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As Canadians prepare to celebrate the nation’s 147th birthday, newly released demographic data show how rapidly the complexion of our 35 million residents is changing.

In 2011, the percentage of visible minorities was 19.1%, according to Statistics Canada. By 2031, that number is expected to grow to 30.6%, with South Asian and Chinese immigrants driving much that growth. Vancouver and Toronto are expected to become “majority-minority” cities with three out of five people — 60% — belonging to a visible minority group by then.

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Compare that to 50 years ago, when the visible minority population was just 2%, and the majority of immigrants were from Europe.

“Personally, I have never liked the term ‘visible minority,’” says Frank Trovato, a sociology professor at the University of Alberta. “I doubt that most people belonging to these groups actually think of themselves as such. It may be that in the future Canadians will simply do away with this concept.”