Fewer people in Lethbridge and across the country are identifying as religious, according to 2021 census data. (Image: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Religious and ethnic demographics in Lethbridge, Alberta and Canada: Census

Oct 26, 2022 | 2:10 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Statistics Canada is sharing further insights into how the country’s population is changing.

The agency has released data from the 2021 federal census that highlights Canadians’ ethnic and religious backgrounds.

ETHNICITY

Nationally, more than 450 ethnic or cultural origins were reported.

With the total population of Canada being just below 37 million, the most common origins were Canadian (5.7 million people, 15.4%), English (5.3 million, 14.3%), Irish (4.4 million, 11.9%), Scottish (4.4 million, 11.9%), and French (4.0 million, 10.8%).

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Other ethnicities with more than one million Canadians each include German, Italian, Ukrainian, Dutch, Polish, Chinese, and Indian.

Approximately 2.2 million reported Indigenous ancestry. The most common are Cree (250,000 people), Mi’kmaq (122,000), Ojibway (92,000), and Algonquin (56,000). Another 632,000 people reported First Nations ancestry without any additional clarification.

In Alberta, the most common words used to describe a person’s ethnic background were English (18.3%), German (15.3%), Scottish (15.1%), Canadian (11.6%), and Ukrainian (8.2%).

The people of Lethbridge predominantly have English (22.9%), German (19.2%), Scottish (17.3%), Irish (13.6%), and Canadian (13.4%) origins.

RELIGION

The country’s religious makeup has seen sizable changes over the last couple of decades.

The number of people who identify as Christian is decreasing, while still comprising a majority of the Canadian population at 19.3 million people (53.3%) in 2021.

Christians made up 67.3% of the national population in 2011, and 77.1% in 2001.

Rising at the same time were those who reported no religious affiliation at all.

As of 2021, approximately 12.6 million Canadians (34.6%) said they were non-religious, increasing from 23.9% in 2011 and 16.5% in 2001.

The number of people reporting no religion was even higher than the national average in Alberta, where it is 40.1%.

Christianity remains the most prominent religious identity in the province at 48.1%.

Those who have a different religious affiliation made up 11.8% of Alberta’s population.

In Lethbridge, the numbers for Christians and non-religious are fairly close.

Responses for religious identity in Lethbridge were submitted by 96,270 people in 2021, and a total of 47,995 (49.85%) in the city identify as Christian, with the following breakdown:

• Catholic – 15,485 (16.1%)
• Christian with no other specifications – 10,890 (11.3%)
• Latter Day Saints – 5,565 (5.8%)
• United Church – 4,400 (4.6%)
• Anglican – 2,420 (2.5%)

Those with no religion in Lethbridge made up the second largest demographic, at 42,645 people (44.3%).

Lethbridge is also home to 1,810 people (1.9%) who identify as Muslim, 1,240 Hindus (1.3%), and 1,035 Buddhists (1.1%).

The full census report on religion and ethnicity can be found on the Statistics Canada website, as well as census data for specific communities.

READ MORE: Updated census counts for Southern Alberta, Lethbridge population reaches 98,406