Statscan is a great site if you like poking your nose into Canadian demographic data (or just about anything else). Recently I wondered how the percentage of Canadians holding post-graduate degrees had increased in recent years. A few clicks later I found a summary table that I’ve condensed a little more below:

Those are some pretty drastic changes in all levels of education over those fifteen years. The proportion of people earning bachelor’s degrees grew by 59%, as did those earning a doctorate. The proportion earning master’s degrees jumped 81%. Pretty remarkable. The drop in the group without high school diplomas is probably largely due to the death of those born before compulsory schooling laws like the Schools Administration Act came into effect.

Another summary table caught my eye: the educational level attained by farm operators. In 2006 7.4% of farmers held university degrees. In 2001 it was just 6.1%. Hard to say what it would have been in the mid-60s when my dad got his.