Demographics of Montreal

The Demographics of Montreal concern population growth and structure for Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The information is analyzed by Statistics Canada and compiled every five years, with the most recent census having taken place in 2011.

Population history

Population of Montreal, and Metropolitan Area by year
Year	City	Island	Metropolitan
1871	107,225	—	174,090
1881	140,747	—	223,512
1891	216,650	—	308,169
1901	267,730	—	393,665
1911	467,986	536,191	594,812
1921	618,506	724,205	774,330
1931	818,577	1,003,868	1,064,448
1941	903,077	1,116,800	1,192,235
1951	1,036,542	1,320,232	1,539,308
1961	1,257,537	1,747,696	2,215,627
1971	1,214,352	1,959,180	2,743,208
1981	1,018,609	1,760,122	2,862,286
1991	1,017,666	1,775,871	3,127,242
2001	1,039,534	1,812,723	3,426,350
2006	1,620,693	1,854,442	3,635,571

According to Statistics Canada, at the time of the 2006 Canadian census the city of Montreal proper had 1,620,693 inhabitants. A total of 3,635,571 lived in the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) at the same 2006 census, up from 3,451,027 at the 2001 census (within 2006 CMA boundaries), which means a population growth of +1.05% per year between 2001 and 2006. Montreal has been growing more slowly than many other Canadian cities.

In the 2006 census, children under 14 years of age (621,695) constituted 17.1%, while inhabitants over 65 years of age (495,685) numbered 13.6% of the total population.

Future projections

According to a recently published report by the city of Montreal, the population of the island is expected to number 1,991,200 by 2012, with 3.9 million in the Greater Montreal Area, an increase of 15.8% over 2001. However, in 2009, the Greater Montreal Area is estimated to number 3.86 million people, suggesting that the area surpass the four million threshold by 2012. According to StatsCan, by 2030, the Greater Montreal Area is expected to number 5,275,000 with 1,722,000 being visible minorities.

Ethnicities

Pie chart showing Montreal's visible minority composition (data from Canada Census 2006).

Some 26% of the population of Montreal and 16.5% that of Greater Montreal, are members of a visible minority (non-white) group. Blacks contribute to the largest minority group, with Montreal having the 2nd highest number of Blacks in Canada after Toronto. Other groups, such as Arabs, Latin Americans, South Asians, and Chinese are also large in number. " Visible minorities are defined by the Canadian Employment Equity Act as "persons, other than Aboriginals, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour."

Ethnicity
Canada 2006 Census		Population	% of Total Population
Ethnicity Source:	White	1,171,295	73.5
	Black	122,880	7.7
	Arab	68,600	4.3
	Latin American	53,970	3.4
	South Asian	51,255	3.2
	Chinese	47,980	3.0
	Southeast Asian	30,850	1.9
	Filipino	17,100	1.1
	West Asian	8,310	0.5
	Mixed visible minority	6,820	0.4
	First Nations	4,285	0.3
	Korean	2,730	0.2
	Métis	2,645	0.2
	Other visible minority	2,385	0.1
	Japanese	1,940	0.1
	Inuit	205	0
Total population		1,593,725	100

Ethnic origin

Ethnic Origin in Montreal CMA (2006)
Includes Multiple Responses

Ethnic origin	Population
Canadian	1,670,655	47%
French	936,990	26%
Italian	260,345	7%
Irish	216,410	6%
English	148,095	4%
Scottish	119,365	3%
Muslim	117,245	3%
Jewish	89,650	2%
Haitian	85,785	2%
Chinese	82,665	2%
German	78,315	2%
Latin American	75,400	2%
North American Indian	74,565	2%
Québécois	72,445	2%
South Asian	70,615	2%
Greek	61,770	2%
Spanish	56,770	2%
Lebanese	53,455	1%
Polish	51,920	1%
Berber	50,370	1%
Portuguese	46,535	1%
Southeast Asian	44,965	1%
Romanian	36,275	1%
Russian	35,800	1%
Moroccan	33,270	1%
Vietnamese	30,505
Ukrainian	26,150
Belgian	25,800
Filipino	23,510
Egyptian	16,550

Francophone

Main articles: French-speaking Quebecer and French Canadian

Montreal is the cultural centre of Quebec, French-speaking Canada and French-speaking North America as a whole, and an important city in the Francophonie. The majority of the population is francophone. Montreal is the largest French-speaking city in North America, and second in the world after Paris when counting the number of native-language Francophones (third after Paris and Kinshasa when counting second-language speakers). The city is a hub for French language television productions, radio, theatre, circuses, performing arts, film, multimedia and print publishing.

Montreal plays a prominent role in the development of French-Canadian and Québécois culture. Its contribution to culture is therefore more of a society-building endeavour rather than limited to civic influence. The best talents from French Canada and even the French-speaking areas of the United States converge in Montreal and often perceive the city as their cultural capital. Montreal is also the most important stop in the Americas for Francophone artists from Europe, Africa and Asia.

The cultural divide between Canada's Francophone and Anglophone culture is strong and was famously referred to as the "Two Solitudes" by Canadian writer Hugh MacLennan. Reflecting their deep-seated colonial roots, the Solitudes were historically strongly entrenched in Montreal, splitting the city geographically at Saint Laurent Boulevard. This split however has become less and less apparent in the past decades.

Anglophone

Main articles: English-speaking Quebecer and English Canadian

Montreal is also the cultural capital for English Quebec. The Montreal Gazette newspaper, McGill University, and the Centaur Theatre are traditional hubs of Anglo culture. Notable English-speaking Montrealers such as Oliver Jones, Leonard Cohen, Oscar Peterson, William Shatner, Nick Auf der Maur, Melissa Auf der Maur and Mordecai Richler have been influential. Anglophones from the Eastern Townships, Ottawa Valley and Northern Quebec enjoy radio and television that is produced in English in Montreal.

Some 30 years after the adoption of the Charter of the French Language, French is the mandated lingua-franca of Montreal's various cultural communities. There are effectively two distinct kinds of English spoken in Montréal; the standard English, with its local idioms and eccentricities, passed down through Anglophone community and its institutions. Then there is 'frenglish' or 'franglais' - a highly malleable combination of both languages into cogent sentences, thoughts and expressions, well-seasoned with local slang borrowed (and often used inter-changeably) from both principle languages. In other words, if French is Montréal's official language by birthright, then English is the unofficial language common to the working class. The rate of bilingualism among Montréal Anglophones is estimated to be in excess of 67% with a rapidly growing number among them able to speak three or more languages. It is now common to hear the children of Vietnamese, Italian, Haitian and Arab immigrants speaking French with a distinct Québécois accent, as well as English and their own mother tongues.

While socio-cultural differences and a demonstrable general income disparity between Anglophones and Francophones have led to violence in the past, contemporary Montréal is home to a diverse collection of cultures and peoples who live together quite amicably. Montréal, like many American and Canadian cities, has experienced racial and cultural conflicts during the same specific periods of time as other cities such as the increased racial and linguistic tensions towards the late-1980s and early-1990s, concurrent with similar periods of racial violence in New York City or Los Angeles, or in the late-1960s and early-1970s, at the height of the Civil Rights Era, when Montréal was beset with strikes, armed confrontations with revolutionaries, occupations etc.

Italian

Main article: Italian Canadian

Montreal's Italian community is one of the largest in Canada, second only to Toronto. With 250,000 Montrealers with Italian ancestry, Montreal has many Italian districts, such as Little Italy, Saint-Leonard (Città Italiana), R.D.P., and LaSalle. Italian is the 3rd most spoken language in Montreal and in the province of Quebec. There is such a large number of Italian Canadians in Montreal that when Italy won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the number of Italian Montrealers taking to the streets to celebrate en masse resulted in the closure of many major streets, such as Saint Lawrence Boulevard.

Haitian

Main article: Canadians of Haitian ancestry

Montreal's Haitian community of 100,000 people is the largest in Canada. Large percentages of Haitians live in Montréal-Nord, Saint-Michel and R.D.P. Today, Haitian Creole is the sixth most spoken language in Montreal and the seventh most spoken language in the province of Quebec.

Arab

Main article: Arab Canadians

According to CH (Montreal's multicultural channel) there are now over 117,000 people of Arab origin in Montreal. Montreal has sizeable communities of Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian and Egyptian origin. The Arab district is St. Laurent, which contains an Arab population of about 32,000 (52 percent of the population).

Greek

Main article: Greek Canadians

Greek is the eighth language in importance. Nevertheless, the Greek community remains vibrant: several neighborhoods contain a number of Greek-owned businesses and local festivals and churches add the to the multicultural character of the city. The neighbouring city of Laval also has a sizable Greek community, predominantly residing in the borough of Chomedey.

Chinese

Main article: Chinese Canadian

Montreal has Canada's third largest ethnic Chinese population at 72,000 members. The South Shore suburb of Brossard in particular has a high ethnic Chinese population, at 12% of its population. Montreal also has a small Chinatown sandwiched in between Old Montreal, the Quartier international and downtown.

Latin Americans

Main article: Latin American Canadian

Montreal is host to the second largest Latin American community in Canada at 75,400 (with Toronto being number one with 99,290). The majority of Latin American Canadians are recent immigrants arriving in the late 20th century who came from El Salvador, Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Guatemala with relatively smaller communities from the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador. Spanish is currently the fifth most spoken language in Montreal.

Berbers

Especially from Algeria and Morocco, this immigration is recent and almost 50,000 Berbers live in Montreal.

Jewish

Main article: History of the Jews in Canada

Montreal's Jewish community is one of the oldest and most populous in the country, formerly first but now second to Toronto and numbering about 100,000 according to the 2001 census. The community is quite diverse, and is composed of many different Jewish ethnic divisions that arrived in Canada at different periods of time and under differing circumstances. Predominant in number and cultural influence throughout much of the twentieth century were the European Jews (Ashkenazim) who arrived mostly prior to and following World War II; they settled largely along The Main and in Mile End, a life vividly chronicled by Mordecai Richler. There are also substantial French-speaking groups called Mizrahim, originating from former French colonies in the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, there were a few Spanish Jews (Sepharadim) and again Ashkenazim who had previously settled in Britain and from there moved to Canada as far back as the 18th century. More recent arrivals include significant numbers of Russian, Argentinian, and French Jews as well as some individual Indian Jews, Ethiopian Jews and others. Close to 25% of Montreal's Jewish population have French as their mother tongue. Yiddish is still a living part of the Montreal language mix, amongst for example the substantial Hassidic community.

Demographically smaller as a result of the exodus that came with the threat of the Quebec sovereignty movement, Montreal's Jewish community has nevertheless been a leading contributor to the city's cultural landscape and is renowned for its level of charitable giving and its plethora of social service community institutions. Among these are the world renowned Jewish Public Library of Montreal, Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre and Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre.

Jewish culinary contributions have also been a source of pride for Montrealers; two contributions are its smoked meat sandwiches and its distinctive style of bagels. There are many private Jewish schools in Montreal, receiving partial funding of the secular courses in their curriculum from the Quebec government (like most denominational schools in Quebec). Approximately 7,000 children attend Jewish day schools, over 50% of the total Jewish school age population, an extremely high percentage for North American cities.

The Jewish left and secular Jewish culture have flourished in Montreal, producing global intellectuals such as Naomi Klein, Leonard Cohen, Joshua Dolgin and Gerald Cohen.

Language

Census tracts in Montreal identified by mother tongue language.

In terms of mother language (first language learned), the 2006 census reported that in the Greater Montreal Area, 66.5% spoke French as a first language, followed by English at 13.2%, while 0.8% spoke both as a first language. The remaining 22.5% of Montreal-area residents are allophones, speaking languages including Italian (3.5%), Arabic (3.1%), Spanish (2.6%), Haitian Creole (1.3%), Chinese (1.2%), Greek (1.2%), Portuguese (0.8%), Romanian (0.7%), Vietnamese (0.7%), and Russian (0.5%). In terms of additional languages spoken, a unique feature of Montreal among Canadian cities, noted by Statistics Canada, is the working knowledge of both French and English possessed by most of its residents.

Language most spoken at home
in the Montreal metropolitan area (CMA)

	1996	2001	2006	2011
French	71.2%	72.1%	70.5%	70.4%
English	19.4%	18.5%	18.5%	19.1%
Other language	13.4%	13.1%	14.6%	16.6%
Note that percentages add up to more than 100% because some people speak two or more languages at home.

Mother tongue languages (2006)
Includes Multiple Responses

Language	Greater Montreal	Quebec	Canada
French	65.8%	79.7%	22.0%
English	13.2%	9.0%	58.6%
Arabic	3.9%	2.1%	1.1%
Spanish	3.1%	1.8%	1.3%
Italian	3.1%	1.6%	1.3%
Creole	1.5%	0.8%	0.2%
Greek	1.1%	0.5%	0.4%
Chinese	1.1%	0.6%	1.3%
Portuguese	0.8%	0.5%	0.7%
Romanian	0.7%	0.4%	0.3%
Vietnamese	0.7%	0.4%	0.5%
Russian	0.6%	0.3%	0.5%
Farsi	0.5%	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog	0.4%	0.2%	1.2%
Armenian	0.4%	0.2%	0.1%
Polish	0.4%	0.2%	0.6%
Tamil	0.4%	0.2%	0.4%
Punjabi	0.3%	0.2%	1.4%
German	0.3%	0.2%	1.3%
Bengali	0.3%	0.1%	0.2%
Cantonese	0.3%	0.1%	1.2%
Urdu	0.3%	0.1%	0.6%
Mandarin	0.3%	0.1%	0.8%

Religion

The Greater Montreal Area is predominantly Roman Catholic; however, weekly attendance in Quebec is among the lowest in Canada. Historically Montreal has been a centre of Catholicism in North America with its numerous seminaries and churches, including the Notre-Dame Basilica, the Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde, and Saint Joseph's Oratory. Some 84.6% of the total population is Christian, largely Roman Catholic (74.5%), primarily due to descendants of original French settlers, and others of Italian and Irish origins. Protestants which include Anglican, United Church, Lutheran, owing to British and German immigration, and other denominations number 7.0%, with a further 3.0% consisting mostly of Orthodox Christians, fuelled by a large Greek population. There is also a number of Russian Orthodox parishes. Islam is the largest non-Christian religious group, with 100,185 members, the second-largest concentration of Muslims in Canada. The Jewish community in Montreal has a population of 92,970. In cities such as Côte Saint-Luc and Hampstead, Jewish people constitute the majority, or a substantial part of the population. As recently as 1971 the Jewish community in Greater Montreal was as high as 109,480. Political and economic uncertainties led many to leave Montreal and the province of Quebec.

The religious breakdown of the population of Montreal is:

• Christian: 84.6%
• No religion: 7.6%
• Jewish: 3.0%
• Muslim: 2.6%
• Buddhist: 1.1%
• Hindu: 0.7%

See also

• Demographics of Quebec