Statistics Canada 2001 Census

FACT: 37.8% of recent immigrants in Toronto CMA have a university degree

Population

Population Forecast and Growth Rate | Multiculturalism
Multilingualism | Educational Attainment

Population Forecast and Growth Rate

With a population of 5.3 million in 2003, the GTA is Canada’s largest metropolitan area and accounts for 43.2% of Ontario’s population. By 2031 the total population of Toronto region is expected to reach 7.4 million. The City of Toronto has the largest population concentration with 47.4 percent of the total population of the Greater Toronto Area.

Distribution and Projections of Population within the Toronto Region

	Actual	Projections
	2001	2004	2011	2021	2031
City of Toronto	2,481,505	2,557,400	2,734,200	2,791,900	2,874,800
Region of Peel	988,915	1,080,000	1,217,002	1,388,051	1,524,113
Region of York	729,065	810,304	977,517	1,164,681	1,324,401
Region of Durham	506,940	543,800	643,813	829,839	1,034,245
Region of Halton	375,210	407,800	476,101	580,326	633,946
GTA Total	5,081,635	5,399,304	6,048,633	6,754,797	7,391,505
Canada	31,110,565	31,956,600	33,927,200	37,023,700	39,327,900

Source: Toronto Board of Trade, 2004.

GTA age demographics will shift slightly over the next ten years resulting in a bulge skewed toward those in their mid-40s to their mid-60s in 2014.

Forecast of the Distribution of GTA Population by Age

Age Group	2001	2004	2011	2021	2031
0-4	318,595	320,513	334,863	365,535	380,698
5-9	353,550	354,686	350,059	371,288	400,201
10-14	345,990	371,340	373,536	376,361	409,954
15-19	336,560	356,487	405,282	388,999	413,072
20-24	333,960	361,848	410,390	422,386	428,789
25-29	362,835	376,249	427,392	474,075	462,750
30-34	417,525	418,995	437,469	488,084	505,500
35-39	475,250	463,189	456,300	496,641	548,089
40-44	447,295	494,026	487,077	488,311	542,347
45-49	387,560	433,287	519,563	487,748	530,311
50-54	345,375	369,046	471,018	500,532	503,746
55-59	249,805	311,666	393,930	514,181	484,723
60-64	202,470	225,371	337,426	450,441	477,368
65-69	177,865	185,993	234,480	359,610	465,182
70+ years	407,610	440,912	504,894	687,694	974,339
Total	5,162,245	5,483,608	6,143,679	6,871,886	7,527,069

Source: Toronto Board of Trade, 2004.

According to the 2003 estimates the GTA population increased by 225,765 or 4.4% against 2001.
The fastest growing regional municipality was Halton Region.

GTA Population Growth Rates 2001-2003

	2001	2003	% Change 2001-2003
City of Toronto	2,481,505	2,532,100	2.0%
Peel	988,915	1,054,000	6.6%
York	729,065	782,800	7.4%
Durham	506,940	531,500	4.8%
Halton	375,210	407,000	8.5%
GTA Total	5,081,635	5,307,400	4.4%
Ontario	11,410,046	12,293,700	7.7%

Sources: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census; 2003 Municipalities’ estimates.

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Multiculturalism

Over the past 20 years, the Greater Toronto Area has achieved a unique position among North American immigration gateways. With almost 44% of residents being foreign born, it has approached the tipping point of having more residents of foreign rather than Canadian origin. The GTA has become a destination of choice for immigrants to Canada.

Sources: Statistics Canada 2001 Census; U.S. Bureau of the Census; Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Historically, Europe and the United Kingdom were the predominant sources of new GTA residents, however, in the last decade most new residents have come from Asia.

Immigration has a major impact on the GTA’s ethnic and racial composition. In 2001, the Toronto CMA had over 50 ethnic origin groups with a population of 10,000 or more.

Immigrant Population by Place of Birth

Place of Birth	Greater Toronto Area (Toronto & Oshawa CMA's Combined)
Eastern Asia	301,385
Southern Asia	281,170
South East Asia	180,105
West Central Asia & Middle East	112,310
Sub-Total Asia		774,775
Southern Europe	320,950
Eastern Europe	188,030
United Kingdom	156,450
Other Northern & Western Europe	81,605
Sub-Total Europe		747,030
Africa		100,205
Caribbean & Bermuda		171,730
Central & South America		138,080
United States		39,595
Oceania and other		7,480
Total		1,978,895

Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census.

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Multilingualism

There are approximately 80 languages spoken in the Greater Toronto Area. After English, Chinese, including Cantonese and Mandarin, is the second most common mother tongue.

Population by Mother Tongue

Greater Toronto Area (Toronto & Oshawa CMA's Combined)
English	2,940,500
Chinese	349,520
Italian	199,455
Portuguese	110,225
Punjabi	96,410
Spanish	84,280
Polish	83,795
Tagalog (Pilipino)	77,640
French	63,970
Greek	50,980
Arabic	47,100
German	46,370
Vietnamese	36,910
Ukrainian	28,625
Dutch	15,905

Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census.

Businesses located in the Greater Toronto Area have access to a multilingual workforce. French is the third language most spoken at work after English and Chinese.

Frequency of Language at Work

Greater Toronto Area (Toronto & Oshawa CMA's combined)
English	2,862,810
Chinese	84,275
French	74,230
Italian	32,585
Portuguese	23,720
Spanish	19,010
Punjabi	15,255
Korean	6,850
Vietnamese	5,355
German	4,190
Other languages	81,215

Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census.

In contrast to mother tongue, which is based on linguistic comprehension, knowledge of official and non-official languages reveals the extent to which citizens can converse using the two official languages. An overwhelming majority (96.3 percent) of the GTA population speak English and/or French (Canada’s two official languages).

GTA and Canada population by knowledge of official languages

GTA and Canada population by knowledge of official languages
	GTA Population (Toronto & Oshawa CMA's combined)	% of GTA Total	Canada Population	GTA as % of Canada
English only	4,339,800	87.8	20,014,645	21.7
French only	4,255	0.1	3,946,525	0.1
English and French	414,820	8.4	5,231,575	7.9
Neither English nor French	182,620	3.7	446,290	40.9
Total - Knowledge of official languages	4,941,500	100.0	29,639,035	16.7

Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census.

Educational Attainment

More than 58% of the GTA population between the ages of 25 and 64, has completed a post-secondary education, which is almost 5% higher than the national average and more than 3% better than the provincial average.

Level of Educational Attainment for the Age Group 25 to 64 for the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario and Canada

	Without High School Graduation Certificates		High School		Trade certificates or diplomas		College		University		Total
	Counts	% of total	Counts	% of total	Counts	% of total	Counts	% of total	Counts	% of total	Counts	% of total
Halton Region	26,510	12.8	48,725	23.6	19,385	9.4	47,935	23.2	64,160	31.0	206,715	100.0
Peel Region	107,730	19.8	139,300	25.2	55,855	10.1	105,045	19	145,720	26.3	553,650	100.0
City of Toronto	276,140	19.8	300,945	21.6	103,745	7.4	216,435	15.5	497,285	35.7	1,394,550	100.0
York Region	60,455	16.3	83,650	22.5	32,500	8.7	70,130	18.9	124,840	33.6	371,575	100.0
Durham Region	44,385	18.7	65,835	27.8	28,535	12.1	55,075	23.2	43,120	18.2	236,950	100.0
GTA Total	515,220	18.6	638,455	23.1	240,020	8.7	494,620	17.9	875,125	31.7	2,763,440	100.0
Ontario	1,274,225	20.6	1,509,585	24.4	677,755	11.0	1,194,425	19.3	1,528,665	24.7	6,184,655	100.0
Canada	3,698,235	22.7	3,898,405	23.9	2,097,140	12.9	2,917,895	17.9	3,676,630	22.6	16,288,305	100.0

Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census.

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