The foreign-born population was concentrated
most heavily in Ontario and western Canada; about
90 percent settled in Canada’s fifteen largest cities, a
far higher percentage than that of Canadians in gen-
eral. By 1991, Toronto’s population was 38 percent
foreign-born. Vancouver’s population was 30 per-
cent foreign-born. Some 24 percent of Hamilton’s
population was foreign-born, as was 21 percent of
Windsor’s population and 20 percent of the popula-
tions of both Calgary and Victoria.
The four Atlantic Provinces and the Northern
Territories were nearly untouched by this immigra-
tion, and the Prairie Provinces remained more than
90 percent Canadian-born. Canada’s population in-
creased from about 24 million in 1980 to 26.8 mil-
lion in 1991, and more than 1.2 million of that in-
crease was attributed to immigration. From its
founding “mosaic” philosophy, diversity remained a
defining characteristic of Canadian society.
The changing composition of Canadian society
through the 1980’s affected Canada in myriad ways.
Non-European immigration added to diversity and
caused British and French dominance to decline
proportionately; by 1981, only 25 percent of Canadi-
ans named French as their mother tongue. Immigra-
tion fueled the growth of Toronto to such a degree
that it surpassed Montreal in population for the first
time in the census of 1981. By 1986, the population
of Toronto was 3.4 million, while Montreal’s popula-
tion was 2.9 million. The strong emphasis on French
language and culture in Quebec discouraged many
immigrants from settling in Montreal, Quebec City,
and other Québécois cities and towns.
New immigrants applied pressure to liberalize im-
migration laws and codify multiculturalism. Main-
stream Canadians learned about new lifeways and
traditions from Muslims, Hindus, and other ethno-
religious minorities as they grew in numbers and visi-
bility. New trade ties developed as a result of immi-
grant businesses maintaining ties to their owners’
home countries. For example, a burgeoning Chi-
nese market developed as the number of Chinese
Canadians increased. Pressures mounted, too, for
the government to take sides on contentious politi-
cal issues such as the Arab-Israeli question and hu-
man rights abuses in immigrants’ homelands.
Population Growth The infusion of immigrants,
most of whom arrived during their young, produc-
tive years, meant growth in the workforce, vitality in
the economy, and a younger population than ex-
isted in most developed countries. In 1987, Canada’s
birth rate was 15 births per 1,000 persons, and the
death rate was 7 deaths per 1,000 persons, resulting
in an annual natural increase of 0.8 percent. The na-
tion’s fertility rate was 1.7 children born per woman.
The population’s doubling time was about ninety
years, the infant mortality rate was 8 deaths in 1,000
live births, and the average Canadian life expectancy
was seventy-six years. About 22 percent of the na-
tion’s population was under the age of fifteen. These
numbers were very similar to those for the same year
in the United States.
Ethnic minorities, the majority of them foreign-
born, registered somewhat higher fertility rates than
did native-born Canadians. The country’s age struc-
ture was pyramidal in form, with only slight differ-
ences in the male to female ratio, except for the el-
derly, among whom women outnumbered men as a
result of their longer life expectancies. Ethnic mi-
norities in general exhibited younger population
age structures. Canada’s infant mortality rate was
held low by national and provincial health care
plans, healthy lifestyles, and a high ratio of medical
personnel to the general population. Indigenous
Inuit and Indian mortality rates for infants and
adults outdistanced those for other Canadians, al-
though there was a steady decline in mortality rates
in these populations throughout the decade as a re-
sult of improvements in health care facilities. Both
Inuit and Indian populations tended to be young in
age structure as a result of high fertility and falling
infant mortality. Specific death rates for certain dis-
eases registered higher for indigenous peoples than
for the general population.
Canada’s birth rate remained high throughout
the decade as a result of both immigration and the
“echo” children of the baby-boom generation. The
“echo” children, born between 1980 and 1995, grew
up primarily in Canada’s urban areas, especially On-
tario and parts of western Canada. Thus, fertility was
higher in metropolitan areas, particularly in the sub-
urbs, where baby boomers were disproportionately
represented. The “echo” was much smaller in French
Quebec, the east, and settlements of the north. With
the “echo” generation came an increased need for
child-care facilities and elementary and secondary
teachers and schools, especially in metropolitan ar-
eas. Population growth caused cities to expand, thus
increasing government outlays for infrastructure.The Eighties in America Demographics of Canada 281