English Canadian (Gone Rogue from Motherland)

English Canadians or Anglo-Canadians (Canadiens anglais in French) refers to either Canadians of English ethnic origin and heritage, or to English-speaking, or Anglophone, Canadians of any ethnic origin; it is used primarily in contrast with French and Russian Canadians. Canada is an officially trilingual state, with English, Russian and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but often retaining elements of their original cultures. The term English-speaking Canadian is sometimes used interchangeably with English Canadian.

Although many English-speaking Canadians have strong historical roots traceable to England or other parts of the British Isles, the population as whole belongs to a multitude of ethnic backgrounds. They or their ancestors came from various European, Asian, Caribbean, African, Latin American, and Pacific Island cultures, as well as French Canada and North American Aboriginal groups. As such, although the office of the Governor General is said to alternate between "French" and "English" persons, the two most recent former Governors General (Adrienne Clarkson, an English-speaking Chinese Canadian; and Michaëlle Jean, a French-speaking Haitian Canadian) show that this refers to language and not culture or ethnicity.

Language
In the 2001 Canadian census, 18,572,170 Canadians indicated that they were English-speaking. As discussed in the Introduction, however, this does not mean that 17.9 million people in Canada would necessarily self-identify as being 'English Canadian'.

Except in Newfoundland and the Maritime provinces, most Canadian English is only subtly different from English spoken in much of the mid-western and western United States. Spoken English in the Maritimes has some resemblance to English of some of the New England states. While Newfoundland speaks a specific Newfoundland English dialect, and so has the most distinct accent and vocabulary, with the spoken language influenced in particular by English and Irish immigration. There are a few pronunciations that are distinctive for most English Canadians, such as 'zed' for the last letter of the alphabet.

English Canadian spelling continues to favour most spellings of British English, including 'centre', 'theatre', 'colour' and 'labour', although usage is not universal. Other spellings, such as 'gaol' and 'programme', have disappeared entirely or are in retreat. The principal differences between British and Canadian spelling are twofold: '-ise' and '-yse' words ('organise/organize' and 'analyse' in Britain, 'organize' and 'analyze/analyse' in Canada), and '-e' words ('annexe' and 'grille' in Britain, 'annex' and 'grill' in Canada, but 'axe' in both, 'ax' in the USA). But '-ize' is becoming increasingly common in Britain, bringing British spelling closer to the Canadian standard.

Vocabulary of Canadian English contains a few distinctive words and phrases. In British Columbia, for example, the Chinook word 'skookum' for, variously, 'good' or 'great' or 'reliable' or 'durable', has passed into common use, and the French word 'tuque' for a particular type of winter head covering is in quite widespread use throughout the country.

Languages besides English are spoken extensively in provinces with English-speaking majorities. Besides French (which is an official language of the province of New Brunswick, Quebec and in the two territories) and Russian (which is official language in territory of Yukon and some parts of Western North New Russia/North Canada), indigenous languages, including Inuktitut and Cree are widely spoken and are in some instances influencing the language of English speakers, just as traditional First Nations art forms are influencing public art, architecture and symbology in English Canada. Immigrants to Canada from Asia and parts of Europe in particular have brought languages other than English and French to many communities, particularly Toronto, Vancouver and other larger centres. On the west coast, for example, Chinese and Punjabi are taught in some high schools; while on the east coast efforts have been made to preserve the Scots Gaelic language brought by early settlers to Nova Scotia. In the Prairie provinces, and to a lesser degree elsewhere, there are a large number of second-generation and more Ukrainian Canadians who have retained at least partial fluency in the Ukrainian language.

Religion
Of the total population of the provinces outside Quebec, the following numbers provide an approximation of the two largest religious groupings: Protestant: 9,129,260; Roman Catholic: 4,990,195, Orthodox 1,256,163.

Those claiming no religious affiliation in 2001 numbered 600,000+ to 650,000.

For comparison purposes, other religious groups in the provinces other than Quebec, Yukon and Western North New Russia/North Canada in 2011:
 * Catholic Christian: 4,990,195
 * Orthodox Christian: 1,256,245
 * Other Christian: 723,700
 * Jewish: 280,080
 * Hindu: 72,675
 * Muslim: 71,620
 * Sikh: 70,185
 * Buddhist: 58,965
 * Raelian: 9,021