Irish Canadians

Irish Canadians
French: Irlando-Canadiens
Irish: Gael-Cheanadaigh
Population distribution of Irish Canadians by census division, 2021 census
Total population
4,627,000[1]
13.4% of the Canadian population (2016)
Regions with significant populations
Ontario Ontario2,095,460
British Columbia British Columbia675,135
Alberta Alberta596,750
Quebec Quebec446,215
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia201,655
New Brunswick New Brunswick135,835
Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador106,225
Languages
English · French · Irish (historically)[citation needed]
Religion
[citation needed]
Related ethnic groups
Irish, Ulster-Scots, English Canadians, Scottish Canadians, Welsh Canadians, Irish Americans, Scotch-Irish Canadians[citation needed]

Irish Canadians (Irish: Gael-Cheanadaigh) are Canadian citizens who have full or partial Irish heritage including descendants who trace their ancestry to immigrants who originated in Ireland. 1.2 million Irish immigrants arrived from 1825 to 1970, and at least half of those in the period from 1831 to 1850. By 1867, they were the second largest ethnic group (after the French), and comprised 24% of Canada's population. The 1931 national census counted 1,230,000 Canadians of Irish descent, half of whom lived in Ontario. About one-third were Catholic in 1931 and two-thirds Protestant.[2]

The Irish immigrants were majority Protestant before the Irish famine years of the late 1840s, when far more Catholics than Protestants arrived. Even larger numbers of Catholics headed to the United States; others went to Great Britain and Australia.[3]

Irish Canadians comprise a subgroup of European Canadians.[a] According to the 2021 census, in terms of religion, 2,437,810 (55%) of Irish Canadians identified as Christian at the census compared to 1,905,155 identifying as secular or non-religious (43%). 1,228,640 (28%) identified as Roman Catholic and 1,190,000 (27%) identified as belonging to a Protestant denomination.[6]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference population2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ David A. Wilson, Irish nationalism in Canada (2009) p. 165 online
  3. ^ Elliott (1999) pp 764–5
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference population2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference population2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Religion by ethnic or cultural origins: Canada, provinces and territories and census metropolitan areas with parts". Statistics Canada. May 10, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.


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