Religion in Canada encompasses a wide range of beliefs and customs that historically has been dominated byChristianity.^[1][2] Theconstitution of Canada refers to 'God'; however Canada has no official church and the government is officially committed toreligious pluralism.^[3]Freedom of religion in Canada is a constitutionally protected right, allowing individuals to assemble and worship without limitation or interference.^[4] Rates of religious adherence have steadily decreased since the 1960s.^[2] After having once been central and integral to Canadian culture and daily life,^[5] Canada has become apost-Christian state.^[6][7][8] Although the majority of Canadians considerreligion to be unimportant in their daily lives,^[9] they still believe in God.^[10] The practice of religion is generally considered a private matter throughout society and the state.^[11]

Before the European colonization, a wide diversity ofNative religions and belief systems of theIndigenous peoples in Canada were largelyanimistic orshamanistic.^{[12][13][14][15]} TheFrench colonization beginning in the 16th century established aCatholic French population inNew France.^[16] During the colonial period, the French settled along the shores of theSaint Lawrence River, specificallyLatin Church Catholics, including a number ofJesuits dedicated to converting indigenous peoples.^[17]These attempts reached a climax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries withforced integration through state-funded boarding schools run by both Catholics and Protestants that attempted to assimilate Indigenous children.^[18]

British colonization brought waves ofAnglicans and otherProtestants toUpper Canada, nowOntario.^[19] The settlement ofthe West brought significantEastern Orthodox immigrants from Eastern Europe andMormon andPentecostal immigrants from the United States.^[20] TheJewish,Islamic,Jains,Sikh,Hindu, andBuddhist communities—although small—are as old as the nation itself.^[21]

According to the 2021 census,Christianity is the largest religion in Canada, with Catholics representing 29.9 percent of the population having the most adherents.Christians overall representing 53.3 percent of the population,^[a] are followed by people reportingirreligion or having no religion at 34.6 percent.^[24] Other faiths includeIslam (4.9 percent),Hinduism (2.3 percent),Sikhism (2.1 percent),Buddhism (1.0 percent),Judaism (0.9 percent), andIndigenous spirituality (0.2 percent).^[25] Canada has thesecond-largest national Sikh population, behindIndia.^[26][27]

Canada today has nostate religion, and theGovernment of Canada is officially committed toreligious pluralism.^[29] While the Canadian government's official ties to religion, specificallyChristianity are few, thePreamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms makes reference to "the supremacy of God."^[30] Thenational anthem in bothofficial languages also refers to God.^[31] Nevertheless, the rise ofirreligion within the country and influx of non-Christian peoples has led to a greater separation of government and religion,^[32] demonstrated in forms like "Christmas holidays" being called "winter festivals" in public schools.^[33] Some religious schools are government-funded as perSection Twenty-nine of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.^[34]

Canada is aCommonwealth realm in which thehead of state is shared with 14 other countries. As such, Canada follows the United Kingdom's succession laws for its monarch, which barCatholics from inheriting the throne.^[35] Within Canada, the monarch's title includes the phrases "By the Grace of God".^[36]

Christmas andEaster are nationwide holidays, and whileJews,Muslims,Hindus,Buddhists and other religious groups are allowed to take their holy days off work, they do not share the same official recognition.^[37] In 1957, theParliament declaredThanksgiving "a day of general thanksgiving to almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed."^[38]

There was an ongoing battle in the late 20th century to have religious garb accepted throughout Canadian society, mostly focused onSikhturbans. The Canadian Armed Forces authorized the wearing of turbans in 1986, eventually theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police followed in 1988 and eventually other federal government agencies accepted members wearing turbans.

In 2023, the country was scored 3 out of 4 for religious freedom;^[39] noting concern with thefreedom of religion expression in Quebec society.^[40][41][42]

Before the arrival of Europeans, the Indigenous peoples followed a wide array of mostlyanimistic religions and spirituality;^{[12][43][13][44][14][45][46]} "including the presence ofcreation stories, the role of tricksters or of supernatural beings in folklore and the importance of sacred organizations".^[15] Common concept is the supernatural world ofdeities, spirits and wonders, such as theAlgonquianmanitou.^[12][13]

The first Europeans to settle in great numbers in Canada were French Catholics, including a large number ofJesuits who established severalmissions in North America. They were dedicated to converting the Indigenous peoples; an effort that eventually proved successful.^[47]

The first largeProtestant communities were formed in theMaritimes after they were conquered by the British.^[48] Unable to convince enough British immigrants to go to the region, the government decided to import continental Protestants from Germany and Switzerland to populate the region and counterbalance the CatholicAcadians.^[49] This group was known as theForeign Protestants. This effort proved successful and today theSouth Shore region ofNova Scotia is still largelyLutheran. After theExpulsion of the Acadians beginning in 1755 a large number ofNew England Planters settled on the vacated lands bringing with them theirCongregationalist belief.^[50] During the 1770s, guided byHenry Alline, theNew Light movement of theGreat Awakening swept through theAtlantic region converting many of the Congregationalists to the new theology.^[51] After Alline's death many of these Newlights eventually becameBaptists, thus making Maritime Canada the heartland of theBaptist movement in Canada.^[52][53][54]

TheQuebec Act of 1774 acknowledged the rights of the Catholic Church throughoutLower Canada in order to keep theFrench Canadians loyal toBritannic Crown.^[55] Catholicism is still the main religion of French Canadians today.

TheAmerican Revolution beginning in 1765 brought a large influx of Protestants to Canada whenUnited Empire Loyalists, fleeing the rebellious United States, moved in large numbers to Upper Canada and the Maritimes.^[56]

WhileAnglicans consolidated their hold on the upper classes, workingmen and farmers responded to theMethodist revivals, often sponsored by visiting preachers from the United States. Typical was Rev.James Caughey, an American sent by theWesleyan Methodist Church from the 1840s through 1864. He brought in the converts by the score, most notably in the revivals in Western Canada from 1851 to 1853. His technique combined restrained emotionalism with a clear call for personal commitment, coupled with follow-up action to organize support from converts. It was a time when theholiness movement caught fire, with the revitalized interest of men and women inChristian perfection. Caughey successfully bridged the gap between the style of earlier camp meetings and the needs of more sophisticated Methodist congregations in the emerging cities.^[57]

In the early nineteenth century in theMaritimes andUpper Canada, theAnglican Church held the same official position it did in England. This caused tension withinEnglish Canada, as much of the populace was not Anglican. Increasing immigration from Scotland created a very largePresbyterian community and they and other groups demanded equal rights. This was an important cause of the1837 Rebellion in Upper Canada. With the arrival ofresponsible governments, the Anglican monopoly was ended.^[58]

InLower Canada, the Catholic Church was officially pre-eminent and had a central role in the colony's culture and politics. Unlike English Canada,French Canadiannationalism became very closely associated with Catholicism.^[59] During this period, the Catholic Church in the region became one of the most reactionary in the world. Known asUltramontane Catholicism, the church adopted positions condemning all manifestations ofliberalism.^[60]

In politics, those aligned with the Catholic clergy inQuebec were known asles bleus (the blues). They formed a curious alliance with the staunchly monarchist and pro-British Anglicans of English Canada (often members of theOrange Order) to form the basis of the CanadianConservative Party. TheReform Party, which later became theLiberal Party, was largely composed of the anti-clerical French Canadians, known asles rouges (the reds) and the non-AnglicanProtestant groups. In those times, right before elections, parish priests would give sermons to their flock where they said things likeLe ciel est bleu et l'enfer est rouge ("the sky (heaven) is blue and hell is red").^[61]

In 1871, national census revealed 56.45% as Protestants, 42.80% as Catholic, 0.05% as Pagans, 0.03% as Jewish, 0.02% as Mormons, 0.15% as irreligious and 0.49% as unspecified.^[62]

By the late nineteenth century, Protestant pluralism had taken hold in English Canada. While much of the elite were still Anglican, other groups, including the Methodists, had become very prominent as well. The schools and universities created at this time reflected this pluralism with major centres of learning being established for each faith. One, King's College, later theUniversity of Toronto, was set up as a non-denominational school. The influence of the Orange Order was strong, especially amongIrish Protestant immigrants, and comprised a powerful anti-Catholic force inOntario politics; its influence faded away after 1920.^[63]

The late nineteenth century also saw the beginning of a large shift in Canadian immigration patterns. Large numbers ofIrish andSouthern European immigrants were creating new Catholic communities in English Canada. Western Canada saw the arrival of significantEastern Orthodox immigrants fromEastern Europe as well asMormon andPentecostal immigrants from the United States and Ireland.

In 1919–20 Canada's five majorProtestant denominations (Anglican,Baptist,Congregational,Methodist, andPresbyterian) cooperatively undertook the "Forward Movement." The goal was to raise funds and to strengthenChristian spirituality in Canada. The movement invokedAnglophone nationalism by linking donations with theVictory Loan campaigns of theFirst World War, and stressed the need for funds toCanadianize immigrants. Centred inOntario, the campaign was a clear financial success, raising over $11 million. However the campaign exposed deep divisions among Protestants, with the traditionalEvangelists speaking of a personal relationship withGod and the more liberal denominations emphasizing theSocial Gospel andgood works.^[65] Both factions (apart from the Anglicans) agreed on prohibition, which was demanded by theWCTU.^[66]

As of 1931, Catholics were the largest religious body in Canada, with 4 million people. Following it were the United Church of Canada (including Methodists, Congregationalists and Presbyterians), with 2 million; the Anglican Church, with nearly 2 million; and the Presbyterian Church, with approximately 870,000. The Canada Year Book 1936 reported that "of the non-Christian sects, 155,614 or 1.50% were Jews, 24,087 or 0.23% were Confucians, 15,784 or 0.15% were Buddhists and 5,008 or 0.05% were pagans.^[67]

Domination of Canadian society by Protestant and Catholic elements continued until well into the 20th century. Until the 1960s, most parts of Canada still had extensiveLord's Day laws that limited what one could do on a Sunday.^[68] The English Canadian elite were still dominated by Protestants, andJews and Catholics were often excluded.^[69] A slow process of liberalization began after theSecond World War in English Canada. Overtly Christian laws were expunged, including those againsthomosexuality. Policies favouring Christian immigration were also abolished.^[70]

In 1951, a nationwide census was taken after incorporation of predominantly Protestant province ofNewfoundland and Labrador.

According to statistics provided byStatistics Canada, Protestants held a slight majority in the country between 1871 and 1961. Despite Canada's large Catholic population, this fact is confirmed by nine consecutive national censuses. By 1961, Catholics overtook Protestants as the most numerous religious group, although—unlike Protestants—they never reached the absolute majority status (>50%).^[64]

The most overwhelming change was theQuiet Revolution inQuebec in the 1960s. Up through the 1950s, the province was one of the most traditionalCatholic areas in the world. Church attendance rates were high, and the schools were largely controlled by the Church. In the 1960s, the Catholic Church lost most of its influence in Quebec, and religiosity declined sharply.^[71] While the majority of Québécois are still professed Latin Church Catholics, rates of church attendance have decreased dramatically.^[72] Since then,common-law relationships,abortion, and support forsame-sex marriage are much more common in Quebec than previously, exceeding levels in some other areas of Canada.

English Canada also underwentsecularization. TheUnited Church of Canada, the country's largestProtestant denomination, became one of the most liberal major Protestant churches in the world. Flatt argues that in the 1960s Canada's rapid cultural changes led the United Church to end itsevangelical programs and change its identity. It made revolutionary changes in its evangelistic campaigns, educational programs, moral stances, and theological image. However, membership declined sharply as the United Church affirmed a commitment to gay rights including marriage and ordination, and to the ordination of women.^[73][74]

In 1971, Canada was 47% Catholic, 41% Protestant, 4% other religion and 4% unaffiliated.^[75]

Meanwhile, a strong current of evangelical Protestantism emerged. The largest groups are found in theAtlantic provinces andWestern Canada, particularly inAlberta, SouthernManitoba and the Southern interior andFraser Valley region ofBritish Columbia, also known as the "Canadian Bible Belt", as well as parts ofOntario outside theGreater Toronto Area. The social environment is more conservative, somewhat more in line with that of theMidwestern andSouthern United States, and same-sex marriage, abortion, and common-law relationships are less widely accepted. The evangelical movement has grown sharply after 1960, and increasingly influences public policy. Nevertheless, the overall proportion of evangelicals in Canada remains considerably lower than in the United States, and the polarization much less intense. There are very few evangelicals in Quebec and in the largest urban areas, which are generally secular, although there are several congregations above 1000 members in most large cities.^[76]

Administered by various Christian churches and funded by the Canadian government from 1828 to 1997Canadian Indian residential school system attempted to assimilate Indigenous children intoEuro-Canadian culture.^[77] The residential school system was established by Christianmissionaries with the express purpose of converting Indigenous children to Christianity,^[78] schools often had nearby mission where possible graves ofhundreds of Indigenous people were discovered.^[79] A period of redress began with the formation of theTruth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada by theGovernment of Canada in 2008.^[80] This included recognition of past colonial genocide andsettlement agreements.^[81] In October 2022, the Canadian House of Commons unanimously passed a motion calling on the federal Canadian government to recognize the residential school system asgenocide.^[82] This acknowledgment was followed by avisit by Pope Francis who apologized for Church members' role in what he labelled the "oppression, mistreatment andcultural genocide of indigenous people".^[83][84]

Province/Territory	Christians
Newfoundland and Labrador	82.44%[85]
Nunavut	73.53%[86]
Prince Edward Island	67.62%[87]
New Brunswick	67.52%[88]
Quebec	64.82%[89]
Nova Scotia	58.18%[90]
Saskatchewan	56.31%[91]
Manitoba	54.23%[92]
Northwest Territories	55.16%[93]
Canada	53.33%[94]
Ontario	52.14%[95]
Alberta	48.11%[96]
Yukon	35.01%[97]
British Columbia	34.27%[98]

The majority of Canadian Christians attendchurch services infrequently. Cross-national surveys of religiosity rates such as the Pew Global Attitudes Project indicate that, on average, Canadian Christians are less observant than those of the United States but are still more overtly religious than their counterparts in Western Europe. In 2002, 30% of Canadians reported to Pew researchers that religion was "very important" to them. A 2005 Gallup poll showed that 28% of Canadians consider religion to be "very important" (55% of Americans and 19% of Britons say the same).^[99] Regional differences within Canada exist, however, withBritish Columbia andQuebec reporting especially low metrics of traditional religious observance, as well as a significant urban-rural divide, whileSaskatchewan and ruralAlberta saw high rates of religious attendance. The rates for weekly church attendance are contested, with estimates running as low as 11% as per the latest Ipsos-Reid poll and as high as 25% as perChristianity Today magazine. This American magazine reported that three polls conducted byFocus on the Family, Time Canada and the Vanier Institute of the Family showed church attendance increasing for the first time in a generation, with weekly attendance at 25 per cent. This number is similar to the statistics reported by premier Canadian sociologist of religion, Prof.Reginald Bibby of theUniversity of Lethbridge, who has been studying Canadian religious patterns since 1975. Although lower than in the US, which has reported weekly church attendance at about 40% since the Second World War, weekly church attendance rates are higher than those in Northern Europe.

As well as the large churches—Catholic, United, and Anglican, which together count more than half of the Canadian population as nominal adherents—Canada also has many smaller Christian groups, including Eastern Orthodoxy. The Egyptian population inOntario andQuebec (Greater Toronto in particular) has seen a large influx of theCoptic Orthodox population in just a few decades. The relatively largeUkrainian population ofManitoba andSaskatchewan has produced many followers of theUkrainian Catholic andUkrainian Orthodox Churches, while southern Manitoba has been settled largely by Mennonites. The concentration of these smaller groups often varies greatly across the country. Baptists are especially numerous in theMaritimes. The Maritimes, prairie provinces, andsouthwestern Ontario have significant numbers ofLutherans. SouthwestOntario has seen large numbers of German and Russian immigrants, including manyMennonites andHutterites, as well as a significant contingent of Dutch Reformed.Alberta has seen considerable immigration from the American plains, creating a significantMormon minority in that province.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claimed to have 178,102 members (74,377 of whom in Alberta) at the end of 2007.^[100] And according to theJehovah's Witnesses year report there are 111,963 active members (members who actively preach) in Canada.

Canada as a nation is becoming increasingly religiously diverse, especially in large urban centres such asToronto,Vancouver, andMontreal, where minority groups and new immigrants who make up the growth in most religious groups congregate. Two significant trends become clear when the current religious landscape is examined closely. One is the loss of ‘secularized' Canadians as active and regular participants in the churches and denominations they grew up in, which were overwhelminglyChristian, while these churches remain a part of Canadians' cultural identity. The other is the increasing presence of ethnically diverse immigration within the religious makeup of the country.

As MainlineProtestants and Catholics have experienced drastic losses over the past 30 years, others have been expanding rapidly: overall by 144% in ‘Eastern' religions during the 1981–1991 decade.^[101] Considering Canada's increasing reliance on immigration to bolster a low birth rate, the situation is only likely to continue to diversify. This increased influx of ethnic immigrants not only affects the types of religions represented in the Canadian context but also the increasingly multicultural and multilingual makeup of individual Christian denominations. FromChineseAnglican or KoreanUnited Church communities, to theLutheran focus on providing much needed services to immigrants new to the Canadian context andEnglish language, immigration is making changes.^[102] Much as many Catholics inQuebec ignore the Church's stance onbirth control,abortion, orpremarital sex, the churches do not dictate much of the daily lives of regular Canadians.^[103]

For some Protestantdenominations, adapting to a newsecular context has meant adjusting to their non-institutional roles in society by increasingly focusing onsocial justice.^[104] However the pull between conservative religious members and the more radical among the church members is complicated by the numbers of immigrant communities who may desire a church that fulfils a more ‘institutionally complete' role as a buffer in this new country over the current tension filled debates oversame-sex marriage,ordination of women and homosexuals, or the role of women in the church. This of course will depend on the background of the immigrant population, as in theHong Kong context whereordination ofFlorence Li Tim Oi happened long before women's ordination was ever raised on the CanadianAnglican church level.^[105]

As well amulticultural focus on the churches part may include non-Christian elements (such as the inclusion of aBuddhist priest in one incident) which are unwelcome to the transplanted religious community.^[106] Serving the needs and desires of different aspects of the Canadian and newly Canadian populations makes a difficult balancing act for the various mainline churches which are starved for money and active parishioners in a time when 16% of Canadians identify as non-religious and up to two-thirds of those who do identify with a denomination use the church only for its life-cycle rituals governing birth, marriage, and death.^[107] The church retains that hold in theirparishioners' lives but not the commitment of time and energy necessary to support an aging institution.

Evangelical portions of the Protestant groups proclaim their growth as well but as Roger O'Tool notes they make up 7% of the Canadian population and seem to gain most of their growth from a higher birthrate.^[108] What is significant is the higher participation of their members in contrast to Mainline Protestants and Catholics. This high commitment would seem to translate into the kind of political power evangelicals in the United States enjoy but despite Canada's historicallyChristian background asBeaman notes neatly "...[forming] the backdrop for social process"^[109] explicit religiosity appears to have not effectively moved the government towards legal discrimination against gay marriage.

There was a major religious revival in Toronto in the 1990s known as theToronto Blessing at a smallVineyard Church near theToronto Pearson International Airport. This religious event was the largest tourist attraction to Toronto^[110] in 1994. This event was characterized by unusual religious ecstasy such as beingslain in the Spirit,laughing uncontrollably, and other odd behaviour.^{[111][112][113][114]}

A 2015 study estimates some 43,000 believers in Christ from a Muslim background in Canada, most of whom belong to the evangelical tradition.^[115]

Anglican Church of Canada is the only official church of theAnglican Communion in Canada.^[116] Across Canada there are approximately 1,700 individualchurches orparishes, which are organized into 30 differentdioceses, each led by abishop. The national church office is known as theGeneral Synod. The Primate is the ArchbishopLinda Nicholls, national pastoral leader.^[117]

TheEvangelical Fellowship of Canada, a national evangelical alliance, member of theWorld Evangelical Alliance was founded in 1964 inToronto.^{[118][119][120]} It brings together 43EvangelicalChristian denominations.^[121]

ThePentecostal Assemblies of Canada were founded in 1914.^[122]

TheCanadian Baptist Ministries were founded in 1944.^[123]

In the mid-1870s Hutterites moved from Europe to theDakota Territory in the United States to avoid military service and other persecutions.^[124] DuringWorld War I Hutterites suffered from persecutions in the United States because they are pacifist and refused military service.^[125][126] They then moved almost all of their communities to Canada in the Western provinces of Alberta and Manitoba in 1918.^[126] In the 1940s, there were 52 Hutterite colonies in Canada.^[126]

Today, more than 75% of the world's Hutterite colonies are located in Canada, mainly in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the rest being almost exclusively in the United States.^[127] The Hutterite population in North America is about 45,000 people.^[128]

First Mennonites arrived in Canada in 1786 fromPennsylvania, but following Mennonites arrived directly from Europe.^[129] TheMennonite Church Canada had about 35,000 members in 1998.^[130]

The Catholic Church in Canada, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and theCanadian Conference of Catholic Bishops,^[131] has the largest number of adherents to a religion in Canada, with 38.7% of Canadians (13.07 million) reported as Catholics in the 2011 National Household Survey, in 72dioceses across the provinces and territories, served by about 8,000 priests.Quebec is the only Canadian province where the majority of its population adhere to Catholicism.^[132] However, even in Quebec, the percentage of Catholics has significantly decreased over time.^[133] It was the first European faith in what is now Canada, arriving in 1497 whenJohn Cabot landed onNewfoundland and raised the Venetian and Papal banners, claiming the land for his sponsor KingHenry VII of England, while recognizing the religious authority of the Catholic Church.^[134]

The entire Catholic Church in Canada is placed under thePrimate of Canada^[135] which corresponds to theArchdiocese of Quebec and its bishop, the Primate of Canada. Currently,Gérald Cyprien Lacroix is the Primate of Canada.^[136] ThePope is represented in Canada by theApostolic Nunciature in Canada (Ottawa).^[137]

Adherents ofEastern Orthodox Christianity in Canada belong to several ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Historically, Eastern Orthodoxy was introduced to Canada during the course of 19th century, mainly through emigration of Christians fromEastern Europe and the Middle East. Honouring such diverse heritage, Eastern Orthodoxy in Canada is traditionally organized in accordance with patrimonial jurisdictions ofautocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches, each of them having its own hierarchy with dioceses and parishes.

According to 2011 census data, there were 550,690 Orthodox Christians. TheGreek Orthodox community constitutes the largest Eastern Orthodox community in Canada, with 220,255 adherents, followed by other communities: Russian Orthodox (25,245), Ukrainian Orthodox (23,845),Serbian Orthodox (22,780),Romanian Orthodox (7,090),Macedonian Orthodox (4,945),Bulgarian Orthodox (1,765),Antiochian Orthodox (1,220) and several other minor communities within Eastern Orthodoxy. A number of 207,480 adherents reported only as Christian Orthodox.^[138]

Adherents ofOriental Orthodox Christianity in Canada also belong to several ethnic communities and ecclesiastical jurisdictions. According to 2011 census data,Coptic Orthodox community constitutes the largest Oriental Orthodox community in Canada, with 16,255 adherents. It is followed by other communities: Armenian Orthodox (13,730), Ethiopian Orthodox (3,025), Syriac Orthodox (3,060) and several other minor communities within Oriental Orthodoxy.^[138]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has had a presence in Canada since its organization in New York State in 1830.^[139] Canada has been used as a refuge territory by members of the LDS Church to avoid enforcement of anti-polygamy laws by the United States government.^[140] The first LDS Church in Canada was established in 1895 in what would become Alberta; it was the first stake of the Church to be established outside the United States.^[141] The LDS Church has founded several communities in Alberta.

In the 2021 census sampling, about 0.2% of the population (equal to about 87,725 people) claimed to be members of the LDS Church.^[94]In 2021, the LDS Church claimed around 200,000 members in Canada;^[142] It has congregations in all Canadian provinces and territories and possesses at least one temple in six of the ten provinces, including the oldest LDS temple outside the United States. Alberta is the province with the most members of the LDS Church in Canada, having approximately 40% of the total of Canadian LDS Church members and representing 2% of the total population of the province (the National Household survey of 2011 has Alberta with over 50% of the Canadian Mormons and 1.6% of the province's population^[143]), followed by Ontario and British Columbia.^[144]

Four years after Canada's founding in 1867, the 1871 Canadian Census found 13 Muslims among the population.^[145] The first Canadianmosque was constructed inEdmonton in 1938, when there were approximately 700 Muslims in the country.^[146] This building is now part of the museum atFort Edmonton Park. The years afterWorld War II saw a small increase in the Muslim population. However, Muslims were still a distinct minority. It was only with the removal of European immigration preferences in the late 1960s that Muslims began to arrive in significant numbers.

According toCanada's 2001 census, there were 579,740Muslims in Canada, just under 2% of the population.^[147] In 2006, the Muslim population was estimated to be 0.8 million or about 2.6%. In 2010, the Pew Research Centre estimated there were about 0.9 million Muslims in Canada.^[148][149] In the 2011 National Housing Survey, Muslims constituted 3.2% of the population^[150] making them largest religious adherents after Christianity.^[151] Sunni Islam is followed by the majority while there are significant numbers of Shia Muslims. Ahmadiyya also has a significant proportion with more than 25,000Ahmadis living in Canada.^[152] There are alsonon-denominational Muslims.^[153] As of the 2021 census, the percentage of Muslims in Canada is 4.9%.^[154]

In 2007, theCBC introduced a popular television sitcom calledLittle Mosque on the Prairie, a contemporary reflection and critical commentary on attitudes towardsIslam in Canada.^[155] In 2008, the Prime Minister of Canada,Stephen Harper, visited theBaitun Nur Mosque, the largest mosque in Canada for its inaugural session with the Head of theAhmadiyya Muslim Community.^[156]

Province or territory	Jews	Percentage
Canada	391,665	1.2%
Ontario	226,610	1.8%
Quebec	93,625	1.2%
British Columbia	35,005	0.8%
Alberta	15,795	0.4%
Manitoba	14,345	1.2%
Nova Scotia	2,910	0.3%
Saskatchewan	1,905	0.2%
New Brunswick	860	0.1%
Newfoundland and Labrador	220	0.0%
Prince Edward Island	185	0.1%
Yukon	145	0.4%
Northwest Territories	40	0.1%
Nunavut	15	0.1%

TheJewish community in Canada is almost as old as the nation itself. The earliest documentation ofJews in Canada is British Army records from theSeven Years' War from 1754. In 1807,Ezekiel Hart was elected to the legislature ofLower Canada, becoming the first Jew in theBritish Empire to hold anofficial position. Hart was sworn in on aHebrew Bible as opposed to aChristian Bible.^[157][158] The next day an objection was raised that Hart had not taken the oath in the manner required for sitting in the assembly – an oath of abjuration, which would have required Hart to swear "on the true faith of a Christian".^[159] Hart was expelled from the assembly, only to be re-elected two more times. In 1768, the first synagogue in Canada was built in Montreal, theSpanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal. In 1832, a law was passed inLower Canada that guaranteed Jews the same political rights and freedoms as Christians.^[160]

The Jewish population saw a growth during the 1880s due to thepogroms of Russia and growinganti-Semitism. Between the years of 1880 and 1930 the Jewish population grew to 155,000. In 1872,Henry Nathan, Jr. became the first JewishMember of Parliament, representing theVictoria, BC area in the newly createdHouse of Commons. TheFirst World War halted the flow of immigrants into Canada, and after the War there was a change in Canada's immigration policy to limit the immigration of people from "non-preferred nations", i.e., those not from the United Kingdom or otherwiseWhite Anglo-Saxon Protestant nations. In June 1939 Canada and the United States were the last hope for 907 Jewish refugees aboard the steamshipSS St. Louis which had been denied landing in Havana although the passengers had entry visas. The Canadian government ignored the protests of Canadian Jewish organizations. King said the crisis was not a "Canadian problem" and Blair added in a letter to O.D. Skelton, Undersecretary of State for External Affairs, dated June 16, 1939, "No country could open its doors wide enough to take in the hundreds of thousands of Jewish people who want to leave Europe: the line must be drawn somewhere." The ship finally had to return to Germany.^[161] During theSecond World War almost twenty thousand Canadian Jews volunteered to fight overseas. Nearly 40,000Holocaust survivors moved to Canada in the late 1940s to rebuild their lives.

In 2010, the Canadian Jewish community was the fourth largest in the world^[162] and practises in both of the official languages of Canada. There is an increase in the number of people that useHebrew, other than for religious ceremonies, while there is a decline in theYiddish language. Most of Canada's Jews live inOntario andQuebec, withToronto being the largest Jewish population centre. In 2009, anti-Semitic incidents jumped fivefold.^[163]

The Canadian community is one of the earliest western communities of theBaháʼí Faith, at one point sharing a joint National Spiritual Assembly with the United States, and is a co-recipient of`Abdu'l-Bahá'sTablets of the Divine Plan. The first North American woman to declare herself a Baháʼí was Kate C. Ives, of Canadian ancestry, though not living in Canada at the time. Moojan Momen, in reviewing "The Origins of the Baháʼí Community of Canada, 1898–1948" notes that "the Magee family... are credited with bringing the Baháʼí Faith to Canada. Edith Magee became a Baháʼí in 1898 in Chicago and returned to her home in London, Ontario, where four other female members of her family became Baháʼís. This predominance of women converts became a feature of the Canadian Baháʼí community..."^[164]

In 2018, there were 25,000Druze living in Canada, and fewer than 5,000 of them live in theGreater Toronto Area. They are mostly ofLebanese andSyrian descent.Druze practise Druzism, amonotheistic religion that encompasses aspects of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and Greek philosophy, among influences.^[165]

Hinduism is followed by 2.3% of the population of Canada. According to the2021 census, there are 828,195 Hindus in Canada.^[168]

Hindus in Canada are generally Indianimmigrants (mainly Punjabi, Gujarati, and Haryanvi) from India (and their descendants) who began arriving inBritish Columbia about 100 years ago and continue to immigrate today. There is a significant number ofSri Lankan Tamil Hindus in Canada who immigrated from Sri Lanka during the1983 communal riots in Sri Lanka.Nepali Hindus, Caribbean Hindus fromTrinidad and Tobago,Suriname andGuyana andMauritianHindus represent sizeable subgroups. There are also Canadian converts to the various sects ofHinduism through the efforts of theHare Krishna movement, theGurus during the last 50 years, and other organizations.

The vast majority of Hindus reside inOntario (primarily inToronto,Scarborough, Brampton, Hamilton, Windsor andOttawa),Quebec (primarily around theMontreal area) andBritish Columbia, (primarily around theVancouver area).^[169]

The 2021 census reported close to 360,000 Buddhists in Canada, representing 1% of its population, the same percentage reported in the 2001 census.^[171]

Buddhism has been practised in Canada for more than a century and in recent years has grown dramatically. Buddhism arrived in Canada with the arrival of Chinese labourers in the territories during the 19th century.^[172] Modern Buddhism in Canada traces to Japanese immigration during the late 19th century.^[172] The first Japanese Buddhist temple in Canada was built at the Ishikawa Hotel inVancouver in 1905.^[173] In the1971 Canadian census, nearly two-thirds of Buddhists in Canada were of Japanese ethnicity.^[170]

A substantial expansion of Buddhism in Canada began in the 1970s. Changes in Canadian immigration and refugee policies corresponded to increasing communities from South, Southeast, and East Asian nations with Buddhist traditions. The2001 Canadian census reported that 54.5% of Buddhists in Canada were of Chinese origin, and 33.5% were of Southeast Asian origin, while the percentage of Japanese Buddhists had declined to 4.5% of the total.^[170] In the 2021 Canadian census, over 90% of Buddhists reported being part of a visible minority, with Chinese (37%), Vietnamese (26%), Cambodian (5.5%), and Sri Lankan/Sinhalese (5.3%) being the most common ethnic origins.^[174]

Sikhism has nearly 800,000 adherents who account for 2.1% of Canada's populationas of 2021, forming the country's fastest-growing and fourth-largest religious group.^[22] The largest Sikh populations in Canada are found inOntario, followed byBritish Columbia andAlberta.^[22] As of the 2021 Census, more than half of Canada's Sikhs can be found in one of four cities:Brampton (163,260),^[185]Surrey (154,415),^[186]Calgary (49,465),^[187] andEdmonton (41,385).^[188]

Canada is home to thelargest national Sikh proportion in the world (2.1%), and also has the second-largest Sikh population in the world, afterIndia. British Columbia has the third-largest Sikh proportion (5.9%) amongst all globaladministrative divisions, behind onlyPunjab andChandigarh in India. British Columbia,Manitoba, andYukon hold the distinction of being three of the only fouradministrative divisions in the world with Sikhism as the second most followed religion among the population.^[b]

The first official Jain temple was established in Toronto in 1988.^[191] This temple served both theDigambar andŚvetāmbara communities.^[192]

Census data showedModern Paganism grew by 281 per cent between 1991 and 2001, making it the fastest growing religion in Canada during that decade.^[193]

Druidry in Canada encompasses a variety of groves and seed groups affiliated with major Druid organizations.

InNeo-Druid history a notable community was theReformed Druids of North America, one of whose four founders was Canadian, which served both the US Druid community and the Canadian Druid community. Neo-Druidism largely spread in Canada through the Ancient Order of the Druids during the 19th century.^[194]

Irreligious Canadians includeatheists,agnostics, andhumanists. The surveys may also include those who arespiritual,deists, andpantheists. According toOntario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, among those estimated 4.9 million Canadians of no religion, an estimated 1.9 million would specify atheist, 1.8 million would specify agnostic, and 1.2 million humanist.^[195]

In 1991 the irreligious made up 12.3% of the Canadian population. The2021 Canadian census reported that 34.6% of Canadians declareno religious affiliation, which is up from 23.9% in the2011 Canadian census and 16.5% in the2001 Canadian census.^[196][197]

Some non-religious Canadians have formed associations, such as theHumanist Association of Canada,Mouvement laïque québécois,Toronto Secular Alliance or theCentre for Inquiry Canada, as well as a number of University Campus Groups.

Canada’s largest religion and majority religion has beenChristianity since its foundation as a nation. Christians represent 53.3% of the population as of the 2021 census. However there has been significant growth in minority religions particularlyIslam,Hinduism, andSikhism.^[198] Canadians following Indigenous Spirituality has also seen some growth in the last 30 years. Indigenous spirituality has grown from 29,820 in 2001 to 80,690 in 2021. The rise can be explained by the abolishment of residential schools (last one closing in 1996 in Saskatchewan) and the freedom for Indigenous peoples to follow their ancestral faiths. Indigenous people following Christianity fell from 62% to 47% between 2011 and 2021. Indigenous spirituality has at the same time increased by 25% during the same time period suggesting a transition in faith.^[199]

• 
  Largest non-Christian religion in Canada by census division, 2021 census
• 
  Largest non-Christian religion in Canada by census division, 2011 census
• 
  Largest non-Christian religion in Canada by census division, 2001 census
• 
  Largest non-Christian religion in Canada by census division, 1991 census

TheHutterites are a communal German-originethnoreligious branch ofAnabaptists, after series of migrations, almost all of them live in colonies inWestern Canada.^[200]

The New Tidings Religion orWocekiye of the CanadianSioux peoples is a reformrevitalization movement, bothindigenist andsyncretistic, withinSioux Faith that appeared in 1900 and practised until the present.^[201]

TheToronto-Blessing is aneo-charismaticChristian revival that began in January 1994 at theToronto AirportVineyard church that later became a flagship church of globalCatch the Fire World ministry.^[202] The primary speaker at these meetings for the first few months was pastor Randy Clark. The Toronto Blessing appears to share activities of laughter, crying, falling down, shaking and claims of miraculous healings.

Lev Tahor is aJewish fundamentalist sect formed in the 1980s in Israel by Israeli-Canadian rabbiShlomo Helbrans. In 2001 he fled to Canada, where he reestablished his community inSainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec. From 2003 to 2013, the movement located in Canada. It follows a strict version of halakha, including its own unique practices such as lengthy prayer sessions,arranged marriages between teenagers, and head-to-toe coverings for females.^[203]

According to the 2001 census, the major religions in Canada had the following median age. The median age in Canada was 37.3.^[204]

• Presbyterian 46.1
• United Church 44.1
• Anglican 43.8
• Lutheran 43.3
• Jewish 41.5
• Greek Orthodox 40.7
• Baptist 39.3
• Buddhist 38.0
• Catholic 37.8
• Pentecostal 33.5
• No religion 31.9
• Hindu 30.2
• Sikh 29.7
• Muslim 28.1

Census information about religious affiliation is derived from the long form census question on religious affiliation (question 30) which is asked once every ten years on every second census.

The actual question is;

"What is this person's religion?

The question indicated which denomination or belief the person identified with, even if this person is not currently a practising member of that group.^[205]

In theCanada 2011 National Household Survey (the 2011 census did not ask about religious affiliation but the survey sent to a subset of the population did), 69% of the Canadian population listCatholicism orProtestantism or anotherChristian denomination as their religion, down 8% from theCanada 2001 Census, where 77% of the population listed a Christian religion.^{[206][207][208]} Representing two out of five Canadians, theCatholic Church in Canada is by far the country's largest single denomination. Secularization has been growing since the 1960s.^[209][210] In 2011, 23.9% declaredno religious affiliation, compared to 16.5% in 2001.^[211]

In recent years there have been substantial rises in non-Christian religions in Canada. From the 1991 to 2011,Islam grew by 316%,Hinduism 217%,Sikhism 209%, andBuddhism 124%. The growth of non-Christian religions expressed as a percentage of Canada's population rose from 4% in 1991 to 12% in 2021. In terms of the ratio of non-Christians to Christians, it rose from 19 Christians (95% of religious population) to 1 non-Christian (5% of religious population) in 1991 to 8 Christians (89%) to 1 non-Christian (11%) in 2011, a rise of 135% of the ratio of non-Christians to Christians, or a decline of 6.5% of Christians to non-Christians, in 20 years.

This sectionis inlist format but may read better asprose. You can help byconverting this section, if appropriate.Editing help is available.(November 2025)

Province/territory[232]	Christians	%	Non-religious	%	Muslims	%	Jews	%	Buddhists	%	Hindus	%	Sikhs	%	Traditional (Aboriginal) spirituality	%	Other religions1	%
Alberta	2,009,820	48.1	1,676,045	40.1	202,535	4.8	11,390	0.3	42,830	1.0	78,520	1.9	103,600	2.5	19,755	0.5	33,220	0.8
British Columbia	1,684,870	34.3	2,559,250	52.1	125,915	2.6	26,850	0.5	83,860	1.7	81,320	1.7	290,870	5.9	11,570	0.2	51,440	1.0
Manitoba	708,850	54.2	480,315	36.7	26,430	2.0	11,565	0.9	7,440	0.6	18,355	1.6	35,470	2.7	10,190	0.8	8,570	0.7
New Brunswick	512,645	67.5	225,125	29.7	9,190	1.2	1,000	0.1	1,120	0.1	3,340	0.4	1,780	0.2	1,005	0.1	3,990	0.5
Newfoundland and Labrador	413,915	82.4	80,330	16.0	3,995	0.8	240	0.0	490	0.1	1,200	0.2	855	0.2	105	0.0	965	0.2
Northwest Territories	22,275	55.2	16,065	39.8	730	1.8	50	0.1	250	0.6	200	0.5	110	0.3	330	0.8	370	0.9
Nova Scotia	556,115	58.2	359,395	37.6	14,715	1.5	2,195	0.2	2,955	0.2	8,460	0.9	4,735	0.5	1,090	0.1	6,195	0.6
Nunavut	26,915	73.5	9,115	24.9	140	0.4	35	0.5	15	0.0	55	0.2	10	0.0	180	0.5	135	0.4
Ontario	7,315,810	52.1	4,433,675	31.6	942,990	6.7	196,100	1.4	164,215	1.2	573,700	4.1	300,435	2.1	15,985	0.1	88,845	0.6
Prince Edward Island	101,755	67.6	42,830	28.5	1,720	1.1	165	0.1	755	0.6	1,245	0.8	1,165	0.8	75	0.0	765	0.5
Quebec	5,385,240	64.8	2,267,720	27.3	421,710	5.1	84,530	1.0	48,365	0.6	47,390	0.6	23,345	0.3	3,790	0.0	26,385	0.3
Saskatchewan	621,250	56.3	403,960	36.6	25,455	2.3	1,105	0.1	4,410	0.4	14,150	1.3	9,040	0.8	16,300	1.5	7,540	0.7
Yukon	13,860	35.0	23,640	59.7	185	0.5	70	0.2	260	0.7	265	0.7	380	1.0	325	0.8	600	1.5

¹Includes Pagan, Wicca, Unity – New Thought – Pantheist, Scientology, Rastafarian, New Age, Gnostic, Satanist, etc.^[233]

• 
  Largest minority religion in Canada by province/territory, 2011 census
• 
  Largest minority religion in Canada by province/territory, 2001 census
• 
  Largest minority religion in Canada by province/territory, 1991 census

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