Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021
Generation status

Definition

Generation status refers to whether or not the person or the person's parents were born in Canada.

Statistical unit(s)

• Person

Classification(s)

• Generation Status

Reported in

2021 and 2016 (25% sample); 2011^{Footnote 1} (30% sample); 2006 and 2001 (20% sample). For availability prior to 1981, please refer to Appendix 2.1.

Reported for

Population in private households.

Question number(s)

Derived variable: Questions 19 and 20

Responses

The standard classification for generation status is "First generation," "Second generation" and "Third generation or more."

Remarks

Generation status is derived from responses to questions concerning the person's place of birth (Question 19) and the place of birth of their parents (Question 20).

For more information on the place of birth questions in the 2021 Census of Population, refer to the definitions of place of birth of person and place of birth of parents.

Within the generation status variable, the three main categories are defined as follows:

"First generation" includes persons who were born outside Canada. For the most part, these are persons who are now, or once were, immigrants to Canada.

"Second generation" includes persons who were born in Canada and had at least one parent born outside Canada. For the most part, these are the children of immigrants.

"Third generation or more" includes persons who were born in Canada with all parents born in Canada.

To better understand the relationship between the concepts of immigration, place of birth and generation status, please refer to Figure 2.5.

To better understand the relationship between the concepts of immigration and citizenship, please refer to Figure 2.6.

For more information on immigration variables, including information on data quality and their comparability with other sources of data, please refer to the Place of Birth, Generation Status, Citizenship and Immigration Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.

Note(s)

Related 2021 data products

• Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population (98-316-X2021001)
• Focus on Geography Series, 2021 Census of Population (98-404-X2021001)
• Census Program Data Viewer (CPDV) (98-507-X2021001)
• All languages spoken at home by mother tongue, knowledge of official languages and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0617-01)
• Ethnic or cultural origin by generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0338-01)
• Generation status by languages spoken at home and mother tongue: Canada, provinces and territories and census metropolitan areas with parts (98-10-0321-01)
• Highest level of education by census year, visible minority and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations (98-10-0429-01)
• Highest level of education by major field of study, visible minority and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories and census metropolitan areas with parts (98-10-0431-01)
• Individual Market Basket Measure poverty status by visible minority groups and demographic characteristics: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0115-01)
• Mother tongue by generation status and number of languages known: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0364-01)
• Occupation (STEM and non-STEM) by visible minority, generation status, age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0454-01)
• Occupation (training, education, experience and responsibility category - TEER) by visible minority, generation status, location of study and highest level of education: Canada, provinces and territories (98-10-0437-01)
• Religion by ethnic or cultural origins: Canada, provinces and territories and census metropolitan areas with parts (98-10-0341-01)
• Religion by visible minority and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0342-01)
• Visible minority and population group by generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0324-01)
• Visible minority by economic family income and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0333-01)
• Visible minority by income and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0331-01)
• Visible minority by income, detailed income sources and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0334-01)
• Visible minority by individual low-income status and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0332-01)
• Visible minority by mother tongue and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories and census metropolitan areas with parts (98-10-0325-01)
• Visible minority by occupation, highest level of education and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories (98-10-0330-01)
• Visible minority by place of birth and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts (98-10-0326-01)