Religious demographics of Canada in 2021
Statistics Canada collects religion every ten years in the census, and the 2021 Census is the latest count. More than 100 religions were reported [1]. These are the largest groups as a share of the whole population [1]:
| Religion | Share of population, 2021 | People (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Christian (all denominations) | 53.3% | 19.3 million |
| of which Catholic | 29.9% | 10.9 million |
| of which Christian with no denomination given | 7.6% | 2.8 million |
| of which United Church | 3.3% | over 1 million |
| of which Anglican | 3.1% | over 1 million |
| No religion or a secular perspective | 34.6% | 12.6 million |
| Muslim | 4.9% | 1.8 million |
| Hindu | 2.3% | 830,000 |
| Sikh | 2.1% | 770,000 |
| Buddhist | 1.0% | 360,000 |
| Jewish | 0.9% | 335,000 |
| Traditional Indigenous spirituality | 0.2% | 81,000 |
Orthodox Christians (1.7%), Baptists (1.2%) and Pentecostals and other Charismatics (1.1%) were the next largest Christian denominations [1]. The census asks which religion you identify with, whether or not you practise it, so these figures measure affiliation rather than attendance [1].
How religion in Canada has changed since 1931
For most of the 20th century Canada was almost entirely Christian. The chart above, which uses census counts for every decade from 1931 to 2021, shows how quickly that has changed in the last 50 years. Its maker is not named. Its 2021 figures match Statistics Canada’s census release [1], but we could not check the earlier years line by line.
Dividing each of the chart’s groups by the total for that year gives these shares (our arithmetic):
| Census year | Christian | Other religions | No religion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | 96.2% | 3.6% | 0.2% |
| 1951 | 96.5% | 3.1% | 0.4% |
| 1971 | 92.0% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| 1991 | 83.4% | 4.1% | 12.5% |
| 2001 | 77.3% | 6.4% | 16.3% |
| 2011 | 67.4% | 8.6% | 23.9% |
| 2021 | 53.3% | 12.1% | 34.6% |
The number of Christians kept rising with the population until 2001, when it peaked at about 22.7 million. By 2021 it had fallen to about 19.4 million, a drop of 3.3 million in 20 years. Over the same period the number of people with no religion grew from about 4.8 million to 12.6 million, and the decade from 2011 to 2021 saw the biggest shift of all, with the no religion group growing by 4.7 million on the chart’s figures. Statistics Canada’s own figures put the Christian share at 77.1% in 2001 and 67.3% in 2011, very close to the chart’s [1].
One caveat: religion in 2011 was counted by the National Household Survey rather than the full census, so that year is a little less comparable with the others [2].
Why are fewer Canadians religious?
Statistics Canada says immigration does not explain the growth in people with no religion. Only 21.5% of immigrants admitted from 2011 to 2021 reported no religious affiliation, which is lower than the share in the population as a whole [1]. Some of the growth comes from children under 10 born in Canada who are being raised with no religion. The main reason, it says, is likely that many people who once reported a religion now report none [1].
That fits other research. Statistics Canada’s social surveys find a decline over three decades in religious practice, both with others and alone, and in how important people say their beliefs are to how they live [1]. In 2019, 68% of people in Canada reported a religious affiliation, and just over half (54%) said their religious or spiritual beliefs were somewhat or very important to them [3].
Quebec shows the change most sharply. Up to the 1950s it was one of the most traditionally Catholic places in the world, with high church attendance and schools largely run by the Church, until the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s [2], and it is still the only province where more than half the population reported being Catholic in 2021 (53.8%). But that share was 74.7% only ten years earlier [1].
Canada is not unusual here. Statistics Canada points to similar trends in other mainly Christian countries: the share of Americans with no religion rose from 16% in 2007 to 29% in 2021, and 38.9% of Australians reported no religion in their 2021 census [1].
The growth of other faiths
While Christianity has shrunk, the share of Canadians who are Muslim, Hindu or Sikh has more than doubled since 2001: Muslims from 2.0% to 4.9%, Hindus from 1.0% to 2.3% and Sikhs from 0.9% to 2.1% [1]. Islam is now the second most commonly reported religion in Canada, at about 1 in 20 people [1].
Immigration is the main driver. Immigrants make up the majority of Canada’s Buddhists (68.9%), Muslims (63.1%), Hindus (62.9%) and Sikhs (53.8%), against 23.0% of the population as a whole. Among immigrants admitted from 2011 to 2021, 18.9% were Muslim, 9.0% Hindu and 5.8% Sikh [1]. The Jewish population has stayed at about 330,000 to 335,000 since 2001, so its share has slipped from 1.1% to 0.9% as the population has grown [1].
Religion by province
The picture varies a lot across the country [1]:
- No religion: Yukon (59.7%) and British Columbia (52.1%) are the only places where most people reported no religious affiliation.
- Catholic: Catholicism is the most reported religion in every province and territory except Nunavut, and Quebec is the only province where Catholics are a majority.
- Protestant churches: the United Church is strongest in Newfoundland and Labrador (12.1%) and Prince Edward Island (9.7%), and the Anglican Church in Nunavut (39.1%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (21.5%).
- Other faiths: Ontario has the highest share with a non-Christian religion (16.3%), including the most Muslims (6.7%) and Hindus (4.1%). British Columbia has the highest share of Sikhs (5.9%).
- Cities and the countryside: 15.4% of people in large urban centres reported a religion other than Christianity, against 2.2% in rural areas.
Questions about religion in Canada
What is the most popular religion in Canada?
Christianity, reported by 53.3% of people in the 2021 Census. Catholics are the largest single denomination at 29.9%, or 10.9 million people [1].
What percentage of Canada is not religious?
34.6% in 2021, about 12.6 million people who reported no religion or a secular outlook such as atheist, agnostic or humanist. That is more than double the 16.5% of 2001 [1].
What is the second largest religion in Canada?
Islam, with nearly 1.8 million people or 4.9% of the population in 2021. If you count no religion as a group, it is the second largest after Christianity [1].
Is Christianity declining in Canada?
Yes. The Christian share fell from 77.1% in 2001 to 53.3% in 2021, and the number of Christians has fallen since peaking in 2001 [1].
Does Canada have an official religion?
No. Canada has no official church, although the preamble to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms refers to “the supremacy of God” [2].
Sources
- Statistics Canada, The Canadian census, a rich portrait of the country’s religious and ethnocultural diversity, The Daily, 26 October 2022.
- Wikipedia, Religion in Canada (history, the 2011 National Household Survey and the Charter).
- Statistics Canada, Religion in Canada (2019 General Social Survey).
Last reviewed 3 November 2026
