In short
In the 2021 Census, 53.3% of Canadians (19.3 million people) identified as Christian, down sharply from 67.3% in 2011 and 77.1% in 2001. Over the same period, the share reporting no religion climbed to 34.6% (12.6 million). Catholics remained the largest single group at 29.9% (10.9 million), followed at a distance by the United Church at 3.3% and Anglicans at 3.1%. Christianity is still the majority faith in Canada, but its share has fallen by nearly 24 points in twenty years.
- In 2021, 53.3% of Canadians (19.3 million) identified as Christian, down from 67.3% in 2011 and 77.1% in 2001 (Statistics Canada).
- The share reporting no religion reached 34.6% (12.6 million) in 2021, the fastest-growing category (Statistics Canada).
- Catholics were the largest denomination at 29.9% (10.9 million) in 2021 (Statistics Canada).
- The United Church (3.3%) and Anglicans (3.1%) were the next-largest Christian groups in 2021 (Statistics Canada).
Canada was long a solidly Christian country, but the last two decades have reshaped its religious landscape. In the 2021 Census of Population, 53.3% of Canadians, about 19.3 million people, identified as Christian, according to Statistics Canada. That is still a majority, but a shrinking one: the Christian share was 67.3% in 2011 and 77.1% in 2001, a drop of nearly 24 percentage points in twenty years. At the same time, the share of people reporting no religion rose to 34.6%, or 12.6 million. Catholics remain the single largest group, well ahead of the United Church and the Anglicans. The figures below draw on the 2021 Census and on Pew Research Center analysis, the most authoritative sources on Christianity in Canada.
Key findings at a glance
| Metric | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christians in Canada | 53.3% (19.3 million) | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| No religion | 34.6% (12.6 million) | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| Catholic (largest denomination) | 29.9% (10.9 million) | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| United Church | 3.3% | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| Anglican | 3.1% | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| Christian share in 2001 | 77.1% | 2001 | Statistics Canada |
How many Christians live in Canada?
Christianity is still the majority faith in Canada, but its dominance has eroded quickly. In the 2021 Census, 53.3% of the population reported a Christian affiliation, about 19.3 million people. Two decades earlier that share stood above three-quarters, so the change has been rapid and consistent across successive census cycles.
In 2021, 53.3% of Canadians, about 19.3 million people, identified as Christian, according to Statistics Canada.
In 2001, 77.1% of Canadians identified as Christian, compared with 53.3% in 2021, according to Statistics Canada.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian share of the population | 53.3% | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| Number of Christians | 19.3 million | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| Christian share in 2011 | 67.3% | 2011 | Statistics Canada |
| Christian share in 2001 | 77.1% | 2001 | Statistics Canada |
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The two-decade decline of Christian affiliation
The most striking feature of the data is not the current majority but the speed of its erosion. Across three census cycles the Christian share of the Canadian population fell by nearly 24 percentage points, one of the sharpest declines recorded among Western countries in this period.
In 2011, 67.3% of Canadians identified as Christian, down from 77.1% in 2001, according to Statistics Canada.
By 2021 the Christian share had fallen to 53.3%, nearly 24 percentage points below the 2001 level, according to Statistics Canada.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian share in 2001 | 77.1% | 2001 | Statistics Canada |
| Christian share in 2011 | 67.3% | 2011 | Statistics Canada |
| Christian share in 2021 | 53.3% | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| Number of Christians in 2021 | 19.3 million | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
The rise of "no religion"
The counterpart to falling Christian affiliation is the rapid growth of Canadians who report no religion at all. This category has become the second-largest response after Christianity and is the fastest-growing part of the religious landscape.
In 2021, 34.6% of Canadians, about 12.6 million people, reported no religion, according to Statistics Canada.
The number of Canadians reporting no religion reached 12.6 million in 2021, making it the second-largest group after Christians, according to Statistics Canada.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| No religion (share) | 34.6% | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| No religion (count) | 12.6 million | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| Christian (share) | 53.3% | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| Christian (count) | 19.3 million | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
Christian denominations in Canada
Within Canadian Christianity, the Catholic Church remains by far the largest body, reflecting the historic weight of Catholicism in Quebec and among many immigrant communities. The Protestant denominations that once anchored English Canada, above all the United Church and the Anglicans, are now much smaller shares of the population.
In 2021, 29.9% of Canadians, about 10.9 million people, were Catholic, the largest single denomination, according to Statistics Canada.
The United Church accounted for 3.3% of Canadians in 2021, the largest Protestant denomination, according to Statistics Canada.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catholic | 29.9% (10.9 million) | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| United Church | 3.3% | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| Anglican | 3.1% | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| All Christians | 53.3% (19.3 million) | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
How we compiled these statistics
Every number on this page is traceable to a primary source and dated to the year the data were collected. The affiliation shares and denomination counts come from the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, which records self-reported religion across the full resident population and is directly comparable with the 2011 and 2001 census cycles. Analysis of the generational pattern behind the decline draws on the Pew Research Center. Where trend figures are given, we cite the census year each value belongs to and label it accordingly.
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