The Irish of Canada

The Irish of Canada, numbering approximately 516,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnic community of Irish immigrants with a rich history that dates back ot the early colonial era They are an Diaspora people, with Irish as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Anglo-Celt people cluster of the Eurasian Peoples. Their primary religion is Roman Catholicism. They primarily speak English.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Irish

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Canada
People Cluster: Anglo-Celt
Primary Language(s): English (eng)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 516,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043413
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Irish of Canada

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

93%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: English
Language Family:

100%
%
English Speakers

Media Resources in English:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Irish are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Irish:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Irish of Canada

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
read1 John 3:8

Pray for those living in darkness to recognize the destructive power of sin and the victory Christ has won over it.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who are searching for a way to God and desiring truth will encounter the good news of eternal life and accept it.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
read1 Peter 2:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember every day that Jesus' death on the cross brings real healing and restoration to their souls and joyfully share this good news with others.

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
readPsalm 96:4

Pray that God will raise up believers to declare His glory among the lost, so that they may know that He is great and greatly to be praised, that He is exalted above all gods.

Irish (English) Across Countries (ROP3 - 104068) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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