Canada: visible minorities facing discrimination by age and context

Share of visible minorities who experienced discrimination since the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada in 2020, by age and context

Characteristic	15 to 24 years	25 to 64 years	65 years and over
Discrimination at work or when applying for a job or promotion	25.5%	29.8%	9.1%
Discrimination when dealing with the police	4.7%	6.1%	6.1%
Discrimination in a store bank or restaurant	51.8%	52.9%	47.5%
Discrimination when attending school or classes	27.8%	5.4%	1.1%

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Release date

May 2022

More information

Region

Canada

Survey time period

2020

Age group

15 years and older

Supplementary notes

* The source adds the following information: "Non-visible minority" includes persons who reported "Yes" to the Aboriginal group question, as well as persons who were not considered to be members of a visible minority group."

"This table presents the percentage of respondents who reported that they experienced discrimination. Discrimination means treating people differently, negatively or adversely because of their race, age, religion, gender identity, etcetera."

"The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour"." Adapted from Statistics Canada, statcan.gc.ca, 2020. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.

Citation formats

The context in which visible minorities most frequently encountered discrimination in Canada since the COVID-19 pandemic was in public places, such as stores, banks, or restaurants. More than half of people aged 15 to 64, and 47.5 percent of people over 65, had experienced discrimination in such settings. In addition, more than a quarter of visible minorities between the ages of 15 and 24 years old had been discriminated against in an educational setting, a much higher proportion than their elders.