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A visible minority is defined by the Canadian government as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connection with that country's Employment Equity policies. The qualifier "visible" is important in the Canadian context as historically its political divisions from the period of colonial history have traditionally been determined by language (French vs. English) and religion (Catholics vs. Protestants), which are "invisible" traits. The term visible minority is sometimes used as a euphemism for "non-white". This is incorrect, in that the government definitions differ: Aboriginal people are not considered to be visible minorities, but are not necessarily white either. Also, some groups that are defined as "white" in the United States census, such as Arab-Americans, are defined as "visible minorities" in the official Canadian definition. In some cases, members of visible minorities may be visually indistinguishable from the white population, while in other cases non-whites are not a minority in a local population (cf. Demography of Canada). Since the reform of Canada's immigration laws in the 1960s, immigration has been primarily of peoples from areas other than Europe, many of whom are visible minorities within Canada. Legally, members of visible minorities are defined by the Canadian Employment Equity Act as "persons, other than Aboriginal people, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour."〔(Visible Minority Population and Population Group Reference Guide, 2006 Census ) from StatsCan〕 The term is used to address the labour market disadvantage of this group.〔Hasmath, R. (2012) ''(The Ethnic Penalty: Immigration, Education and the Labour Market )''. Burlington, VT and Surrey, UK: Ashgate.〕 The United States equivalent classification —"people of color"—is similar, but also includes Aboriginal Americans. Historically, it specifically referred to persons of mixed race, particularly of African and European ancestry. ==Visible minorities in Canada== Over five million Canadians identified as a member of a visible minority group in the 2006 Census, accounting for 16.2% of the total population. This was an increase from 2001, when visible minorities accounted for 13.4% of the total population; an increase from 1996 when the proportion was 11.2%; and a major increase over 1991 (9.4%) and 1981 (4.7%). The increase represents a significant shift in Canada's demographics related to increased immigration since the advent of its multiculturalism policies. Based upon the annual immigration intake into Canada since the last census in 2006, accompanied by the steady increase in the visible minority population within Canada due to the higher fertility levels of minority females when compared to Canadian women of European origin, researchers estimate that by 2012, approximately 19.56% of the population in Canada will be individuals of non-European (visible minority) origin. The Aboriginal population within Canada, based upon projections for the same year (i.e. 2012), is estimated to be 4.24%. Hence, at least 23.8% of Canada's population in 2012 were individuals of visible minority and Aboriginal heritage. Projections also indicate that by 2031, the visible minority population in Canada will make up about 33% of the nation's population, given the steady increase in the non-European component of the Canadian population.〔("Minorities to rise significantly by 2031" ), cbc.ca〕〔("Visible minorities to make up 1/3 of population by 2031" ), CTV, March 2010〕 Of the provinces, British Columbia had the highest proportion of visible minorities, representing 24.8% of its population, followed by Ontario at 22.8%. In the 2006 census, South Asian Canadians superseded ethnic Chinese as Canada’s largest visible minority group. In 2006, Statistics Canada estimated that there were 1.3 million South Asian people in Canada, compared with 1.2 million Chinese.〔(One in 6 Canadians is a visible minority ), CBC, 2 Apr 2008〕 In 2001, there were approximately 1 million Chinese Canadians, representing 3.5% of the country’s population, followed by South Asian Canadians (3.1%) and Black Canadians (2.2%). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「visible minority」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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