In Canada wide range of groups and Canada has no official religion. The preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms mentions God but no specific faiths are specified and support for religious pluralism is an important part of Canada's political culture. Most people are Christians.
Roman Catholic Church in Canada country's largest single denomination. Those who listed no religion account for 16% of total respondents.
Non Christian religions in Canada are condensed in metropolitan cites such as Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver and to a much smaller sized cities such as Ottawa, Quebec, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Halifax. Possible protestation is Judaism, which has long been a notable minority even in the smaller centres.
Much of the increase in non Christian religions is attributed to changing immigration trends in the last fifty years. Increased immigration from Asia, the Middle East and Africa has created ever-growing Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu communities.
Muslim community in Canada is old as the nation itself. Four years after Canada's founding in 1867, the 1871 Canadian Census found 13 Muslims among the population.
Muslims were a distinct minority. Removal of the European immigration preferences in the late 1960s that Muslims began to arrive in significant numbers.
Sikhs were one of the few Asian immigrant communities who were the members of the British Empire. Irony was that greater entry restrictions were placed on the prospective Sikh immigrants as compared to the Japanese and Chinese. While Canadian politicians, missionaries, unions and the press did not want Asian labour, British Columbia industrialists were short of labour and thus Sikhs were able to get an early foothold at the turn of the century in British Columbia. Of the nearly 5,000 East Indians in Canada 1907, over 98% were Sikhs, mostly retired British army veterans. Sikh immigration to Canada was banned in 1908, and the population began to shrink.
In Canada a small, rapidly growing Buddhist community. As of the 2007 estimate, 1,202,045 verification needed Canadians identified their religion as Buddhist about 3.6% of the population. Buddhism arrived in the Canada with arrival of the Chinese laborers in the territories during the 19th century. First Japanese Buddhist temple in Canada was built at the Ishikawa Hotel in Vancouver in 1905
The Canada world's fourth largest Jewish population. According to the Canada 2001 Census, there are an estimated 351,000 Jews currently living in the Canada. A small minority, Jews have been important in shaping Canadian culture and identity and have had an open presence in the country
Sikhs were one of the few Asian immigrant communities who were the members of the British Empire. Irony was that greater entry restrictions were placed on the prospective Sikh immigrants as compared to the Japanese and Chinese. While Canadian politicians, missionaries, unions and the press did not want Asian labour, British Columbia industrialists were short of labour and thus Sikhs were able to get an early foothold at the turn of the century in British Columbia. Of the nearly 5,000 East Indians in Canada 1907, over 98% were Sikhs, mostly retired British army veterans. Sikh immigration to Canada was banned in 1908, and the population began to shrink.
In Canada a small, rapidly growing Buddhist community. As of the 2007 estimate, 1,202,045 verification needed Canadians identified their religion as Buddhist about 3.6% of the population. Buddhism arrived in the Canada with arrival of the Chinese laborers in the territories during the 19th century. First Japanese Buddhist temple in Canada was built at the Ishikawa Hotel in Vancouver in 1905
The Canada world's fourth largest Jewish population. According to the Canada 2001 Census, there are an estimated 351,000 Jews currently living in the Canada. A small minority, Jews have been important in shaping Canadian culture and identity and have had an open presence in the country