Visible Minority Population Analysis

Due to the change in data collection methodology from a mandatory census to a voluntary one, the non-response rate of the 2011 (NHS) census is significantly higher than those from the previous 2006 census (Statistics Canada, 2011). In addition to an overall lower response rate, certain population groups, such as the visible minority groups, are less likely to respond to the survey. As a result, since categorizing people by ethnicity and race can be instrumental for the state in keeping control over groups, there is no way to determine their respective response rates (Croucher, 1997). Therefore, when we think about the data, we need to understand the social conditions when collecting the data, and how people would or would not identify in those categories. …show more content…
The media could use my chart to support an argument because according to the article from The Toronto Star, “‘Visible minority’ will mean ‘white’ by 2031,” a study by Statistics Canada stated that Toronto and its suburbs are expected to surpass the 50% visible minority mark in 2017 (Javed, 2010). The vast majority of Scarborough's population is composed of immigrants and descendants of immigrants, and my chart can support their argument, as it reveals that the population of visible minority groups in both the 2006 and 2011 (NHS) censuses already surpassed more than triple than that of the ‘not a visible minority’ group. Thus, the ‘Visible Minority Population’ variable is able to back up existing evidence done in a study by Statistics