Visible minority electability in urban local government in Ontario

Canadian cities are consistently the first stop and permanent home of new immigrants to Canada, the majority of whom are considered visible minorities (Statistics Canada 2010). As a result of this trend, a number of municipalities in Canada now have "minority-majority" populations, that is, a majority of residents are classified as visible minorities. In the 2006 census, visible minorities made up 57 percent of the population in Brampton and 65 percent in Markham (both in the Toronto region), while Burnaby, Richmond, and Vancouver recorded visible minority populations representing 55 percent, 65 percent, and 51 percent of the total populations respectively (Census of Canada, 2006).