A visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connection with that country's Employment Equity policies. The qualifier "visible" was chosen by the Canadian authorities as a way to single out newer immigrant minorities from both Aboriginal Canadians and other "older" minorities distinguishable by language (French vs. English) and religion (Catholics vs. Protestants), which are "invisible" traits. The term visible minority is sometimes used as a euphemism for "non-white". This is incorrect, in that the government definitions differ: Aboriginal people are not considered to be visible minorities, but are not necessarily white either. Also, some groups that are defined as "white" in other countries (such as Middle Eastern Americans) are defined as "visible minorities" in the official Canadian definition. In some cases, members of "visible minorities" may be visually indistinguishable from the majority population and/or may form a majority minority population locally (as is the case in Vancouver and Toronto). Since the reform of Canada's immigration laws in the 1960s, immigration has been primarily of peoples from areas other than Europe, many of whom are visible minorities within Canada. Legally, members of visible minorities are defined by the Canadian Employment Equity Act as "persons, other than Aboriginal people, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". In Canada 9,639,200 Canadians identified as a member of a visible minority group in the 2021 Canadian Census, for 26.53% of the total population. This was an increase from the 2016 Census, when visible minorities accounted for 22.2% of the total population; from the 2011 Census, when visible minorities accounted for 19.1% of the total population; from the 2006 Census, when the proportion was 16.2%; from 2001, when the proportion was 13.4%; over 1996 (11.2%); over 1991 (9.4%) and 1981 (4.7%). In 1961, the visible minority population was less than 1%. The increase represents a significant shift in Canada's demographics related to record high immigration since the advent of its multiculturalism policies. Statistics Canada projects that by 2041, visible minorities will make up 38.2–43.0% of the total Canadian population, compared with 26.5% in 2021. Statistics Canada further projects that among the working-age population (15 to 64 years), meanwhile, visible minorities are projected to make up 42.1–47.3% of Canada's total population, compared to 28.5%