AccultuRates is designed to help organizations find effective ways to connect with cultural groups by determining the acculturation levels within Canada’s two largest visible minority groups: Chinese and South Asian populations. Because all visible minority Chinese and South Asian households are not uniform, it is important for marketers to identify language preferences, the drivers of purchase decisions and the degree of affinity with Canada versus their homeland in order to understand the diversity within the diversity.
AccultuRates classifies the Chinese and South Asian populations into six segments of acculturation based on demographic data such as age, language spoken at home and period of immigration. Every dissemination area (DA) with a significant percentage of the Chinese or South Asian population has been assigned an AccultuRates segment.
Of Canada’s visible minority Chinese, AccultuRates classifies 99.1 percent of the household population in 35 percent of all DAs, representing 4.8 percent of the nation’s total population. For the South Asian population, the system classifies 37 percent of all DAs, representing 99.7 percent of all visible minority South Asians—7.2 percent of the total Canadian household population. In addition, the segments of both groups have been characterized with select variables so users can better understand their purchase behaviour, lifestyle activities and media preferences.
Note: AccultuRates is provided in three variations: AccultuRates (both Chinese and South Asian), AccultuRates Chinese, and AccultuRates South Asian.
Additional Resources
AccultuRates (Chinese and South Asian)
AccultuRates Chinese
AccultuRates South Asian
CA01: Traditionalists | 13.9% of Chinese population*
- Born in China, immigrated more than 15 years ago
- Tend to speak Chinese (mostly Cantonese) at home
- Older maintainers living in single or multi-family households
- University education with higher household incomes
- Live in older mixed housing in Chinese neighbourhoods; owners and renters
- Identify with homeland
CA02: Transitions | 17.3%*
- Born in China or Hong Kong, immigrated in the last 15 years
- Tend to speak Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) at home
- Middle-aged maintainers living in single or multi-family households
- University education with average household incomes
- Live in newer high-rise apartments and row houses in Chinese neighbourhoods; owners
- Identify with homeland
CA03: Newcomers | 27.3%*
- Born in China or Hong Kong, immigrated in the last 15 years
- Tend to speak Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) at home
- Younger maintainers living in single or multi-family households
- University education with average household incomes
- Live in newer apartments in Chinese neighbourhoods; renters
- Identify with homeland
CA04: Bi-Cultural | 13.5%*
- Born in China, immigrated in the last 15 years
- Tend to speak Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) or English at home
- Younger maintainers living alone or in large single-family households
- University education with above-average household incomes
- Live in new apartments in mixed immigrant neighbourhoods; renters
- Identify with both homeland and Canada
CA05: Fusion | 10.6%*
- Born in Canada or immigrated more than 15 years ago
- Tend to speak English at home
- Older maintainers living in small single-family households
- University education with higher household incomes
- Live in older mixed housing in mostly non-Chinese neighbourhoods; owners
- Identify with Canada
CA06: NextGen | 17.4%*
- Born in Canada
- Tend to speak English at home
- Younger maintainers living in large households
- University education with average household incomes
- Live in new apartments in non-Chinese, mixed immigrant neighbourhoods; renters
- Identify with both homeland and Canada
* Percentage of the total visible minority population found within neighbourhoods flagged in each AccultuRates system. This total does not include visible minority populations that make up less than 1% of their neighbourhood's total population.
SA01: Traditionalists | 12.6% of South Asian population*
- Born in India, immigrated more than 15 years ago
- Tend to speak mostly Punjabi at home
- Older maintainers living in single or multi-family households
- Mixed education with average household incomes
- Live in older mixed housing in South Asian neighbourhoods; renters
- Identify with homeland
SA02: Transitions | 18.9%*
- Born in India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka, immigrated in the last 15 years
- Tend to speak Punjabi, Tamil or Urdu at home
- Middle-aged maintainers living in single or multi-family households
- Mixed education with average household incomes
- Live in newer mixed housing in South Asian neighbourhoods; owners and renters
- Identify with homeland
SA03: Newcomers | 25.3%*
- Born in India or Pakistan, immigrated in the last 15 years
- Tend to speak Punjabi or Urdu at home
- Middle-aged maintainers living in single or multi-family households
- University education with average household incomes
- Live in newer apartments and condominiums in South Asian neighbourhoods; renters
- Identify with homeland
SA04: Bi-Cultural | 10.6%*
- Born in India, immigrated in the last 15 years
- Tend to speak English at home
- Younger maintainers living in single-family households
- University education with above-average household incomes
- Live in new mixed housing in South Asian neighbourhoods; owners and renters
- Identify with both homeland and Canada
SA05: Fusion | 14.7%*
- Born in Canada or immigrated more than 15 years ago
- Tend to speak English at home
- Older maintainers living in single-family households
- University education with higher household incomes
- Live in newer mixed housing in mostly non-South Asian neighbourhoods; owners
- Identify with both homeland and Canada
SA06: NextGen | 17.9%*
- Born in Canada
- Tend to speak English at home
- Younger maintainers living in single-family households
- University education with average household incomes
- Live in new apartments in mixed immigrant neighbourhoods; renters
- Identify with both homeland and Canada
* Percentage of the total visible minority population found within neighbourhoods flagged in each AccultuRates system. This total does not include visible minority populations that make up less than 1% of their neighbourhood's total population.