The face of Stratford, Ontario has changed, but significantly less than other census metropolitan areas (CMAs) throughout Canada. In the 1830s, Stratford began as a European dominated city with 40% of the population being Irish, 30% stating they were German, 20% who claimed their ethnicity as Scottish and 10% English. In fact, the city and its river were named after its sibling city Stratford-upon-Avon located in the heart of Great Britain. Years later, the amount of non-European immigrants finally started to slightly increase. Presently, 4.1% of the population is of a visible minority compared to the provincial percentage of 22.8%!
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Inter-provincial Migration
As you can see, the overall migration pattern in Ontario is unstable and consistently changing. This is caused by the policies and events, both internationally and locally here in Canada as well. When unpleasant events in Ontario occur, many people would emigrate as opposed to an abundance of people coming in due to Ontario's more happenings because people want to benefit themselves by trying to receive the best quality of life we possible. For example, the large quantity of immigrants to Ontario in 2001-2002 is the result of the notably increasing economic growth during that time. The economy was significantly improving. |
Ethnicity
Stratford remains a Caucasian dominated city with a small visible minority population. As I've previously stated, the CMA's visible minority percentage is a mere 4.1%. The largest of these groups are residents with South Asian ancestry and those of Chinese descent, each configuring 0.71% of Stratford's total population. The next largest group is the Black community, composing 0.55% of the population whilst 0.5% belongs to those with Latin American heritage. Another 0.42% is of Southeast Asian descent and those who state they have Korean background make up 0.38% of the total population. The Fillipino community is 0.37% of the city and 0.28% are those who claim to have Arab origins. The remaining 0.05% of the population is composed of those with Japanese ancestry. Stratford is mainly home to third generation citizens, therefore most residents and their families are born within the country. In fact, approximately 73% of the population is classified as a third generation citizen. |
Language Of Stratford?
The most common language within the population is English, with 92% of citizens stating that it is their mother tongue. 0.8% of residents claim they have grown up speaking French. The remaining 6.7% speak non-official Canadian languages as their mother tongue and an impressive 0.6% spoke both an official and non-official language while growing up! |
Non-Official Languages
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Religion
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Diversity Within Diversity
There are several types of Christianity, therefore there is diversity within the Christian population of Stratford. The largest group is Catholicism with about 22% of the total population practicing such. Withal, 12% of residents are United Church Christians whilst 9% affiliate themselves as Anglican Christians. Lutheran Christians are the next largest religious group within the Christianity roots with 7% of the Stratford population following such beliefs. In addition, another 7% are Presbyterian Christians. Baptist Christians make up 3% of the population whilst 1% practice Pentecostalism. The smallest Christian group in size is the practice of Christian Orthodox with 0.27% following such. The remaining 9% of Christians follow another form of Christianity which have not been mentioned. |
Future Predictions
I predict that the visible minorities will leave to more populated CMAs to have a better sense of belonging with a community of their cultures. Furthermore, the visible minorities will continuously decrease due to stricter incoming immigration policies, leaving the city less diverse. |
Last Updated: June 1st, 2014