The data for this variable are reported using the following classification(s) and/or list(s):

• Labour Force Status - Collapsed classification

'Labour force status' refers to whether a person was employed, unemployed or not in the labour force during the reference period. The labour force consists of persons who contribute or are available to contribute to the production of goods and services falling within the System of National Accounts production boundary.

Note: Labour force status is used to describe the currently active population and to produce measures of employment and unemployment based on current economic activity. Because the intention is to determine if a person is employed or unemployed at a specific moment in time, a relatively short reference period such as a week is used. Information on labour force status is typically collected for persons 15 years or over and excludes institutional residents. The population included in the study should be specified.

'Person' refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classification(s) and/or list(s):

• Visible minority

'Visible minority' refers to whether a person belongs to a visible minority group as defined by the Employment Equity Act and, if so, the visible minority group to which the person belongs. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The visible minority population consists mainly of the following groups: Chinese, South Asian, Black, Arab, West Asian, Filipino, Southeast Asian, Latin American, Japanese and Korean.

'Person' refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classification(s) and/or list(s):

• Religion
• Detailed religion, National Household Survey 2011

'Religion' refers to the person's self-identification as having a connection or affiliation with any religious denomination, group, body, sect, cult or other religiously defined community or system of belief. Religion is not limited to formal membership in a religious organization or group.

For infants or children, religion refers to the specific religious group or denomination in which they are being raised, if any.

Persons without a religious connection or affiliation can self-identify as atheist, agnostic or humanist, or can provide another applicable response.

'Person' refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classification(s) and/or list(s):

• Population group

'Population group' refers to the population group or groups to which the person belongs, for example, White, Chinese, South Asian, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Southeast Asian, Arab, West Asian, Korean or Japanese. These population groups are the groups used on questionnaires which collect data on the visible minority population for Employment Equity purposes. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour".

'Person' refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classification(s) and/or list(s):

• Detailed ethnic origin, 2011 National Household Survey

'Ethnic origin' refers to the ethnic or cultural origins of the respondent's ancestors.

'Person' refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classification(s) and/or list(s):

• Place of birth
• Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2011
• Countries and Areas of Interest for Social Statistics - SCCAI 2011

'Place of birth' refers to the name of the province, territory or country in which the person was born. It may refer to a province or territory if the person was born in Canada. It refers to a country if the person was born outside Canada. The geographic location is specified according to boundaries current at the time the data are collected, not the boundaries at the time of birth.

'Person' refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classification(s) and/or list(s):

• Language(s) of Person
• Language(s) of Person - Collapsed classification
• Language(s) of Person - Aboriginal Languages Variant
• Language(s) of Person - Inuit Languages Variant

'Mother tongue' refers to the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the person at the time the data was collected. If the person no longer understands the first language learned, the mother tongue is the second language learned. For a person who learned two languages at the same time in early childhood, the mother tongue is the language this person spoke most often at home before starting school. The person has two mother tongues only if the two languages were used equally often and are still understood by the person. For a child who has not yet learned to speak, the mother tongue is the language spoken most often to this child at home. The child has two mother tongues only if both languages are spoken equally often so that the child learns both languages at the same time.

'Person' refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classification(s) and/or list(s):

• Official Languages

'Knowledge of official languages' refers to whether the person can conduct a conversation in English, French, in both or in neither language. For a child who has not yet learned to speak, this includes languages that the child is learning to speak at home.

'Person' refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classification(s) and/or list(s):

• Non-official Language(s)
• Number of Non-official Language(s)

'Knowledge of non-official languages' refers to whether the person can conduct a conversation in a language other than English or French. For a child who has not yet learned to speak, this includes languages that the child is learning to speak at home. The number of languages that can be reported may vary between surveys, depending on the objectives of the survey.

'Person' refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classification(s) and/or list(s):

• Language(s) of Person
• Language(s) of Person - Collapsed classification

'Language spoken most often at home' refers to the language the person speaks most often at home at the time of data collection. A person can report more than one language as "spoken most often at home" if the languages are spoken equally often.

For a person who lives alone, the language spoken most often at home is the language in which he or she feels most comfortable. For a child who has not yet learned to speak, this is the language spoken most often to the child at home. Where two languages are spoken to the child, the language spoken most often at home is the language spoken most often. If both languages are used equally often, then both languages are included here.

'Person' refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programmes.