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In Canada, a visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connection with that country's Employment Equity policies. The qualifier "visible" was chosen by the Canadian authorities as a way to single out newer immigrant minorities from both Aboriginal Canadians and other "older" minorities distinguishable by language (Canadian French vs. Canadian English) and religion (Catholics vs. Protestants), which are "invisible" traits.
The term visible Minority group is sometimes used as a euphemism for "non-white". This is incorrect, in that the government definitions differ: Aboriginal people are not considered to be visible minorities, but are not necessarily white either. In some cases, members of "visible minorities" may be visually indistinguishable from the majority population and/or may form a majority-minority population locally (as is the case in Vancouver and Toronto).
Since the reform of Canada's immigration laws in the 1960s, immigration has been primarily of peoples from areas other than Europe, many of whom are visible minorities within Canada.
The increase represents a significant shift in Canada's demographics related to record high immigration since the advent of its multiculturalism policies.
Statistics Canada projects that by 2041, visible minorities will make up 38.2–43.0% of the total Canadian population, compared with 26.5% in 2021. Statistics Canada further projects that among the working-age population (15 to 64 years), meanwhile, visible minorities are projected to make up 42.1–47.3% of Canada's total population, compared to 28.5% in 2021.
As per the 2021 census, of the provinces, British Columbia had the highest proportion of visible minorities, representing 34.4% of its population, followed by Ontario at 34.3%, Alberta at 27.8% and Manitoba at 22.2%. Additionally, as of 2021, the largest visible minority group was South Asian Canadians with a population of approximately 2.6 million, representing roughly 7.1% of the country's population, followed by Chinese Canadians (4.7%) and Black Canadians (4.3%).
| + Visible minority populations by group (2006–2021) ! rowspan="2" | Visible minority group ! colspan="2" | 2021 ! colspan="2" | 2016 ! colspan="2" | 2011 ! colspan="2" | 2006 | |||
| South Asian | 2,571,400 | 1,924,635 | 1,567,400 | 1,262,865 | ||||
| Chinese | 1,715,770 | 1,577,060 | 1,324,750 | 1,216,565 | ||||
| Black Canadians | 1,574,870 | 1,198,540 | 945,665 | 783,795 | ||||
| Filipino | 957,355 | 780,125 | 619,310 | 410,695 | ||||
| Arab Canadians | 694,015 | 523,235 | 380,620 | 265,550 | ||||
| Latin American | 580,235 | 447,325 | 381,280 | 304,245 | ||||
| Southeast Asian | 390,340 | 313,260 | 312,075 | 239,935 | ||||
| West Asian | 360,495 | 264,305 | 206,840 | 156,700 | ||||
| Korean Canadians | 218,140 | 188,710 | 161,130 | 141,890 | ||||
| Japanese | 98,890 | 92,920 | 87,270 | 81,300 | ||||
| Multiracial | 331,805 | 232,375 | 171,935 | 133,120 | ||||
| 172,885 | 132,090 | 106,475 | 71,420 | |||||
| + Visible minority populations by group (1981–2001) ! rowspan="2" | Visible minority group ! colspan="2" | 2001 ! colspan="2" | 1996 Statistics Canada, Total Population by Visible Minority Population, for Canada, 1996 Census (20% Sample Data) ! colspan="2" | 1991 ! colspan="2" | 1986 ! colspan="2" | 1981 | ||||
| Chinese | 1,029,395 | 860,150 | 626,435 | 390,590 | 299,915 | |||||
| South Asian | 917,075 | 670,590 | 505,515 | 300,545 | 223,235 | |||||
| Black Canadians | 662,215 | 573,860 | 504,290 | 355,385 | 239,455 | |||||
| Filipino | 308,575 | 234,195 | 169,150 | 102,360 | 75,485 | |||||
| Latin American | 216,980 | 176,970 | 134,535 | 60,975 | 50,230 | |||||
| Southeast Asian | 198,880 | 172,765 | 132,415 | 86,945 | 53,910 | |||||
| Arab Canadians | 194,685 | |||||||||
| West Asian | 109,285 | |||||||||
| Korean Canadians | 100,660 | 64,835 | 45,535 | 29,205 | 22,570 | |||||
| Japanese | 73,315 | 68,135 | 63,860 | 52,880 | 46,060 | |||||
| Arabs/West Asia | 244,665 | 289,755 | 149,665 | 112,435 | ||||||
| 98,915 | 69,745 | 5,440 | ||||||||
| Multiracial | 73,875 | 61,575 | 48,545 | 40,500 | ||||||
| Other | 8,660 | 8,530 | ||||||||
| + Visible Minority demography by religion (2001–2021) ! rowspan="2" | Religious group ! colspan="2" | 2021 ! colspan="2" | 2011 ! colspan="2" | 2001 | ||
| Christianity | 3,615,150 | 2,625,340 | 1,738,200 | |||
| Irreligion | 2,438,855 | 1,392,340 | 875,095 | |||
| Islam | 1,583,415 | 925,135 | 497,275 | |||
| Hinduism | 823,810 | 494,715 | 291,495 | |||
| Sikhism | 769,320 | 453,120 | 275,715 | |||
| Buddhism | 326,835 | 332,300 | 276,275 | |||
| Judaism | 12,000 | 7,185 | 5,275 | |||
| Baha'i | 11,060 | 7,690 | ||||
| Jainism | 8,180 | 2,400 | ||||
| Personal Faith or Spiritual Beliefs | 7,580 | |||||
| Zoroastrianism | 6,850 | 4,580 | ||||
| Druze | 5,645 | |||||
| Other Eastern Religions | 4,720 | 4,325 | ||||
| Taoism | 3,940 | 1,675 | ||||
| Theism | 2,900 | |||||
| Spiritualism | 2,800 | |||||
| Ancestor Veneration | 1,625 | |||||
| Paganism | 1,450 | 720 | ||||
| Shintoism | 1,355 | 490 | ||||
| Rastafari | 1,335 | 710 | ||||
| Multi-faith | 1,120 | |||||
| Unitarian/Unitarian Universalist | 555 | |||||
| Indigenous spirituality | 460 | 165 | 740 | |||
| Satanism | 415 | 95 | ||||
| Animism | 385 | |||||
| Unity Church - New Thought - Pantheism | 365 | 215 | ||||
| New Age | 330 | 60 | ||||
| Eckankar | 285 | |||||
| Shamanism | 250 | |||||
| Gnosticism | 175 | 140 | ||||
| Scientology | 105 | 70 | ||||
| Other | 4,935 | 34,450 | 585 | |||
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This definition can be traced back to the 1984 Report of the Abella Commission on Equality in Employment. The Commission described the term visible minority as an "ambiguous categorization", but for practical purposes interpreted it to mean "visibly non-white". The Canadian government uses an operational definition by which it identifies the following groups as visible minorities: "Chinese, South Asian, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Southeast Asian, Arab, West Asian, Korean, Japanese, Visible minority, n.i.e. ( n.i.e. means "not included elsewhere"), and Multiple visible minority"."Visible Minority Population and Population Group Reference Guide," 2006 Census Statcan
If census respondents write-in multiple entries, like "Black and Malaysian", "Black and French" or "South Asian and European", they would be included in the Black or South Asian counts respectively. However, the 2006 Census states that respondents that add a European ethnic response in combination with certain visible minority groups are not counted as visible minorities. They must add another non-European ethnic response to be counted as such:
The term "non-white" is used in the wording of the Employment Equity Act and in employment equity questionnaires distributed to applicants and employees. This is intended as a shorthand phrase for those who are in the Aboriginal and/or visible minority groups.
Since 2008, census data and media reports have suggested that the "visible minorities" label no longer makes sense in some large Canadian cities, due to immigration trends in recent decades. For example, "visible minorities" comprise the majority of the population in many municipalities across the country, primarily in British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta.
Yet another criticism of the label concerns the composition of "visible minorities". Critics have noted that the groups comprising "visible minorities" have little in common with each other, as they include both disadvantaged groups and non-disadvantaged groups. The concept of visible minority has been cited in demography research as an example of a statistext, meaning a census category that has been contrived for a particular public policy purpose. As the term "visible minorities" is seen as creating a racialization group, some advocate for "global majority" as a more appropriate alternative.
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