker’s educational attainment and the level of education required for their job. Overqualification occurs when individuals with a university degree hold a job that requires no more than a high school education. In this portrait, overqualification refers to individuals aged 25 to 54 years old with a bachelor’s degree or higher who, during the 2021 Census year or the previous year, held a position that typically requires a high school diploma or equivalency certificate or less. This definition excludes individuals whose highest level of education was below a bachelor’s degree, individuals in management occupations, individuals who did not work during the reference year or the year before the census, immigrants who first obtained landed immigrant or permanent resident status in or before the census year and whose last job during the reference year was outside Canada, and non-permanent residents whose last job during the reference period was outside Canada.
Refugee: Refers to an immigrant who was granted permanent resident status based on a well-founded fear of returning to their home country.
Rural areas: In this portrait, rural areas are defined using the Statistical Area Classification (SAC), which is based on the concept Metropolitan Influenced Zone (MIZ). All census subdivisions (CSDs) in the provinces and territories that lie outside census metropolitan areas (CMAs) and census agglomerations (CAs) are classified according to the degree of influence of nearby CMAs or CAs. In the provinces, these CSDs are assigned to one of four MIZ categories—strong, moderate, weak, or no influence—based on commuting flows. In the territories, CSDs located outside CAs are assigned to a separate category.
Products
The analytical paper “Portrait of the Filipino populations in Canada: A sociodemographic and socioeconomic analysis,” which is part of the Ethnicity, Language and Immigration Thematic Series (89-657-X), is now available.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
