Photo: Edwin Lester Brittain · CC BY-SA 4.0In Britannia, 55% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, more than in 96% of Canadian towns
Immigrants: 31%, above 73% of Canadian towns. Fewer children under 15 than in 83% of Canadian towns: 13%. There were 4,310 households in Britannia at the 2021 Census, home to 8,421 people. The census found that 33% of residents belong to a visible minority locally.
What stands out about the people of Britannia
A neighbourhood of renters
67% of households rent their home, more than in 94% of Canadian towns; 72% live in an apartment. Homes ↓
A neighbourhood of high-rises
55% of households live in a building of five or more storeys, more than in 96% of Canadian towns; 18% of homes are condominiums. Homes ↓
Many people living alone
47% of households are one person living alone, more than in 95% of Canadian towns; 23% of residents are 65 or over. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census.
Britannia sits above 71% of Canadian towns for residents aged 65 and over (23%)
Unless a figure says otherwise, it is from the 2021 Census. Every five-year age group as a share of residents; ticks mark the typical town.
Half of Britannia’s residents are over 43, older than in 56% of Canadian towns. Against that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Canada’s towns. For Britannia, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 12%. No age band is larger than 25–29: 8.4% of residents, 1.4 times the share across Canada’s towns.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Britannia, 43. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
In Britannia, 47% of households are one person living alone, more than in 95% of Canadian towns
Private households by type and size.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
Set against 8.2% across Canada’s towns, one in ten households are one-parent families in Britannia. The comparison figure for one-person households is 27% across Canada’s towns. Average household size: 2 people.
Married residents 15 and over: 34%, a lower share than 79% of Canadian towns
How adults live as couples, or don’t, with common-law unions shown on their own.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Just over a third of adults are single and have never married; the typical town has 27%. By way of comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns. Common-law partners: 9.8% of the total.
A larger share of renter households than 94% of Canadian towns: 67%
The kinds of homes people live in, who owns and who rents, and how old the homes are. Prices, rents and shelter costs are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Owners and renters · share of households
When homes were built · share of homes
12% of homes need major repairs, against a typical 5.8%. Households in single-detached houses account for 13%. The usual figure: a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns.
Median gross household income: $66,500 a year
Incomes here are for 2020, the year before the census, CERB and other pandemic benefits included. Total household income: the median household, and the spread from low to high.
Households by income · share of households
Britannia’s median household took in $66,500 before tax, 23% less than the median across Canada’s towns ($86,000). Among Ontario’s towns, the typical figure is $91,600. COVID-19 benefits went to 26% of residents with an income (typical: 28%).
Britannia ranks above 80% of Canadian towns on residents who moved in within the year: 15%
Birthplaces and arrival years of immigrants, citizenship and recent moves.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 40%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Most recent wave: just over a third of immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). To put it in context, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Canada’s towns. For Britannia, the census puts residents without Canadian citizenship at 13%.
Fewer residents with no religion than 66% of Canadian towns: 30%
Visible minority, Indigenous identity and religion, as residents answered the census.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Among other religions: Muslim (11%). Set beside that, 35% of residents said they have no religion across Canada’s towns. Indigenous residents make up 2.7%, close to the figure across Canada’s towns.
Britannia ranks above 79% of Canadian towns on bilingual residents: 28%
Who can speak English and French, mother tongue, and the language spoken most at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Nearly one in ten residents have French as their mother tongue; across Canada’s towns the figure is 1.5%. Across Canada’s towns, bilingual residents come to 7.5%.
44% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, a share 77% of Canadian towns don’t reach
From no certificate to a master’s: residents 25 to 64.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
10% have no certificate, diploma or degree (typical: 9.5%). Set beside that, 27% of residents 25 to 64 hold a bachelor’s degree or higher across Canada’s towns.
An employment rate of 49%
May 2021 was still a pandemic month: the census’s work figures reflect that. Four labour figures from the census. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
Fewer work here than in the typical town: 49%, against 58% across Canada’s towns. 23% of residents are 65 or over.
Oldest by rank: 17th of 41 towns of 8,308 to 8,539 people
Towns of about this size, placed by median age.
Median ages here range from 30.2 in Garneau to 60.8 in Electoral Area G, Nanaimo. Lac-Beauport (42.4), Alta Vista (42.7), Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (43.3) and Drumheller (44): the towns nearest Britannia in median age.
Nearby, 2 of 6 towns have older populations than Britannia
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each links to its own page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Britannia | 8,421 | — | 43 | 23% | 31% |
| Queensway Terrace North | 3,160 | 0.9 km | 40.2 | 17% | 19% |
| Bayshore | 14,491 | 1.6 km | 33.6 | 14% | 41% |
| Whitehaven - Woodpark - Glabar Park | 11,111 | 1.6 km | 51.4 | 30% | 22% |
| Iris | 5,733 | 1.9 km | 38.1 | 18% | 24% |
| Qualicum - Redwood | 4,761 | 2.6 km | 40.4 | 19% | 24% |
| Crystal Bay - Lakeview Park | 6,059 | 2.9 km | 48.2 | 24% | 21% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. In the census, “visible minority” is the Employment Equity Act’s term for people who are non-white in colour or race and not Indigenous. Like immigrant status, Indigenous identity and religion, which residents reported themselves, it is compared with other towns, never turned into a label.
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. The middle of Ontario’s towns of 2,500 or more comes first, the middle of all Canadian towns second; cities as a whole and First Nations reserves stay out, and percentiles are within Canada.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Statistics Canada reports the census by municipality; a neighbourhood’s figures are the sum of its dissemination areas, rounded counts and all, with medians estimated from age and income groups and no 2016 count, as the 2016 areas don’t fit.
- What these tables don’t give. Unpaid care, car ownership and internet access aren’t in the Census Profile, nor is the change by age since 2016. Ethnic origins other than visible minority and Indigenous identity are left out of the charts.
Questions about Britannia’s residents
Is Britannia bilingual?
English and French: 28% speak both (Canada’s towns: 7.5%). English only: 69%. French only: 1.3%. French mother tongue: 8.5%.
How diverse is Britannia?
Immigrants: 31% (Canada’s towns: 17%). Visible minority: 33%. Indigenous identity: 2.7%.
What religion are people in Britannia?
30% said they have no religion and 52% that they are Christian; 18% named another faith.
Is Britannia good for families?
13% of residents are under 15 (Canada’s towns: 16%); couple families are 35% of households and one-parent families 9.6%. Schools near Britannia are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Britannia?
Half of Britannia’s households had more than $66,500 in 2020, before tax; across Canada’s towns the median was $86,000.
What is the population of Britannia?
8,421, at the 2021 Census: Statistics Canada makes no later estimate for Britannia alone.
What is the average age in Britannia?
The median age is 43, older than 56% of Canadian towns. 13% are under 15 and 23% 65 or older.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).