2006 Census of Canada
Educational Portrait of
Canada
March 4, 2008
2006 Census of Canada
National picture
Canada among top 10 OECD countries in terms
of proportion of population having a
postsecondary education
Proportion of 25 to 64 year olds having a
college diploma or university degree
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Ca
n
ad
a
J
ap
a
n
Un
it
e
d
S
t
a
t
e
s
Finl
a
nd
D
e
n
mark
No
r
way
Ko
r
e
a
A
u
stral
i
a
I
c
ela
n
d
B
el
g
iu
m
Note: University degrees include bachelor's degrees, certificates above a bachelor level, degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary
medicine or optometry, master's degrees and earned doctorate degrees; reference year for all countries except Canada is 2005.
Proportion of 25 to 64 year olds having a
university degree
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Un
i
ted
Stat
e
s
No
r
wa
y
Ne
t
h
e
rla
n
ds
D
enma
r
k
Icela
n
d
Ko
r
ea
Ca
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ad
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A
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stral
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a
Jap
a
n
Un
i
ted
Kin
g
dom
The number of Canadians between 25 and 64
years of age having a university degree grew
24% since 2001 - over three times the growth
of the population as a whole
Percent increase from 2001 to 2006 of
population between 25 and 64 years of age
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Total population
No university degree
Bachelor
Certificate above Bachelor
Medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or
optometry
Master
Earned doctorate
A larger proportion of young Canadians obtained a
college diploma or university degree; however, a
smaller proportion acquired a trades certificate
Proportion of population by highest level of educational attainment and
age groups
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Less than high school
High school
Trades
College
University degree
25 to 34 years35 to 44 years45 to 54 years55 to 64 years
Note: University degrees include bachelor's degrees, certificates above a bachelor level, degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine
or optometry, master's degrees and earned doctorate degrees.
The types of trades acquired by younger
Canadians were different from the ones
acquired by older Canadians
Proportion of people with a trades certificate by selected field of
study
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
Mechanic
and
Repair
Business,
Management
and
Mark
e
ting
Construction
Trades
Prec
i
sion
Production
Trades
Health
Profes
s
ions
Engineering
Technology
Education
Computer
and
Information
Sc
i
enc
e
s
Transportation
and
Materials
Mov
i
ng
Pers
o
nal
and
Culinary
Services
25 to 34 years; Population = 416,000
55 to 64 years; Population = 479,000
Fewer young people studied mechanics,
construction and precision production;
regardless of the level of educational
attainment
Difference between 55 to 64 and 25 to 34 year olds for selected fields of
study by level of educational attainment
-30,000
-20,000
-10,000
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
Mechanic
and
Repair
Construction
Trades
Precision
Production
Trades
Health
Professions
Engineering
Technology
Computer
and
Information
Sciences
Transportation
and
Materials
Moving
Personal
and
Culinary
Services
Trades College University degree
Note: University degrees include bachelor's degrees, certificates above a bachelor level, degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary
medicine or optometry, master's degrees and earned doctorate degrees.
2006 Census of Canada
Differences between men
and women
A greater proportion of young women had a
university degree than young men
Proportion of population having a university degree by age and
sex
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
25 to 34 years
35 to 44 years
45 to 54 years
55 to 64 years
Men Women
Note: University degrees include bachelor's degrees, certificates above a bachelor level, degrees in medicine, dentistry,
veterinary medicine or optometry, master's degrees and earned doctorate degrees.
A larger proportion of young men studied in
business and engineering than young women
while a larger proportion of young women
studied in health and education
Note: University degrees include bachelor's degrees, certificates above a bachelor level, degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary
medicine or optometry, master's degrees and earned doctorate degrees.
Percentage of 25 to 34 year olds having a university degree by
selected field of study and sex
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Business,
Management, Marketing
and Related Support
Services
Engineering
Health professions and
related clinical sciences
Education
Male Female
2006 Census of Canada
Immigration
Proportion of population between 25 and 64 years of age by level of
educational attainment and period of immigration
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Less than high
school
High school
Trades
College
University
degree
Recent immigrants
Immigrated prior to
2001
Canadian born
Recent immigrants had higher levels of
attainment than both immigrants who arrived
prior to 2001 and people who were born in
Canada
Note: University degrees include bachelor's degrees, certificates above a bachelor level, degrees in medicine, dentistry,
veterinary medicine or optometry, master's degrees and earned doctorate degrees.
A greater proportion of recent immigrants were
trained in engineering, computer sciences and
physical sciences than the rest of the
population
Percentage of population between 25 and 64 years of age having
a university degree by selected field of study
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Engineering
Business,
Management and
Marketing
Computer and
Information Sciences
Physical Sciences
Education
Recent immigrantsImmigrated prior to 2001Canadian born
Note: University degrees include bachelor's degrees, certificates above a bachelor level, degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary
medicine or optometry, master's degrees and earned doctorate degrees.
Nearly half of residents having a doctorate and
40% having a master's degree were not born in
Canada
Percentage of population between 25 and 64 years of age
having a doctorate and master's degrees by period of
immigration
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Doctorate
Master's
Canadian born Immigrated prior to 2001Recent immigrants
2006 Census of Canada
Aboriginal population
A greater proportion of Aboriginal people had a
trade certification than non-Aboriginals while
the proportion with a college diploma were
similar
Note: University degrees include bachelor's degrees, certificates above a bachelor level, degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary
medicine or optometry, master's degrees and earned doctorate degrees.
Percentage of population between 25 and 64 years of age by
level of educational attainment and Aboriginal identity
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Less than high
school
High school
Trades
College
University
degree
First NationsMétis
Inuit Non-Aboriginal
The gap between the proportion of Aboriginal
and non-Aboriginal population having a
university degree has increased between 2001
and 2006
Note: 1. Only Indian reserves and settlements that participated in both censuses are included.
Note: 2. University degrees include bachelor's degrees, certificates above a bachelor level, degrees in medicine,
dentistry, veterinary medicine or optometry, master's degrees and earned doctorate degrees.
Percentage-point difference between share of Aboriginal
and non-Aboriginal population with a university degree,
2001 and 20061
0
5
10
15
20
25
First Nations
Métis
Inuit
2001
2006
2006 Census of Canada
Provinces and territories
A net increase of postsecondary graduates had
moved to Alberta or B.C. from other provinces
or territories since 2001
Net number of people between 25 and 64 who moved into a province or
territory from another province or territory by level of educational
attainment
-8,000
-6,000
-4,000
-2,000
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
N.L. P.E.I. N.S. N.B. Que. On t. Man. Sask. Al ta. B.C. Y.T. N.W.T. Nvt.
Trade
College Certificate or diploma below a bachelor level
University degree
A large proportion of people had studied
outside of the province or territory in which
they resided in 2006 - especially in the
territories
Percentage of people between 25 and 64 years of age having a
postsecondary education who studied outside of their current province or
territory of residence
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Y.T. N.W.T. Nvt. B.C. Al ta. P.E.I. Ont. N.B. N.S. Man. Sask. N.L. Que.
Province
Canada
Contributors to the analytical document
• Culture, Tourism and the Centre for
Education Statistics Division
• Census Subject Matter Program
• Census Operations Division
• Geography Division
• Communications and Library Services
Division
• Dissemination Division
Upcoming 2006 Census releases
• April 2, 2008: Ethnic origin and visible
minorities
• May 1, 2008: Income and earnings;
Housing and shelter costs
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