Cultural Diversity May Be Increasing in Both Canada and the United States, But Important Differences Remain. By Dr. Doug Norris

Transcription

1 Cultural Diversity May Be Increasing in Both Canada and the United By Dr. Doug Norris

2 Table of Contents Introduction... 3 U.S. Cultural Diversity... 3 Table Table Cultural Diversity in Canada... 6 Table Table A Comparison of Diversity in Canada and the United States... 9 Table Conclusions Page 2 of 10

3 Introduction Today, marketers in both Canada and the United States increasingly are focused on multicultural marketing, that is, targeting their marketing efforts to specific ethnic populations. The reasons are clear. In both countries, immigration over the past several decades has led to an increasing and changing cultural diversity. However, the ethnic profile of both countries remains starkly different. The 2010 U.S. Census showed that the U.S. population increased by 9.7% (or 27.3 million people) between 2000 and Of that growth, the U.S. Census Bureau suggests that net international migration accounted for 9.8 million people or 3.2% of the 2010 population. By comparison, net international migration in Canada for this period was 2.2 million people, representing 6.5% of the 2010 population. In other words, on a per capita basis, immigration in Canada was twice the level of that in the U.S. For marketers, attracting and retaining these new consumers in Canada and the U.S. may require different approaches approaches that may shift as a result of the size, location and composition of the multicultural market and the specific cultural group. In this blog, we examine the multicultural populations in Canada and the U.S. based on the recently released results of the 2010 U.S. Census and Environics Analytics estimates of Canadian diversity. U.S. Cultural Diversity In the U.S. Census, the main measures of cultural diversity are based on two questions regarding the race and Hispanic origin of respondents. Note the two distinct questions, and people who consider themselves Hispanic may also consider themselves to be members of any race. In fact, although Hispanic is not explicitly identified in the race question, many wrote in Hispanic or some other race. The Census Bureau combines the two questions to identify the minority population defined as people who reported their race and ethnicity as something other than White and non- Hispanic, respectively. Table 1 shows the size and distribution of the U.S. population by race and Hispanic origin. The Hispanic population numbered just over 50 million, accounting for one in six Americans. Based on the race question, approximately one in eight (12.6%) identified themselves as Black Page 3 of 10

4 or African American and just under 5% as Asian. Overall, more than one-third of the total population (36.3%) or 112 million Americans are members of a minority group. Table 1 Ethnicity/ Racial Composition of United States, 2010 Population 2010 (millions) Percent Change Total % 9.7% Minority Population White alone (Non Hispanic ) % 1.2% Minority* % 28.8% Hispanic or Latino Origin Hispanic or Latino % 43.0% Race One race % 9.2% White % 5.7% Black or African American % 12.3% American Indian/Alaska Native % 12.3% Asian % 43.3% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander % 35.4% Some other race** % 24.4% Two or more races 9 2.9% 32.0% * The minority population is taken as those who reported their origin as non Hispanic and their race as White alone. **Most of these people declared their race to be Hispanic Although the U.S. population increased by 9.7% in the 2000s, growth varied widely by group. Both the Hispanic population and the Asian populations grew by 43%. The Black or African American population grew by 12.3%. Overall, the minority population in the U.S. grew by 28.8% compared to a growth of only 1.2% by the White only population. Page 4 of 10

5 But American cultural diversity varies not only by group but also by geographic area. Table 2 shows the minority population in the largest 20 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the U.S. In eight of the areas, minorities account for a majority of the total population. The highest majority minority cities are Los Angeles (68%), Miami (65%), Riverside, California (63.4%) and Houston (60.3%). And the composition of the minority population varies. For these 20 largest MSAs, the Hispanic population is highest in Riverside (47.3%); the Black or African American population is highest in Atlanta (31.9%); and the Asian population is highest in San Francisco (22.9%). Table 2 Ethnicity/ Racial Composition of 20 Largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas, 2010 Population 2010 Minority Percent Non Hispanic Black or Hispanic African Asian American MSAs Los Angeles, CA 12,828, % 44.4% 6.7% 14.5% Miami, FL 5,564, % 41.6% 19.7% 2.2% Riverside, CA 4,224, % 47.3% 7.1% 5.9% Houston, TX 5,946, % 35.3% 16.8% 6.5% San Francisco, CA 4,335, % 21.7% 8.1% 22.9% San Diego, CA 3,095, % 32.0% 4.7% 10.6% Washington, DC-VA-MD-WV 5,582, % 13.8% 25.2% 9.2% New York, NY-NJ-PA 18,897, % 22.9% 16.1% 9.8% Dallas, TX 6,371, % 27.5% 14.8% 5.3% Atlanta, GA 5,268, % 10.4% 31.9% 4.8% Chicago, IL-IN-WI 9,461, % 20.7% 17.1% 5.6% Phoenix, AZ 4,192, % 29.5% 4.6% 3.2% Baltimore, MD 2,710, % 4.6% 28.4% 4.5% Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD 5,965, % 7.8% 20.2% 4.9% Denver, CO 2,543, % 22.5% 5.3% 3.6% Tampa, FL 2,783, % 16.2% 11.2% 2.9% Detroit, MI 4,296, % 3.9% 22.6% 3.3% Seattle, WA 3,439, % 9.0% 5.4% 11.3% Boston, MA-NH 4,552, % 9.0% 6.6% 6.4% St. Louis, MO-IL 2,812, % 2.6% 18.3% 2.1% Minneapolis, MN-WI 3,279, % 5.4% 7.3% 5.7% Note: Total Minority includes a small number of other racial combinations Source: United States Census Bureau, 2010 Census Page 5 of 10

6 Cultural Diversity in Canada As in the U.S., cultural diversity in Canada can be measured in different ways. In some respects, the visible minority and Aboriginal populations in Canada are roughly comparable to the Hispanic and racial groups used in the United States. Table 3 shows the size of the visible minority and Aboriginal populations in census year 2011 and the growth over the intercensal period , as estimated by Environics Analytics. Table 3 Visible Minority and Aboriginal Composition of Canada Estimate 2011 (thousands) Percent Change Total 33, % 10.9% Non Visible Minority or Aboriginal 26, % 3.5% Visible Minority or Aboriginal 7, % 47.8% Visible Minority 6, % 52.2% Aboriginal 1, % 31.2% Visible Minority Total Asian* 4, % 53.6% Black % 37.8% Latin American % 69.6% Arab % 73.9% Other Visible Minority % 38.2% *Total Asian Chinese 1, % 38.8% South Asian 1, % 67.0% Filipino % 58.2% Southeast Asian % 35.5% Korean % 99.7% Japanese % 34.1% West Asian % 75.2% Page 6 of 10

7 The visible minority population is estimated to be 6.1 million people in 2011, or 18.1% of the total population. The Aboriginal population is estimated to be 1.4 million people, representing just over 4% of the population. It should be noted that there is much uncertainty about the growth of the Aboriginal population since part of the increase is due to reporting differences from census to census. The overall Canadian population grew by 10.9% over the period At the same time, the visible minority population grew by 52.2% and the Aboriginal population grew by an estimated 31.2%. In comparison, the White only population (Non-Visible Minority or Aboriginal) grew by 3.5%. Among visible minorities, the Asian population grew by 53.6%, with the Korean population nearly doubling over the previous decade. The next fastest growing Asian sub-populations were West Asians (75.2%) and South Asians (67%). In addition, the Arab population grew 73.9%, the Latin American population grew by 69.6% and the Black population grew by 37.8%. Diversity varies widely by geographic area in Canada, just like in the U.S. Table 4 shows the size and composition of the minority populations in the 20 largest Census Metropolitan Areas. Toronto (46.4%) and Vancouver (46.0%) have the largest minority populations, while the Aboriginal population makes up close to 10% of the total population in Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon. Page 7 of 10

8 Table 4 Visible Minority/Aboriginal Composition of 20 Largest Census Metropolitan Areas, Canada, 2011 Percent Population Visible Minority CMAs 2011 Minority Aboriginal Toronto % 45.9% 0.5% Vancouver % 44.2% 1.9% Winnipeg % 16.2% 10.5% Calgary % 24.3% 2.3% Edmonton % 18.5% 5.0% Windsor % 17.9% 2.1% Ottawa - Gatineau % 17.3% 1.8% Montréal % 17.7% 0.5% Regina % 7.3% 9.3% Kitchener % 15.4% 1.0% Saskatoon % 7.1% 9.3% Hamilton % 13.8% 1.4% Victoria % 11.4% 3.5% London % 12.4% 1.4% Oshawa % 12.0% 1.5% St. Catharines - Niagara % 7.9% 2.0% Halifax % 7.8% 1.5% Barrie % 6.7% 1.9% Québec % 2.7% 0.6% Source: Environics Analytics estimates Page 8 of 10

9 A Comparison of Diversity in Canada and the United States Although Census questions and concepts regarding race and ethnicity differ between Canada and the U.S., some general comparisons are possible, as shown in Table 5. Table 5 A Comparison of Canadian and American Diversity Canada United States Change Change Size Size (millions) Percent 2011 (millions) Percent 2010 Total Population % 10.9% Total Population % 9.7% Visible Minority or Aboriginal % 47.8% Minority Population % 28.8% Latin American (Visible Minority) % 69.6% Hispanic % 43.0% Black (Visible Minority) % 37.8% Black or African American % 12.3% Asian (Visible minority) % 53.6% Asian % 43.3% Aboriginal % 31.6% American Indian/Alaska Native % 12.3% Source: Tables 2 and 4 The minority population in Canada (other than visible minority or Aboriginal groups) makes up 22.2% of the total population compared to 36.3% in the United States. However, the composition of the minority population is substantially different in the two countries. In the U.S., the Hispanic population makes up 16.3% and the Black population accounts for 12.6% of the total population. In Canada, these two populations together make up only 3.8% of the total population. Meanwhile, the Asian population makes up 12.6% of the Canadian population compared to only 4.8% in the U.S. And the Aboriginal population makes up 4.2% of the Canadian population compared to less than 1% of the U.S. population. Although in Canada minority populations make up a smaller percentage of the total population compared to the U.S., the minority population grew more in Canada (47.8% compared with 28.8%), mainly due to higher levels of immigration in Canada. In fact, Canada experienced higher growth rates for all the minority groups considered in this report. Interestingly, that pattern held true even for the White only population, with a growth rate of 3.5% in Canada compared to 1.2% in the U.S. Page 9 of 10

10 Conclusions Marketers in both Canada and the U.S. face significant challenges as a result of the increasing cultural diversity in each country. First they must understand the different cultural backgrounds of major ethnic and racial groups. In the U.S., a multicultural marketing campaign would typically target Hispanic and Black populations, while in Canada, the focus would more likely be on the Asian populations. But even with such a multicultural plan, marketers must recognize that the Asian population is itself very diverse. In addition, any multicultural marketing strategy should take into account the regional dominance of certain groups. In Canada, for instance, a program targeting the Aboriginal population in Montreal will have a much lower response rate than one in Edmonton or even Calgary. For companies operating in both Canada and the U.S., the implication could not be clearer: a single multicultural marketing strategy is likely to fail. Traditional surveys and data sources must be modified and in some cases re-designed to provide more and better data on minority populations. Environics Analytics is working with many of its clients to adapt existing techniques and develop new data sources to help businesses and other organizations better understand the implications of this changing cultural diversity. While the fundamental concepts of knowing your customers and communicating the value you offer remain true, when it comes to the diverse populations of Canada and the U.S., the devil is, as always, in the details. Page 10 of 10