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Asian Canadians

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Asian Canadians
Asian ancestry % in Canada (2021)
Total population
7,331,610[1][2][a]
20.2% of the Canadian population (2021)
Regions with significant populations
Western Canada · Central Canada · Urban
less prevalent in the Atlantic and North
Languages
Canadian English · Canadian French
Mandarin · Cantonese  · Hindustani · Punjabi · Arabic · Tagalog
Other Asian languages[3]
Religion
Christianity · Buddhism and other East Asian religions · Islam · Hinduism · Sikhism · Judaism · Non-religious · Other
Related ethnic groups
Asian Americans · Asian Australians · Asian Britons · Asian Dutch · Asian New Zealanders · Asian people

Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to the continent of Asia. Canadians with Asian ancestry comprise both the largest and fastest growing group in Canada, after European Canadians, forming approximately 20.2 percent of the Canadian population as of 2021, making up the majority of Canada’s visible minority population.[1][2][a] Most Asian Canadians are concentrated in the urban areas of Southern Ontario, Southwestern British Columbia, Central Alberta, and other large Canadian cities.

Asian Canadians are considered visible minorities and may be classified as East Asian Canadians, South Asian Canadians, Southeast Asian Canadians, and West Asian Canadians.[4]

According to the 2021 Canadian census, the pan-ethnic breakdown of major Asian-origin Canadian groups includes South Asian Canadians (2,571,400 persons or 35.1 percent),[2] East Asian Canadians (2,289,805 persons or 31.2 percent),[b] Southeast Asian Canadians (1,434,330 persons or 19.6 percent),[c] and West Asian Canadians (1,086,230 people or 14.8 percent).[1][2] In further detail, the largest self-reported Asian origin groups in Canada are Chinese Canadians, Indo-Canadians, Filipino Canadians, Pakistani Canadians, Vietnamese Canadians, and Lebanese Canadians.[5]

Terminology

[edit]

In the Canadian census, people with origins or ancestry in East Asia (e.g. Chinese Canadians, Korean Canadians, Japanese Canadians, Tibetan Canadians), South Asia (e.g. Bangladeshi Canadians, Indian Canadians, Pakistani Canadians, Sri Lankan Canadians), Southeast Asia (e.g. Laotian Canadians, Cambodian Canadians, Filipino Canadians, Vietnamese Canadians), West Asia (e.g. Iranian Canadians, Kurdish Canadians, Israeli Canadians, Lebanese Canadians, Turkish Canadians), or Central Asia (e.g. Afghan Canadians, Uzbek Canadians, Kazakh Canadians) are all classified as part of the Asian race.

History

[edit]
Chinese labourers working on the Canadian Pacific Railway, 1884
South Asians at a lumber camp in British Columbia, circa 1914
Damage after the September 1907 anti-Asian riot in Vancouver
Indians in Vancouver, 1908
South Asians aboard Komagata Maru in Vancouver, 1914
Founding members of the Canadian Japanese Association at the Japanese Canadian War Memorial in Vancouver, 1920.

18th century

[edit]

The first record of Asians in what is known as Canada today can be dated back to the late 18th century. In 1788, renegade British Captain John Meares hired a group of Chinese carpenters from Macau and employed them to build a ship at Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, British Columbia.[6]: 312  After the outpost was seized by Spanish forces, the eventual whereabouts of the carpenters was largely unknown.

By late 1700s, Filipinos, then-known as "Manila men"[7] were recruited in naval operations, aboard the ship San Carlos el Filipino sent to support the short-lived Spanish settlement of Santa Cruz de Nuca and Fort San Miguel, Nootka Island, off the coast of Vancouver.[8]

19th century

[edit]

During the mid 19th century, many Chinese arrived to take part in the British Columbia gold rushes. Beginning in 1858, early settlers formed Victoria's Chinatown and other Chinese communities in New Westminster, Yale, and Lillooet. Estimates indicate that about 1/3 of the non-native population of the Fraser goldfields was Chinese.[9][10] Later, the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway prompted another wave of immigration from the East Asian country. Mainly hailing from Guangdong Province, the Chinese helped build the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Fraser Canyon.

Many Japanese people also arrived in Canada during the mid to late 19th century and became fishermen and merchants in British Columbia. Early immigrants from the East Asian island nation most notably worked in canneries such as Steveston along the pacific coast.

Similarly in the late 19th century, many Indians hailing from Punjab Province settled in British Columbia and worked in the forestry industry.[11] Most early immigrants hailing from South Asia first settled around sawmill towns along the Fraser River in southwestern British Columbia such as Kitsilano, Fraser Mills, and Queensborough.[12] Later, many Indian immigrants also settled on Vancouver Island, working on local sawmills in Victoria, Coombs, Duncan, Ocean Falls, and Paldi.[13]

Early West Asian Canadian history featured Lebanese and Syrians first immigrating in Canada during the late 19th century; as both countries were under Ottoman dominion at the time they were originally known as Turks or Syrian−Lebanese on census reports. Settling in the Montreal area of southern Quebec, they became the first West Asian group to immigrate to Canada.[14] The first Lebanese immigrant to Canada was Abraham Bounadere (Ibrahim Abu Nadir) from Zahlé in Lebanon who settled in Montreal in 1882.[15] Because of situations within Lebanon and restrictive Canadian laws these immigrants were 90% Christian. These immigrants were mostly economic migrants seeking greater prosperity in the New World.

Similar to late 19th century through early 20th century Lebanese immigration and settler patterns, while the vast majority of Syrians migrated to South America, a small percentage made their way to the United States, and an even smaller percentage settled in Canada. Once again, in a similar demographic to early Lebanese settlers to Canada, the overwhelming majority of Syrians who settled in Canada from the 1880s–1960s were of the Christian faith. The so-called shepherd of the lost flock, Saint Raphael Hawaweeny of Brooklyn, New York, came to Montreal in 1896 to help establish a Christian association called the Syrian Benevolent Society and then later on an Orthodox church in Montreal for the newly arrived Syrian faithful.[16]

West Asian settlement into Canada was also bolstered by early Armenian immigration during the late 19th century. The first Armenians migrated to Canada in the 1880s. The first recorded Armenian to settle in Canada was a man named Garabed Nergarian, who came to Port Hope, Ontario in 1887.[17][18] Some 37 Armenians settled in Canada in 1892 and 100 in 1895. Most early Armenian migrants to Canada were men who were seeking employment. After the Hamidian massacres of mid-1890s Armenian families from the Ottoman Empire began settling in Canada.

Additionally, Canada's earliest documented Filipinos coincided with North America's first wave of Asian immigration in the 1800s. At least nine male Filipino sailors, aged twenty-four to forty-two, appeared on the 1881 Census of British Columbia. Living on a vessel in New Westminster, they were recorded ethno-racially as "Malay" [a loose term to describe Austronesian people] and listed as "Mahomitan" [an archaic term for Muslim].[19] In the ensuing decades, several Filipino settlers resided along the B.C. coast, particularly on Bowen Island, in the 1880s.[20]

Early Filipino settlers along the B.C. coast engaged in both fishing and farming. It included Fernando Toreenya, a fisherman who came to Canada from the Philippines in 1886 at the age of 20 years old with his First Nations partner Mary/Marie Adams. They lived in Snug Cove and had three other Filipino boarders living with them, William Matilda, Antoni Bentorre and Ricardo Castro. Others included Ben Flores, who were "beachcombers and fishermen"[21] and were settled on a barge in Snug Cove; Basinto Pasento, who called his home Pasento Ranch and died in February 1904, John Delmond, and Jose Garcia. Several others worked as loggers, millhand, mine laborers, and longshoremen intermarrying with Indigenous peoples and other Pacific Islanders.

By 1884, Nanaimo, New Westminster, Yale, and Victoria had the largest Chinese populations in the province. Other settlements such as Quesnelle Forks were majority Chinese and many early immigrants from the East Asian country settled on Vancouver Island, most notably in Cumberland.[22] In addition to work on the railway, most Chinese in the late 19th century British Columbia lived among other Chinese and worked in market gardens, coal mines, sawmills, and salmon canneries.[23]

In 1885, soon after the construction on the railway was completed, the federal government passed the Chinese Immigration Act, whereby the government began to charge a substantial head tax for each Chinese person trying to immigrate to Canada. A decade later, the fear of the "Yellow Peril" prompted the government of Mackenzie Bowell to pass an act forbidding any East Asian Canadian from voting or holding office.[24]

Many Chinese workers settled in Canada after the railway was constructed, however most could not bring the rest of their families, including immediate relatives, due to government restrictions and enormous processing fees. They established Chinatowns and societies in undesirable sections of the cities, such as East Pender Street in Vancouver, which had been the focus of the early city's red-light district until Chinese merchants took over the area from the 1890s onwards.[25]

20th century

[edit]

Immigration restrictions stemming from anti-Asian sentiment in Canada continued during the early 20th century. Parliament voted to increase the Chinese head tax to $500 in 1902; this temporarily caused Chinese immigration to Canada to stop. However, in following years, Chinese immigration to Canada recommenced as many saved up money to pay the head tax. Due to the decrease in Chinese immigration, Steamship lines began recruiting Indians to make up for the loss of business; the Fraser River Canners' Association and the Kootchang Fruit Growers' Association asked the Canadian government to abolish immigration restrictions. Letters from persons settling in Canada gave persons still in India encouragement to move to Canada, and there was an advertising campaign to promote British Columbia as an immigration destination.[26] Around that time, in 1902, a notable moment of Asian Canadian history occurred when Punjabi Sikh settlers first arrived in Golden, British Columbia to work at the Columbia River Lumber Company.[27]

In 1901, Canada had between 300 and 400 Muslim residents, equally divided between Turks and Syrian Arabs.[28] Furthermore, the turn of the 20th century featured a small wave of Syrian−Lebanese settlement into the southern prairies including Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Contemporarily in Lebanon, many families were from what was western Syria at the time in particular settled in southern Saskatchewan.[29] A majority of the Syrian−Lebanese families settling in the prairies were of the Christian faith, with a minority adhering to Islam, mirroring earlier settler demographics in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario. Prominent settlement occurred in communities such as Swift Current, Saskatchewan, and Lac La Biche, Alberta.[30][31][32] Few reached the Northwest Territories, the best known being Peter Baker, author of the book An Arctic Arab, and later elected as a member of the legislative assembly of the Northwest Territories.[33]

The early Punjabi Sikh settlers in Golden built the first Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) in Canada and North America in 1905,[34][35] which would later be destroyed by fire in 1926.[36] The second Gurdwara to be built in Canada was in 1908 in Kitsilano (Vancouver), aimed at serving a growing number of Punjabi Sikh settlers who worked at nearby sawmills along False Creek at the time.[37] The Gurdwara would later close and be demolished in 1970, with the temple society relocating to the newly built Gurdwara on Ross Street, in South Vancouver. As a result, the oldest existing Gurdwara in Canada today is the Gur Sikh Temple, located in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Built in 1911, the temple was designated as a national historic site of Canada in 2002 and is the third-oldest Gurdwara in the country. Soon later, the fourth Gurdwara to be built Canada was established at the Fraser Mills (Coquitlam) settlement in 1913 followed by the fifth at the Queensborough (New Westminster) settlement in 1919,[38][39][40] and the sixth at the Paldi (Vancouver Island) settlement, also in 1919.[41][42][43][44]

Heightened anti-Asian sentiment resulted in the infamous anti-Asian pogrom in Vancouver in 1907. Spurred by similar riots in Bellingham targeting Punjabi Sikh South Asian settlers, The Asiatic Exclusion League organized attacks against homes and businesses owned by East Asian immigrants under the slogan "White Canada Forever!"; though no one was killed, much property damage was done and numerous East Asian Canadians were beaten up.

In 1908, the British Columbia government passed a law preventing South Asian Canadians from voting. Because eligibility for federal elections originated from provincial voting lists, Indians were also unable to vote in federal elections.[45] Later, the Canadian government enacted a $200 head tax and passed the continuous journey regulation which indirectly halted Indian immigration to Canada, thus restricting all immigration from South Asia.

A direct result of the continuous journey regulation was the Komagata Maru incident in Vancouver. In May 1914, hundreds of South Asians hailing from Punjab were denied entry into the country, eventually forced to depart for India. By 1916, despite a declining population due to immigration restrictions, many Indian settlers established the Paldi mill colony on Vancouver Island.[46]

During the pre-World War I period, Turks were to be found in mining and logging camps across Canada.[47] However, due to bad relations between the Ottoman Empire and Allied Powers of WWI, further migration was made difficult for the Turks and the Canadian government discouraged "Asian" immigration.[47] With the Canadian Immigration Act of 1910, Turkish immigration to Canada was banned.[48] With the onset of the first world war, Turkish Canadians were placed in "enemy alien" internment camps.[49] Five days after the first world war began, on November 10, 1914, 98 Turks were deported and settled in Kingston and then in Kapuskasing. Their number increased over time.[50] They were not the only "enemy aliens" subjected to internment. More than 8,500 people were placed in 24 camps during the war. Of them 205 were Turks.[51][52]

Before the Armenian genocide of 1915 some 1,800 Armenians already lived in Canada. They were overwhelmingly from the Armenian provinces of the Ottoman Empire and usually lived in industrial urban areas. The influx of Armenians to Canada was limited in the post-World War I era because Armenians were classified as Asians.[18] Nevertheless, some 1,500 genocide survivors—mostly women and children—came to Canada as refugees.[53] In 1923–24 some 100 Armenians orphans aged 8–12, later known as The Georgetown Boys, were brought to Canada from Corfu, Greece by the Armenian Canadian Relief Fund to Georgetown, Ontario.[17] Dubbed "The Noble Experiment", it was Canada's first humanitarian act on an international scale.[18] The Georgetown Farmhouse (now the Cedarvale Community Centre) was designated historic and protected municipal site in 2010.[54] Overall, between 1900 and 1930 some 3,100 Armenians entered Canada, with 75% settling in Ontario and 20% in Quebec.[55] Some later moved to the United States; 1,577 Armenians entered the U.S. from Canada between 1899 and 1917.[18]

In 1923, the federal government passed the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, which banned all Chinese immigration, and led to immigration restrictions for all East Asians. In 1947, the act was repealed.

The second world war prompted the federal government used the War Measures Act to brand Japanese Canadians enemy aliens and categorized them as security threats in 1942. Tens of thousands of Japanese Canadians were placed in internment camps in British Columbia; prison of war camps in Ontario; and families were also sent as forced labourers to farms throughout the prairies. By 1943, all properties owned by Japanese Canadians in British Columbia were seized and sold without consent.

In 1950, 10 Filipinos were recorded in Manitoba. The first-generation Filipino-Canadians were mainly women who worked as nurses and teachers and in the health sector. These first Filipinos came from the United States to renew their visas after they had expired in the hope of returning to the US. Most of them returned, but some stayed in Canada. From 1946 to 1964, the total number of Filipinos in Canada was 770. In the 1960s, Canada recruited more professionals, mostly from the United States, with some coming directly from the Philippines. Most of the nurses, technicians, office workers and doctors arrived in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In the late 1960s, more Filipinos came to Winnipeg to work in the garment industry.

Pakistanis began migrating to Canada in small numbers in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Immigration regulations gave preference to those with advanced education and professional skills, and the Pakistanis who came during this period, and throughout the 1960s, generally had excellent credentials. Many of them considered themselves to be sojourners, who had come to earn but not to settle or were students who intended to return home when their degree programs were completed. While some went back, others remained to become the founding members of the Pakistani-Canadian community.[56] Pakistani nationals were registered in undergraduate and graduate programs at McGill University in Montreal as early as 1949, and at the University of Toronto from 1958 on. By the mid-1950s, there were five or six Pakistani families living in Montreal in addition to the students. This was probably the then largest concentration of Pakistanis in the country. Throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s most who arrived were young men pursuing graduate or professional studies.

Unlike Korean Americans who have relatively much longer history settling in the United States, very few settled in Canada; as late as 1965, the total permanent Korean population of Canada was estimated at only 70.[57] However, with the 1966 reform of Canadian immigration laws, South Korean immigration to Canada began to grow.[57] By 1969, there were an estimated 2000 Koreans in Canada.[58]

The Iranian revolution of 1979 resulted in a spike of immigration to Canada from the West Asian country.[59] In the aftermath, many Iranian-Canadians began to categorize themselves as "Persian" rather than "Iranian", mainly to dissociate themselves from the Islamic regime of Iran and the negativity associated with it, and also to distinguish themselves as being of Persian ethnicity.[60][61]

During and after the Vietnam War, a large wave of Vietnamese refugees began arriving in Canada. Large-scale Vietnamese immigration to Canada began during the mid-1970s and early 1980s as refugees or boat people following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, though a couple thousand were already living in Quebec before then, most of whom were students. After the fall of Saigon, there were two waves of Vietnamese immigrants to Canada. The first wave consisted mostly of middle-class immigrants. Many of these immigrants were able to speak French and or English and were welcomed into Canada for their professional skills. The second wave consisted of Southern Vietnamese refugees who were escaping the harsh regime that had taken over the former South Vietnam. Many of them (10%) were of Chinese descent and were escaping ethnic persecution resulting from the Sino-Vietnamese War. These south Vietnamese refugees were known globally as the "boat people". In the years 1979–80, Canada accepted 60,000 Vietnamese refugees.[62]

Many new Vietnamese arrivees were sponsored by groups of individuals, temples, and churches and settled in areas around Southern Ontario, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Montreal, Quebec. Between 1975 and 1985, 110,000 resettled in Canada (23,000 in Ontario; 13,000 in Quebec; 8,000 in Alberta; 7,000 British Columbia; 5,000 in Manitoba; 3,000 in Saskatchewan; and 2,000 in the Maritime provinces). This was followed by another large wave of Vietnamese immigration to Canada during the late 1980s and 1990s as both refugees and immigrant classes of post-war Vietnam entered Canada. These groups settled in urban areas, in particular Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary. In Metro Vancouver, they have settled mainly in East Vancouver, Richmond, and Surrey. In the Montreal area, they settle in Montreal's downtown, South Shore, and the suburb of Laval. In Toronto, they have settled in the city's Chinatown area near Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West and in the inner suburbs of North York, York, Scarborough, and Etobicoke.

The Canadian Parliament created the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada in 1985 to better address issues surrounding Asia–Canada relations, including trade, citizenship and immigration.

In the late 1990s, South Korea became the fifth-largest source of immigrants to Canada.[63] Toronto has the country's largest absolute number of Koreans, but Vancouver is experiencing the highest rate of growth in its Korean population, with a 69% increase since 1996. Montreal was the third most popular destination for Korean migrants during this period.[64] The 1990s growth in South Korean migration to Canada occurred at a time when Canadian unemployment was high and income growth was low relative to the United States.[65] One pair of researchers demonstrated that numbers of migrants were correlated with the exchange rate; the weakness of the Canadian dollar relative to the United States dollar meant that South Korean migrants bringing savings to Canada for investment would be relatively richer than those going to the United States.[66] Other factors suggested as drivers behind the growth of South Korean immigration to Canada included domestic anti-Americanism and the large presence of Canadian English teachers in local hagwon.[67]

When Hong Kong reverted to mainland Chinese rule, people emigrated and found new homes in Canada.

21st century

[edit]

In 2016, the Canadian government issued a full apology in Parliament for the Komagata Maru Incident.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2016, 48.1% of the immigrant population in Canada was born in Asia. Furthermore, Asian countries accounted for seven of the top ten countries of birth for recent immigrants, including the Philippines, India, China, Iran, Pakistan, Syria and South Korea.[68]

In recent decades, a large number of people have come to Canada from India and other South Asian countries. As of 2016, South Asians make up nearly 17 percent of the Greater Toronto Area's population, and are projected to make up 24 percent of the region's population by 2031.[69]

In the contemporary era, Asians form a significant minority within the national population, with over 7 million Canadians being of Asian geographical descent as of 2021.

Asian Canadian students, in particular those of East Asian or South Asian background, make up the vast majority of students at several Canadian universities.

Demography

[edit]
Canadians of Asian descent total population (1871–2021)
Canadians of Asian descent percentage of the total population (1871–2021)

Population

[edit]
Asian Canadian Population History
1871–2021
Year Population % of total population
1871
[70][71][72]: 685  		4 0%
1881
[70][72]: 685  		4,383 0.101%
1901
[70][72]: 685  		23,731 0.442%
1911
[70][72]: 685  		43,213 0.6%
1921
[70][71][72]: 685 [73]: 353  		65,914 0.75%
1931
[70][71][72]: 685 [74]: 225 [75]: 236 [76]: 503  		84,548 0.815%
1941
[70][71][72]: 685  		74,064 0.644%
1951
[70][71][77]: 484  		72,827 0.52%
1961
[70][71][78][79]: 5  		121,753 0.668%
1971
[70][71][78][80]: 1  		285,540 1.324%
1981
[78][81]: 26 [82]: 64  		818,670 3.399%
1986
[83]: 374 [82]: 20  		1,169,205 4.673%
1991
[78][84]: 66 [85]: 11  		1,865,435 6.911%
1996
[86][87] 		2,555,590 8.958%
2001
[88] 		3,234,290 10.912%
2006
[89] 		4,181,755 13.385%
2011
[90] 		5,011,220 15.254%
2016
[5] 		6,095,235 17.688%
2021
[1][2][a] 		7,331,610 20.181%

National and ethnic origins

[edit]
Asian Canadians by pan-ethnicity (2001–2021)
Panethnic group Percentage
2021[1][2] 2016[5] 2011[90] 2006[89] 2001[88]
South Asian 35.07% 32.21% 32.25% 31.49% 29.78%
East Asian 31.23%[b] 35.24% 36.27% 38.94% 40.63%
Southeast Asian 19.56%[c] 19.93% 19.89% 16.87% 16.79%
West Asian & Central Asian 14.82% 16.59% 15.53% 15.61% 14.95%

While the Asian Canadian population is diverse, many have ancestry from a few select countries in the continent. As of the 2016 Canadian census, nearly four million or 66% of Asian Canadians can trace their roots to just three countries; China, India and the Philippines.

Population of Asian Canadian Groups 2006–2016
Origins 2016[5] 2011[90] 2006[89]
Pop. % Asian Pop. % total Pop. Pop. % Asian Pop. % total Pop. Pop. % Asian Pop. % total Pop.
Chinese[d] 1,769,195 29.03% 5.13% 1,487,580 29.68% 4.53% 1,346,510 32.2% 4.31%
Indian 1,374,715 22.55% 3.99% 1,165,145 23.25% 3.55% 962,670 23.02% 3.08%
Filipino 851,410 13.97% 2.47% 662,600 13.22% 2.02% 436,195 10.43% 1.4%
Vietnamese 240,615 3.95% 0.7% 220,425 4.4% 0.67% 180,130 4.31% 0.58%
Lebanese 219,555 3.6% 0.64% 190,275 3.8% 0.58% 165,150 3.95% 0.53%
Pakistani 215,560 3.54% 0.63% 155,310 3.1% 0.47% 124,730 2.98% 0.4%
Iranian 210,405 3.45% 0.61% 163,290 3.26% 0.5% 121,505 2.91% 0.39%
Korean 198,210 3.25% 0.58% 168,890 3.37% 0.51% 146,545 3.5% 0.47%
Sri Lankan 152,595 2.5% 0.44% 139,415 2.78% 0.42% 103,625 2.48% 0.33%
Japanese 121,485 1.99% 0.35% 109,740 2.19% 0.33% 98,905 2.37% 0.32%
Punjabi 118,395 1.94% 0.34% 76,150 1.52% 0.23% 53,515 1.28% 0.17%
Arab
(n.o.s)[e] 		111,405 1.83% 0.32% 94,640 1.89% 0.29% 86,135 2.06% 0.28%
Afghan 83,995 1.38% 0.24% 62,815 1.25% 0.19% 48,090 1.15% 0.15%
Syrian 77,045 1.26% 0.22% 40,840 0.81% 0.12% 31,370 0.75% 0.1%
South Asian
(n.i.e)[f] 		76,400 1.25% 0.22% 53,390 1.07% 0.16% 60,895 1.46% 0.19%
Iraqi 70,920 1.16% 0.21% 49,680 0.99% 0.15% 29,950 0.72% 0.1%
Turkish 63,995 1.05% 0.19% 55,430 1.11% 0.17% 43,700 1.05% 0.14%
Armenian 63,810 1.05% 0.19% 55,740 1.11% 0.17% 50,500 1.21% 0.16%
Tamil 48,670 0.8% 0.14% 48,965 0.98% 0.15% 34,590 0.83% 0.11%
Bangladeshi 45,940 0.75% 0.13% 34,205 0.68% 0.1% 24,595 0.59% 0.08%
Palestinian 44,820 0.74% 0.13% 31,245 0.62% 0.1% 23,975 0.57% 0.08%
Cambodian 38,495 0.63% 0.11% 34,340 0.69% 0.1% 25,245 0.6% 0.08%
Taiwanese 36,515
(94,000[91]–
173,000[92]) 		0.6%
(1.54%–
2.84%) 		0.11%
(0.27%–
0.5%) 		30,330 0.61% 0.09% 17,705 0.42% 0.06%
Israeli 28,735 0.47% 0.08% 15,010 0.3% 0.05% 10,755 0.26% 0.03%
West Central
Asian and
Middle Eastern
(n.i.e)[f] 		25,280 0.41% 0.07% 16,540 0.33% 0.05% 12,075 0.29% 0.04%
Laotian 24,575 0.4% 0.07% 22,090 0.44% 0.07% 20,110 0.48% 0.06%
Bengali 22,900 0.38% 0.07% 17,960 0.36% 0.05% 12,130 0.29% 0.04%
Other
Asian(n.i.e)[f] 		22,745 0.37% 0.07% 20,115 0.4% 0.06% 555 0.01% 0%
Indonesian 21,395 0.35% 0.06% 18,125 0.36% 0.06% 14,325 0.34% 0.05%
Thai 19,010 0.31% 0.06% 15,080 0.3% 0.05% 10,020 0.24% 0.03%
Nepali 17,140 0.28% 0.05% 9,780 0.2% 0.03% 3,780 0.09% 0.01%
Malaysian 16,920 0.28% 0.05% 14,165 0.28% 0.04% 12,165 0.29% 0.04%
Kurdish 16,315 0.27% 0.05% 11,685 0.23% 0.04% 9,205 0.22% 0.03%
Jordanian 14,250 0.23% 0.04% 9,425 0.19% 0.03% 6,905 0.17% 0.02%
Assyrian 13,830 0.23% 0.04% 10,810 0.22% 0.03% 8,650 0.21% 0.03%
Burmese 9,330 0.15% 0.03% 7,845 0.16% 0.02% 4,590 0.11% 0.01%
Gujarati 8,350 0.14% 0.02% 5,890 0.12% 0.02% 2,975 0.07% 0.01%
Tibetan 8,040 0.13% 0.02% 5,820 0.12% 0.02% 4,275 0.1% 0.01%
Mongolian 7,475 0.12% 0.02% 5,355 0.11% 0.02% 3,960 0.09% 0.01%
Sinhalese 7,285 0.12% 0.02% 7,220 0.14% 0.02% 5,825 0.14% 0.02%
Saudi
Arabian 		6,810 0.11% 0.02% 7,955 0.16% 0.02% 2,730 0.07% 0.01%
Yemeni 6,645 0.11% 0.02% 3,945 0.08% 0.01% 2,300 0.06% 0.01%
East and
Southeast
Asian(n.i.e)[f] 		6,505 0.11% 0.02% 9,045 0.18% 0.03% 8,990 0.21% 0.03%
Azerbaijani 6,425 0.11% 0.02% 4,580 0.09% 0.01% 3,465 0.08% 0.01%
Goan 6,070 0.1% 0.02% 5,125 0.1% 0.02% 4,815 0.12% 0.02%
Tatar 4,825 0.08% 0.01% 2,850 0.06% 0.01% 2,300 0.06% 0.01%
Pashtun 4,810 0.08% 0.01% 3,315 0.07% 0.01% 1,690 0.04% 0.01%
Georgian 4,775 0.08% 0.01% 3,155 0.06% 0.01% 2,200 0.05% 0.01%
Karen 4,515 0.07% 0.01% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Uzbek 3,920 0.06% 0.01% 2,725 0.05% 0.01% N/A N/A N/A
Bhutanese 3,600 0.06% 0.01% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Kazakh 3,330 0.05% 0.01% 2,270 0.05% 0.01% N/A N/A N/A
Kashmiri 3,115 0.05% 0.01% 2,125 0.04% 0.01% 1,685 0.04% 0.01%
Tajik 2,905 0.05% 0.01% 2,400 0.05% 0.01% N/A N/A N/A
Singaporean 2,845 0.05% 0.01% 2,050 0.04% 0.01% 1,390 0.03% 0%
Kuwaiti 2,240 0.04% 0.01% 2,240 0.04% 0.01% 1,575 0.04% 0.01%
Uighur 1,555 0.03% 0% 1,155 0.02% 0% N/A N/A N/A
Hazara 1,520 0.02% 0% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Kyrgyz 1,055 0.02% 0% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Turkmen 1,040 0.02% 0% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Hmong 805 0.01% 0% 830 0.02% 0% 815 0.02% 0%
Total
Canada 		6,095,235 100% 17.69% 5,011,220 100% 15.25% 4,181,755 100% 13.39%

Language

[edit]

Pie chart breakdown of the spoken Asian language families of Canadians from the 2016 census.[94]

  Indo-Iranian (31.03%)
  Sino-Tibetan (26.78%)
  Semitic (Asian) (13.68%)
  Austronesian (12.28%)
  Dravidian (4.68%)
  Austro-Asiatic (4.21%)
  Koreanic (3.23%)
  Japonic (1.55%)
  Turkic (1.13%)
  Other (1.44%)

Knowledge of language

[edit]

Many Asian Canadians speak Canadian English or Canadian French as a first language, as many multi-generational individuals do not speak Asian languages as a mother tongue, but instead may speak one or multiple[g] as a second or third language.

As of 2016, 6,044,885 or 17.5 percent of Canadians speak an Asian language. Of this, the top five Asian tongues spoken include Mandarin (13.5%), Cantonese (11.6%), Punjabi (11.1%), Arabic (10.4%) and Tagalog (10.1%).

  • Languages with 5,000 or more speakers listed.
Knowledge of Asian languages in Canada[g]
# Language Population
(2016)[95] 		% Asian
languages
(2016) 		% total
population
(2016)
1 Mandarin 814,450 13.47% 2.36%
2 Cantonese 699,125 11.57% 2.03%
3 Punjabi 668,240 11.05% 1.94%
4 Arabic 629,055 10.41% 1.83%
5 Tagalog
(Pilipino, Filipino) 		612,735 10.14% 1.78%
6 Hindi 433,365 7.17% 1.26%
7 Urdu 322,220 5.33% 0.94%
8 Persian
(Farsi) 		252,320 4.17% 0.73%
9 Vietnamese 198,895 3.29% 0.58%
10 Tamil 189,860 3.14% 0.55%
11 Korean 172,755 2.86% 0.5%
12 Gujarati 149,045 2.47% 0.43%
13 Bengali 91,220 1.51% 0.26%
14 Japanese 83,090 1.37% 0.24%
15 Hebrew 75,020 1.24% 0.22%
16 Turkish 50,775 0.84% 0.15%
17 Min Nan[h] 42,840 0.71% 0.12%
18 Chinese,
n.o.s.[e] 		41,690 0.69% 0.12%
19 Armenian 41,295 0.68% 0.12%
20 Malayalam 37,810 0.63% 0.11%
21 Ilocano 34,530 0.57% 0.1%
22 Sinhala 27,825 0.46% 0.08%
23 Cebuano 27,045 0.45% 0.08%
24 Khmer
(Cambodian) 		27,035 0.45% 0.08%
25 Pashto 23,180 0.38% 0.07%
26 Telugu 23,160 0.38% 0.07%
27 Malay 22,470 0.37% 0.07%
28 Nepali 21,380 0.35% 0.06%
29 Sindhi 20,260 0.34% 0.06%
30 Assyrian
Neo-Aramaic 		19,745 0.33% 0.06%
31 Lao 17,235 0.29% 0.05%
32 Wu
(Shanghainese) 		16,530 0.27% 0.05%
33 Marathi 15,570 0.26% 0.05%
34 Thai 15,390 0.25% 0.04%
35 Kurdish 15,290 0.25% 0.04%
36 Hakka 12,445 0.21% 0.04%
37 Indo-Iranian languages,
n.i.e.[f] 		8,875 0.15% 0.03%
38 Kannada 8,245 0.14% 0.02%
39 Hiligaynon 7,925 0.13% 0.02%
40 Chaldean
Neo-Aramaic 		7,115 0.12% 0.02%
41 Tibetan 7,050 0.12% 0.02%
42 Konkani 6,790 0.11% 0.02%
43 Austronesian languages,
n.i.e.[f] 		5,585 0.09% 0.02%
44 Azerbaijani 5,450 0.09% 0.02%
45 Pampangan[i] 5,425 0.09% 0.02%
46 Other 37,530 0.62% 0.11%
Total 6,044,885 100% 17.54%

Mother tongue

[edit]

As of 2016, 4,217,365 or 12.2 percent of Canadians speak an Asian language as a mother tongue. Of this, the top five Asian tongues spoken include Mandarin (14.0%), Cantonese (13.4%), Punjabi (11.9%), Tagalog (10.2%) and Arabic (10.0%).

  • Languages with 10,000 or more speakers listed.
Asian languages in Canada by number of first language speakers
# Mother tongue Population
(2016)[96] 		% Asian
languages
(2016)
1 Mandarin 592,035 14.04%
2 Cantonese 565,275 13.4%
3 Punjabi 501,680 11.9%
4 Tagalog
(Pilipino, Filipino) 		431,385 10.23%
5 Arabic 419,895 9.96%
6 Persian
(Farsi) 		214,200 5.08%
7 Urdu 210,820 5%
8 Vietnamese 156,430 3.71%
9 Korean 153,425 3.64%
10 Tamil 140,720 3.34%
11 Hindi 110,645 2.62%
12 Gujarati 108,775 2.58%
13 Bengali 73,125 1.73%
14 Japanese 43,640 1.03%
15 Chinese,
n.o.s.[e] 		38,575 0.91%
16 Armenian 33,455 0.79%
17 Turkish 32,815 0.78%
18 Min Nan[h] 31,795 0.75%
19 Malayalam 28,570 0.68%
20 Ilocano 26,345 0.62%
21 Khmer
(Cambodian) 		20,130 0.48%
22 Cebuano 19,890 0.47%
23 Hebrew 19,530 0.46%
24 Nepali 18,275 0.43%
25 Pashto 16,910 0.4%
26 Sinhala 16,335 0.39%
27 Assyrian
Neo-Aramaic 		16,070 0.38%
28 Telugu 15,655 0.37%
29 Wu
(Shanghainese) 		12,920 0.31%
30 Malay 12,275 0.29%
31 Sindhi 11,860 0.28%
32 Kurdish 11,705 0.28%
33 Hakka 10,910 0.26%
34 Other 101,295 2.4%
Total 4,217,365 100%

Religion

[edit]

Geographic distribution

[edit]

Provinces and territories

[edit]

The Canadian population who reported full or partial Asian ethnic origin, according to the 1951 Canadian census, 1961 Canadian census, 2001 Canadian census, 2006 Canadian census, 2011 Canadian census, and 2016 Canadian census.

Asian Canadians by province and territory (1951–2016)
Province 2021 2016[5] 2011[90] 2006[89] 2001[88] 1961[79]: 5  1951[77]: 484 
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Ontario 3,571,265 25.10% 3,100,455 23.41% 2,604,590 20.59% 2,214,795 18.41% 1,682,890 14.91% 39,277 0.63% 22,138 0.48%
British Columbia 1,496,935 30.45% 1,312,445 28.78% 1,122,445 25.96% 975,550 23.94% 802,275 20.74% 40,299 2.47% 25,644 2.2%
Alberta 857,030 19.61% 756,335 19.01% 551,710 15.46% 398,025 12.22% 292,195 9.93% 12,303 0.92% 7,441 0.79%
Quebec 615,870 7.24% 563,150 7.07% 488,905 6.32% 426,815 5.74% 325,270 4.56% 14,801 0.28% 7,714 0.19%
Manitoba 219,725 16.37% 178,650 14.4% 126,600 10.78% 90,415 7.98% 72,040 6.53% 4,177 0.45% 2,867 0.37%
Saskatchewan 125,215 10.72% 99,125 9.26% 55,095 5.46% 28,700 3.01% 23,750 2.47% 4,925 0.53% 2,976 0.36%
Nova Scotia 63,965 6.59% 42,495 4.68% 31,875 3.52% 24,595 2.72% 20,505 2.28% 2,979 0.4% 2,266 0.37%
New Brunswick 30,340 3.91% 19,410 2.66% 14,535 1.98% 11,785 1.64% 7,885 1.1% 1,343 0.22% 903 0.18%
Newfoundland and Labrador 12,680 2.48% 10,090 1.97% 6,310 1.24% 5,660 1.13% 3,655 0.72% 933 0.2% 512 0.14%
Prince Edward Island 11,815 7.65% 6,485 4.64% 4,360 3.17% 1,775 1.32% 1,250 0.94% 295 0.28% 279 0.28%
Northwest Territories 3,680 8.96% 3,125 7.6% 2,165 5.31% 2,025 4.93% 1,465 3.95% 69[j] 0.3%[j] 23[j] 0.14%[j]
Yukon 4,525 11.24% 2,855 8.13% 2,205 6.62% 1,270 4.21% 950 3.33% 152 1.04% 64 0.7%
Nunavut 800 2.17% 615 1.73% 425 1.34% 280 0.95% 160 0.6% N/A[j] N/A[j] N/A[j] N/A[j]
Canada 7,013,845 18.96% 6,095,235 17.69% 5,011,220 15.25% 4,181,755 13.39% 3,234,290 10.91% 121,753 0.67% 72,827 0.52%
Asian Canadians by province and territory (1871–1941)
Province 1941
[72]: 685  		1931
[72]: 685  		1921
[72]: 685  		1911
[72]: 685  		1901
[72]: 685  		1881
[72]: 685  		1871
[72]: 685 
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
British Columbia 42,472 5.19% 50,951 7.34% 39,739 7.57% 30,864 9.39% 19,624 10.98% 4,350 8.8% N/A N/A
Ontario 12,020 0.32% 12,297 0.36% 9,171 0.31% 4,573 0.18% 1,288 0.06% 22 0% 1 0%
Quebec 7,119 0.21% 7,034 0.24% 5,218 0.22% 2,343 0.12% 1,600 0.1% 7 0% 0 0%
Alberta 4,204 0.53% 4,929 0.67% 4,300 0.73% 2,103 0.56% 249 0.34% N/A N/A N/A N/A
Saskatchewan 3,420 0.38% 4,419 0.48% 3,333 0.44% 1,238 0.25% 52 0.06% N/A N/A N/A N/A
Nova Scotia 1,927 0.33% 1,559 0.3% 1,500 0.29% 675 0.14% 363 0.08% 0 0% 3 0%
Manitoba 1,788 0.25% 2,255 0.32% 1,715 0.28% 970 0.21% 258 0.1% 4 0.01% N/A N/A
New Brunswick 836 0.18% 873 0.21% 807 0.21% 336 0.1% 252 0.08% 0 0% 0 0%
Prince Edward Island 228 0.24% 166 0.19% 98 0.11% 29 0.03% 49 0.05% 0 0% N/A N/A
Yukon 41 0.83% 54 1.28% 33 0.79% 82 0.96% 96 0.35% N/A N/A N/A N/A
Northwest Territories 9[j] 0.07%[j] 11[j] 0.12%[j] 0[j] 0%[j] 0 [j] 0%[j] 0 [j] 0%[j] 0 [j] 0%[j] N/A N/A
Canada 74,064 0.64% 84,548 0.81% 65,914 0.75% 43,213 0.6% 23,731 0.44% 4,383 0.1% 4 0%

Subdivisions with significant Asian Canadian populations

[edit]
Chinatown, Vancouver
Vaisakhi Parade 2017, Punjabi Market (Little India), Vancouver
Turkish Canadians at the Victoria Day Parade 2005 in Downtown Victoria
Korean businesses and restaurants along Bloor Street in Toronto's Koreatown.
North York storefronts offering Iranian cuisine. North York has the largest West Asian population in Toronto.
Gerrard India Bazaar (Little India) in Toronto.

Source: Canada 2016 Census

National average: 17.7%

Alberta

[edit]

British Columbia

[edit]

Manitoba

[edit]

Ontario

[edit]

Québec

[edit]

Saskatchewan

[edit]


See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c 2021 census: Total responses of all Asian geographical origin population groups classified under "Ethnic or cultural origin" and "Visible minority" sections including:
    "South Asian" (2,571,400 persons);[2]
    "Asian, n.o.s." (226,220 persons);[1]
    "West and Central Asian and Middle Eastern" (1,086,230 persons);[1]
    "East and Southeast Asian" (3,447,030 persons);[1]
    "Asian origins, n.i.e." (730 persons).[1]
  2. ^ a b Chinese: 1,715,770 persons[2]
    Korean: 218,140 persons[2]
    Japanese: 129,425 persons[1]
    Hong Konger: 81,680 persons[1]
    Taiwanese: 64,020 persons[1]
    Tibetan: 9,350 persons[1]
    Mongolian: 9,090 persons[1]
    Hmong: 1,030 persons[1]
    Other East Asian: 61,300 persons[1]
  3. ^ a b Filipino: 957,355 persons[2]
    Bruneian: 1,040 persons[1]
    Burmese: 9,150 persons[1]
    Cambodian: 41,950 persons[1]
    Chin: 1,745 persons[1]
    Igorot: 7,535 persons[1]
    Ilocano: 25,575 persons[1]
    Indonesian: 26,330 persons[1]
    Javanese: 1,015[1]
    Karen: 6,050 persons[1]
    Laotian: 25,875 persons[1]
    Malay: 9,795 persons[1]
    Malaysian: 17,050 persons[1]
    Singaporean: 6,060 persons[1]
    Thai: 22,275 persons[1]
    Vietnamese: 275,530 persons[1]
  4. ^ Including Hongkongese
  5. ^ a b c Not otherwise specified
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Not included elsewhere
  7. ^ a b The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses.
  8. ^ a b Chaochow, Teochow, Fukien, Taiwanese
  9. ^ Including Kapampangan and Pampango
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Northwest Territories includes Nunavut, as the territory was not created until 1999.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (October 26, 2022). "Ethnic or cultural origin by gender and age: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (October 26, 2022). "Visible minority and population group by generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "Language". Census Profile, 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. November 29, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  4. ^ "Classification of visible minority". Statistics Canada. June 15, 2009. Archived from the original on July 18, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (June 17, 2019). "Ethnic Origin (279), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age (12) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census – 25% Sample Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  6. ^ Laurence J. C. Ma; Carolyn L. Cartier (2003). The Chinese Diaspora: Space, Place, Mobility, and Identity. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-1756-1.
  7. ^ Welch, Michael Patrick. "NOLA Filipino History Stretches for Centuries". New Orleans & Me. New Orleans: WWNO. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  8. ^ Fred Cordova "Filipinos: Forgotten Asian Americans, a Pictorial Essay/1763-circa-1963"
  9. ^ Claiming the Land, Dan Marshall, UBC Ph.D Thesis, 2002 (unpubl.)
  10. ^ McGowan's War, Donald J. Hauka, New Star Books, Vancouver (2000) ISBN 1-55420-001-6
  11. ^ Walton-Roberts and Hiebert, Immigration, Entrepreneurship, and the Family Archived 2014-10-18 at the Wayback Machine, p. 124.
  12. ^ "Sikh Heritage Month: The South Asian pioneers of Fraser Mills".
  13. ^ Das, p. 21 (Archive).
  14. ^ "History of Recent Arab Immigration to Canada".
  15. ^ "History of Recent Arab Immigration to Canada". www.canadianarabcommunity.com. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  16. ^ "About us". www.saintgeorgemontreal.org. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  17. ^ a b Ouzounian 2003, p. 331.
  18. ^ a b c d Vartanian, Hrag (June 2000). "Armenians in Ontario and Quebec: The Long Road to Canada". AGBU Magazine. Armenian General Benevolent Union. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019.
  19. ^ Marshall, Allison (2018). Bayanihan and Belonging: Filipinos and Religion in Canada. University of Toronto Press. p. 59. ISBN 9781487517526.
  20. ^ "Historiana Volume 10 Number 2" (PDF). June 9, 2001. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  21. ^ Howard, Irene (1973). "Bowen Island, 1872–1972". Bowen Island, B.C.: Bowen Island Historians. p. 36.
  22. ^ Lim, Imogene L. "Pacific Entry, Pacific Century: Chinatowns and Chinese Canadian History" (Chapter 2). In: Lee, Josephine D., Imogene L. Lim, and Yuko Matsukawa (editors). Re/collecting Early Asian America: Essays in Cultural History. Temple University Press, 2002. ISBN 1439901201, 9781439901205. Start: 15. CITED: p. 18.
  23. ^ Harris, Cole. The Resettlement of British Columbia: Essays on Colonialism and Geographical Change. University of British Columbia Press, Nov 1, 2011. ISBN 0774842563, 9780774842563. p. 145.
  24. ^ "How Canada tried to bar the "yellow peril"" (PDF). Maclean's. July 1, 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 18, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  25. ^ Lisa Rose Mar (2010). Brokering Belonging: Chinese in Canada's Exclusion Era, 1885–1945. Oxford University Press. p. 112. ISBN 9780199780051.
  26. ^ Singh, Hira, p. 94[permanent dead link‍] (Archive).
  27. ^ "FIRST SIKH TEMPLE IN NORTH AMERICA". March 10, 2021. The first Sikhs came to Golden about 1902, arriving to work in the sawmill of the Columbia River Lumber Company. When the Sikhs arrived in Golden the community was in its infancy and the sawmill had recently opened. The Columbia River Lumber Company recognized the value of these tall strong men and had no problem with the men. They hired them to work in the lumberyard, planer, and sawmill. The first documented proof that we have of South Asians of the Sikh faith being residents of Golden is a copy of a telegram sent to G.T. Bradshaw, Chief of Police, New Westminster from Colin Cameron, Chief of Police, Golden, BC on July 20, 1902. It was sent collect and reads: Geha Singh of Golden sent a telegram to Santa Singh care of Small and Bucklin for one thousand dollars.
  28. ^ Abu-Laban 1983, 76.
  29. ^ "Lebanese Community". esask.uregina.ca. Retrieved September 15, 2022. People of Lebanese/ Syrian origin began immigrating to Saskatchewan in the early 1900s (some immigrants were born in what was western Syria prior to the border between Lebanon and Syria being redrawn after WORLD WAR I—those towns are now part of Lebanon—whereas the designation "Lebanese" is typically used by current families when referring to their heritage). A number of families settled in the southeast, in or near communities such as RADVILLE, CEYLON, LAMPMAN, and North Portal. Over forty individuals and families homesteaded or started businesses in small towns in the SWIFT CURRENT district. Some only remained for a year or two before moving to larger centres, but many stayed and became part of the mosaic of life in rural Saskatchewan.
  30. ^ "Salloum's Arab Cooking a delicious look at little-known Sask. history". leaderpost.com. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  31. ^ "Old Stock Canadians: Arab Settlers in Western Canada". activehistory.ca. October 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2022. The southern Saskatchewan plains where Ganam was born, and that he dashed across, were home to many Arab settlers. Most referred to themselves and were known as Syrians, meaning that they came from an area encompassing present-day Syria and Lebanon. Arab settlers from Syria/Lebanon arrived in Western Canada starting well over one hundred years ago. They settled throughout the West but there was a significant cluster of Arabs in southern Saskatchewan on arid marginal land in the heart of Captain John Palliser's infamous triangle that he identified as an extension of the Great American Desert. Most were from eastern Lebanon and they included Muslims and Christians. They were generally single men, arriving on the Canadian prairies through the United States. Others arrived as families. Some filed on homesteads of 160 acres, and "proved up," receiving title to their land and persisted for decades. Others, like thousands of would-be homesteaders, deserted or abandoned their land. Some purchased land that they farmed. Aside from farming, Arab settlers operated general stores, bakeries and cafes in towns throughout the West and some were traveling merchants, visiting the isolated farms on foot or by horse and wagon in summer, and sleigh in winter.
  32. ^ "Regional Cultures: Lebanese". laclabichemuseum.com. March 9, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2022. Lac La Biche is the site of one of the first permanent Lebanese settlements in Alberta and has the highest percentage of Lebanese people per capita (14%) in the province. Most of the Lebanese community today have roots in either Lala or Kherbet Rouha, both located in the Beqaa Valley. The first Lebanese immigrants in Alberta, Ali Abouchadi (Alexander Hamilton) and his uncle Sine Abouchadi, came to Canada in 1905 intending to work the gold rush. Unfortunately, they arrived too late. By 1906, they were peddling goods between Edmonton and Lac La Biche; eventually, Sine opened a general store in Lac La Biche, which his nephew took over in 1913.
  33. ^ "Multicultural Canada". multiculturalcanada.ca. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2007.
  34. ^ "Sikhs celebrate history in Golden". April 26, 2018. The original temple in Golden sat on a corner of a lot, in the south western area of town at the end of the street looking toward where Rona is now. The largest influx of men came from South Asia around 1905, which would be the time period that the temple in Golden would have began services. In 1926, a fire burned the timber limits of the Columbia River Lumber Company, where the South Asian men worked.
  35. ^ "Golden's Sikh heritage recognized on new Stop of Interest sign". November 9, 2016. We acknowledge the Gurdwara in Golden as the first in B.C., and quite likely the first in North America," said Pyara Lotay, on behalf of the local Sikh community. "We thank the B.C. government for recognizing Golden's Sikh pioneers and their place of worship with this Stop of Interest.
  36. ^ "Golden Gurdwara is recognized for its historical significance". June 7, 2017. The original temple sat on the corner of a lot, which is now owned by Gurmit Manhas, at the end of the street past the School Board Office looking towards the Rona. Plans are being put together to erect a kiosk there that would share information about the original building, the first South Asian people to Canada, the importance of the Gurdwara to the Sikh people and the history of why they left and what brought them back. The largest influx of men came from South Asia in about 1905–06, which would be the time period that the Temple would have begun services. In 1926 a fire burned the timber limits of the Columbia River Lumber Company, where all the South Asian men worked and the men left for the coast having no work to do. When the forest started to grow back the men came back and soon it was necessary to build the present Gurdwara on 13th Street South.
  37. ^ "First Sikh Temple • Vancouver Heritage Foundation".
  38. ^ "New Westminster Sikh temple celebrates 100-year anniversary". March 3, 2019. The Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar is one of the oldest Sikh temples in the country and its members are celebrating the milestone anniversary by reflecting on its historic significance to the local Sikh community. The temple was actually founded more than 100 years ago when a pioneering Sikh named Bhai Bishan Singh bought a house next door to where the building is now. Singh paid $250 for the house, which served as a place of worship until the congregation grew too large. In 1919, Singh bought the neighbouring lot at 347 Wood Street and the Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar was born.
  39. ^ "New Westminster Sikh temple welcomes community to celebrate its centennial anniversary". February 27, 2019. The Khalsa Diwan Society New Westminster is inviting community members to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar in Queensborough. Since opening in 1919, the temple has become an integral part of the Queensborough and New Westminster communities, and has provided a place for Sikhs from New Westminster and the Lower Mainland to gather and to worship. "It is starting up on Thursday and it will be four days, with the main event on Sunday. It's open to anyone within the community – in Queensborough and in New West. It's to show support, learn about each other and the heritage," said Jag Sall, a member of the committee that's organizing the celebration. "I don't think a lot of people know that the Sikh community has been in Queensborough for over 100 years, and/or the gurdwara itself has been there that long. Not just the Sikh community, but other communities in Queensborough have been living there for a century."
  40. ^ "The Gurdwara of New West Shares a Century of Stories". January 23, 2020. Every Sunday in 1919, the Sikhs of Queensborough on the Fraser River would stroll over to the house of Bhai Bishan Singh for worship. Singh, like many Punjabi immigrants, settled in the New Westminster neighbourhood because he worked upriver at a sawmill. A devout Sikh, he had the holy scripture installed in his home, the Guru Granth Sahib. Singh was a bachelor and gave much of his earnings to the local Khalsa Diwan Society, which in 1908 had built B.C.'s first gurdwara, the Sikh place of worship, in Vancouver. In March 1919, Singh helped the Sikhs of New Westminster start a gurdwara of their own. For $250, Singh bought the property next door and donated it to the society. Later, he would donate his house as well.
  41. ^ "Paldi Sikh Temple in Cowichan celebrating 100 years". June 26, 2019. The town's cultural centres were the Japanese community hall and the Sikh Temple, which officially opened July 1, 1919, to coincide with Dominion Day.
  42. ^ "Sikh temple celebrates 100 years of acceptance in Vancouver Island ghost town". June 29, 2019. Paldi's Gurdwara was built in 1919 and soon became one of the most important fixtures of the community, even surviving several town fires.
  43. ^ "THE FOUNDING OF PALDI". In 1919, Mayo built a Sikh temple, or a gurdwara.
  44. ^ "PALDI: Town soaked in Sikh History". Wherever there are five or more Sikh's there will be Sikh Temple even just a spare room in some ones house. Therefore it was only that once the natural that once the mill and bunkhouses were erected the next building should be a Temple. The first official Temple in Paldi was built in 1919. On the same spot where the present Temple is located.
  45. ^ Nayar, The Punjabis in British Columbia, page 15.
  46. ^ Nayar, The Punjabis in British Columbia, p. 29.
  47. ^ a b Aksan 1999, 1276.
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Bibliography

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Further reading

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