According to new Statistics Canada data, while about one in five (19%) Canadians 15 years of age and older had experienced some form of discrimination or unfair treatment in the five years preceding the 2019 General Social Survey (GSS), this varied considerably between ethno-cultural groups. The prevalence of discrimination was almost three times higher among Black people (46%) compared to non-Indigenous, non-visible minority people (16%).

Half (49%) of Black women had experienced discrimination or unfair treatment in the past 5 years, as did more than four in ten (42%) Black men. In contrast, 20% of women and 13% of men who were neither Indigenous nor visible minorities were discriminated against.

The higher prevalence of discrimination among the Black population was in large part due to elevated levels of discrimination perceived to be motivated by race or skin colour or ethnicity or culture. For instance, four in ten (41%) Black people experienced discrimination or unfair treatment based on their race or skin colour in the five years preceding the survey, a proportion about 15 times higher than that of non-Indigenous, non-visible minority people (3%). Discrimination based on ethnicity or culture was experienced by more than one in four (27%) Black people, compared with 2% among the non-Indigenous, non-visible minority population.

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