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 South Asian ancestry % by census division in Canada (2021) | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Southern Ontario, Southwestern BC, Central Alberta, Southern Quebec, Most urban areas | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
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| Related ethnic groups | |
South Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to South Asia or the Indian subcontinent, which includes the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. The term also includes immigrants from South Asian communities in East and South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Mauritius, and the rest of the world.[3]
The term South Asian Canadian is a subgroup of Asian Canadian and, according to Statistics Canada, can further be divided by nationality, such as Indian Canadian, Pakistani Canadian, and Bangladeshi Canadian.[4] As of 2021, South Asians (7.1 percent) comprise the second largest pan-ethnic group in Canada after Europeans (69.8 percent).[1][5]
According to the 2021 Canadian census, 2,571,400 Canadians had South Asian geographical origins, constituting approximately 7.1 percent of the total population and 35.1 percent of the total Asian Canadian population.[1] This makes them the largest visible minority group in Canada comprising 26.7 percent of the visible minority population, followed by Chinese and Black Canadians respectively.[1]
The largest South Asian Canadian communities are found in the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta, while metropolitan areas with large populations include Toronto (1,182,485), Vancouver (369,295), Calgary (153,200), Edmonton (123,340), and Montréal (121,260).[1] Over half (60.3 percent) of South Asian Canadians live in two metropolitan areas as of 2021; Greater Toronto and Metro Vancouver.[1]
Terminology
The term "Asian" in Canadian English generally refers to people from East and Southeast Asia. This differs from the British English definition of Asian, which includes South Asia but excludes East and Southeast Asians terming them as Oriental or East Asian instead. Thus, the term South Asian has come into common usage referring to Asians hailing from the Indian subcontinent.[6] This includes countries such as India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. It does not include nations such as Myanmar, which have been considered South Asian in some other connotations of the term.
Canadians from South Asia may also be identified by their country of origin such as Indian or Pakistani. They may also be identified by their specific cultural backgrounds, for example Punjabi or Tamil. The term "East Indian" was a historical term used widely in Canada to refer to people hailing from India as opposed to Aboriginal peoples who are also sometimes referred to as "Indian". This term has been made less common after the introduction of the general term "South Asian" in areas with significant Indian Canadian populations like Toronto.
Brown[7][8][9][10][11] and Desi are also terms used to refer to Canadians from South Asia. However, these are avoided in more formal contexts due to their ambiguity and the possibility of being seen as derogatory.
Statistics Canada lists both cultural backgrounds like Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayali, and Goan in addition to cultures like East Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, and Pakistani.
History
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Late 19th century
The first known record of Canadians from South Asia dates back to 1897, when Punjabi Sikh soldiers arrived in British Columbia while transiting from India to the United Kingdom during the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.[12]
Early 20th century
With an estimated population of 100 by 1900,[12] further South Asian settlement waves to Canada occurred in the few years after the turn of the 20th century; after hearing stories about the high wages being paid in British Columbia, some Punjabi British Indian soldiers stationed in Hong Kong and other British-controlled Chinese cities emigrated to Canada and settled in the western province.[12] Attracted by these wages, more Sikh men began immigrating into British Columbia, working mainly in industries such as mining, logging and railroads. Many of these men, who arrived without their families, settled in Greater Vancouver, Vancouver Island, interior BC, northern BC, and the Fraser Valley in what is now Abbotsford, British Columbia.
A notable moment in early South Asian Canadian history was in 1902 when Punjabi Sikh settlers first arrived in Golden, British Columbia to work at the Columbia River Lumber Company.[13] These early settlers built the first Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) in Canada and North America in 1905,[14][15] which would later be destroyed by fire in 1926.[16]
In 1907, the government in British Columbia enacted laws limiting the rights and privileges of Canadians from South Asian countries, which prevented them from voting and denied them access to holding political office, public sector jobs and other professions,[17] which prompted many to migrate south from Vancouver across the border to the United States, where some became the victims of the 1907 Bellingham riots.[18] In early 1908, the continuous journey regulation was enacted in an effort to prevent South Asians from immigrating to Canada. The law required that people arriving from South Asia in Canada must "come from the country of their birth or citizenship by a continuous journey and or through tickets purchased before leaving their country of their birth or nationality." This prevented Indian soldiers stationed in Hong Kong and Japan from immigrating to Canada.
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The second Gurdwara to be built in Canada was in 1908 in Kitsilano (Vancouver) and aimed at serving a growing number of Punjabi Sikh settlers who worked at nearby sawmills along False Creek at the time.[19] By the end of 1908, 5,209 Canadians were from South Asia, nearly all of whom were Punjabi settled across British Columbia. Many South Asian Canadians soon began to face discrimination and xenophobia from those of European (Anglo-British) background, experiencing similar treatment to the East Asian Canadian community, such as the Japanese and Chinese.[20][21] European settlers viewed Asian settlers, and included the Indians, as a threat to the European nature of Canada.[22] In addition, many Asian migrants had to work for lower wages, which agitated the European (Anglo-British) majority of the time.[23]
By 1911, the third Gurdwara to be built in Canada opened in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Built in 1911, the Gur Sikh Temple was designated as a national historic site of Canada in 2002 and is the oldest existing Gurdwara in the country, as the Golden temple built in 1905 was destroyed by fire in 1926, and the Kitsilano temple built in 1908 would later close and be demolished in 1970, as the temple society relocating to the newly built Gurdwara on Ross Street, in South Vancouver. Later, the fourth Gurdwara to be built Canada was established in 1912 in Victoria on Topaz Avenue, while the fifth soon followed at the Fraser Mills (Coquitlam) settlement in 1913.
A notable example of early anti-South Asian sentiments as a result of continuous journey regulation in Canada was the Komagata Maru incident. A successful Punjabi fisherman living in British Columbia attempting to circumnavigate the continuous journey regulation chartered a Japanese steamship known as the Komagata Maru to travel from Kolkata, India to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The ship made stops in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Yokohama, where it picked up more Eastern-Caucasian settlers. In total the ship carried 376 passengers, of whom 337 were Sikh, 27 were Muslim and 12 were Hindu. All passengers originated from the Punjab and were registered as British subjects. Upon arriving in Vancouver though the ship was not permitted to dock with several British Columbian politicians such as Conservative MP Henry Herbert Stevens campaigning against their right to dock.
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Some South Asian Canadians already settled in Canada began launching "shore committees" led by Husain Rahim (Gujarati Canadian),[24] Muhammad Akbar (Punjabi Canadian),[24] and Sohan Lal Pathak. These were to protest against the decision not to allow the settlers on the Komagata Maru no to enter Canada. Passengers threatened to start a rebellion, or ghadar, if they were forced back to India. The shore committee raised $22,000 and launched a test case legal battle in the British Columbia Court of Appeal. On July 6, the court unanimously decided they had no authority to interfere with the Department of Immigration and Colonization and had ordered the harbor tug Sea Lion to pull the ship out to sea on July 19. This resulted in rioting between the settlers on board and police officers. The ship was ultimately forced back to India on July 23, with only 20 of the settlers being allowed to stay in Canada.
With most Punjabi Sikhs continuing to seek employment in the forestry industry, at various sawmills across British Columbia, more Gurdwaras continued to be built, including one at the Queensborough (New Westminster) settlement in 1919,[25][26][27] soon followed by another at the Paldi (Vancouver Island) settlement, also in 1919.[28][29][30][31]
Mid-20th century
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 100 | — |
| 1908 | 5,209 | +5109.0% |
| 1911 | 2,342 | −55.0% |
| 1921 | 1,016 | −56.6% |
| 1931 | 1,400 | +37.8% |
| 1941 | 1,465 | +4.6% |
| 1951 | 2,148 | +46.6% |
| 1961 | 6,774 | +215.4% |
| 1971 | 67,925 | +902.7% |
| 1981 | 223,235 | +228.6% |
| 1986 | 314,305 | +40.8% |
| 1991 | 505,515 | +60.8% |
| 1996 | 723,345 | +43.1% |
| 2001 | 963,190 | +33.2% |
| 2006 | 1,316,770 | +36.7% |
| 2011 | 1,615,925 | +22.7% |
| 2016 | 1,963,330 | +21.5% |
| 2021 | 2,571,400 | +31.0% |
| Source: Statistics Canada [32]: 16 [33][34]: 353 [35]: 225 [36]: 236 [37]: 503 [38]: 272 [39]: 2 [40]: 484 [41]: 5 [42]: 2 [43]: 26 [44]: 31&68 [45]: 34 [46]: 47 [47]: 68 [48]: 11 [49][50][51][52][53][1] | ||
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The continuous journey regulation provision remained in effect until 1947, as did most other anti-South Asian laws. However pressure from the community resulted in the Canadian government allowing the wife and children of their Canadian husband/father to immigrate. However, a population stagnation ensued and by the mid-1920s the South Asian population in Canada stood at just over 1,000 persons.[54] Despite their declining numbers, Canadians from South Asia grew wealthier. They began to acquire their own lumber mills which were used to produce wood and sawdust for consumer purchase. During the Great Depression the tight-knit nature of the South Asian community mitigated many of the economic effects the depression had on other communities in Canada.
South Asian Canadians were granted the right to vote in 1947. Furthermore, as a result of the recent independence of several South Asian nations such as India, Pakistan and Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka, the Canadian government created annual immigration quotas which were to allow 150 Indians, 100 Pakistanis, and 50 Sri Lankans the right to immigrate to Canada each year.
In 1950, 25 years after settling in Canada and nine years after moving to British Columbia from Toronto, Naranjan "Giani" Singh Grewall became the first individual of South Asian ancestry in Canada and North America to be elected to public office after successfully running for a position on the board of commissioners in Mission, BC against six other candidates.[55][56][57][58][59] Grewall was re-elected to the board of commissioners in 1952 and by 1954, was elected to become mayor of Mission.[55][58][59]
"Thank you all citizens of Mission City It is a credit to this community to elect the first East Indian to public office in the history of our great dominion. It shows your broad-mindedness, tolerance and consideration.".[57]
— Notice by Naranjan Singh Grewall in the local Mission newspaper following his election to public office, 1950
A millwright and union official, and known as a sportsman and humanitarian philanthropist as well as a lumberman, Grewall eventually established himself as one of the largest employers and most influential business leaders in the northern Fraser Valley, owned six sawmills and was active in community affairs serving on the boards or as chairman of a variety of organizations, and was instrumental in helping create Mission's municipal tree farm.[55][57][58][59][60] With strong pro-labour beliefs despite his role as a mill-owner, after a scandal embroiled the provincial Ministry of Forestry under the-then Social Credit party government, he referred to holders of forest management licenses across British Columbia as Timber Maharajahs, and cautioned that within a decade, three or four giant corporations would predominantly control the entire industry in the province, echoing similarities to the archaic zamindar system in South Asia.[58][60] He later ran unsuccessfully for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (the precursor of today's New Democratic Party) in the Dewdney riding in the provincial election of 1956.[59][60]
While by the 1950s, South Asian Canadians had gained respect in business in British Columbia primarily for their work in owning sawmills and aiding the development of the provincial forestry industry, racism still existed especially in the upper echelons of society.[58][61] As such, during the campaign period and in the aftermath of running for MLA in 1956, Grewall received personal threats, while the six mills he owned along with his house were all set ablaze by arsonists.[61][a] One year later, on July 17, 1957, while on a business trip, he was suspiciously found dead in a Seattle motel, having been shot in the head.[a][b][61][62] Grewall Street in Mission was named in his honour.[63]
Every kid in the North Fraser, who thinks he or she is being discriminated against, should read the Grewall story and the challenges he faced.[a]
— Former BC premier Dave Barrett on Naranjan Singh Grewall
Beginning in the 1960s racial and national restrictions were removed from Canada's immigration policies resulting in the explosive growth of South Asian community. The South Asian Canadian community grew from just 6,774 in 1961 to 67,925 just ten years later in 1971.
Many of the South Asians arriving during the 1970s were not directly from South Asia but instead from Southeast Africa. Discrimination in many African Great Lakes nations like Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania against Indians was growing as a result of their status as a market-dominant minority. This is when a minority group controls a disproportionately large segment of the economy due to their over representation in business and above average education. One notable incident of this was Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's expulsion of 80,000 Ugandan Indians as part of his economic war to allow indigenous Ugandans to regain control of the countries economy. As a result, nearly 20,000 Indians fled to Canada, some directly others after temperately settling in other nations in Africa. They eventually grew to be the first sizable non-Sikh South Asian community in Canada. Shenaaz Nanji's Governor General's Award-nominated novel Child of Dandelions deals with the expulsion of Indians from Uganda and their immigration to Canada.
Around this time the Indo-Caribbeans (mainly from Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as some from Suriname, Jamaica, and other Caribbean nations) Indo-Fijians, Indo-South Africans, and Indo-Mauritians began immigrating to Canada as well, settling mainly in Toronto, Ontario. Many of these South Asians were the descendants of indentured laborers were brought by the colonial British government to replace the slaves on plantations. After completing their work terms the majority remained in these countries. Many of the immigrants who arrived from the Caribbean, the African Great Lakes, Mauritius, South Africa, and Fiji were educated professionals who upon arriving in Canada worked in the service sector or began their own businesses. As opposed to the industrial sector which mainly early Sikhs worked in.
Late 20th century
Prior to the wide-scale urbanization of the South Asian Canadian community, the most statistically significant populations existed across rural British Columbia; a legacy of previous waves of immigration and settlement patterns that existed earlier in the 20th century through until the latter quarter of the century, as Punjabi Canadians continued to seek employment in the provincial forestry sector at sawmills throughout Vancouver Island and the interior. During the period between 1981 and 1996, small towns including Fort St. James (South Asians formed 22 percent of the total population), Quesnel (14 percent), Lake Cowichan (13 percent), Merritt (13 percent), Williams Lake (12 percent), Tahsis (10 percent), Golden (10 percent), 100 Mile House (10 percent), Squamish (9 percent), and Lillooet (9 percent) had the largest South Asian concentrations in Canada.[64][65][66][67][68][69]
Starting in the 1980s South Asians arriving directly from the Indian subcontinent began to increase noticeably as well. In 1985 around 15,000 immigrants arrived from South Asia annually in 2012 that number was at 46,000 annually. In addition to the South Asians still arriving from other parts of the world like the Persian Gulf, the Caribbean, the African Great Lakes, and Fiji. As a result, the South Asian community began forming growing enclaves particularly in the Vancouver and Toronto area. Some notable areas are Gerrard Street, Brampton and several neighborhoods in Mississauga, Scarborough, Markham, and Etobicoke in the Greater Toronto Area. In British Columbia notable South Asian districts include South Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, and Abbotsford.
In 1986, following the British Columbia provincial election, Moe Sihota became the first Canadian of South Asian ancestry to be elected to provincial parliament. Sihota, who was born in Duncan, British Columbia in 1955, ran as the NDP candidate in the riding of Esquimalt-Port Renfrew two years after being involved in municipal politics, as he was elected as an Alderman for the city of Esquimalt in 1984.
The rise of the Khalistan movement, the secessionist movement that sought to make the Indian state of Punjab a separate nation for Sikhs. As a result, during the 1980s many Sikhs living in Canada began to involve themselves in the Khalistan movement by organizing protests in Canada and sending money to fund separatist groups back in India. These protests reached their peak in 1984 when the Indian Army raided the Golden Temple, which was followed by the assassination of then–Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards and finally by anti-Sikh riots throughout North India. Several major anti-Indian protests occurred in Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto with angry protesters forcing their way into the Indian consulate in Toronto carrying knives and smashing photos of Indira Gandhi. On June 23, 1985, several Canadian Sikhs led by Talwinder Singh Parmar were arrested for the Air India Flight 182 bombing, which killed 329 people. It is considered the worst terrorist attack to ever be carried out by Canadians.
With the outbreak of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 1983 many Sri Lankan Tamils were forced to flee persecution and violence and see refuge in Canada. This made Sri Lankan Canadians the fifth largest source of immigrants during the 1990s. It also made Canada home to One of the largest Tamil population in the Western World with 140,000 Tamils living in Canada, primarily Toronto and Montreal. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), or Tamil Tigers, though officially recognized as terrorist group in Canada still receives widespread support among the Sri Lankan Tamil Canadian community.
In 1990, Baltej Singh Dhillon, a Canadian Sikh challenged the traditional dress code of the RCMP in order to accommodate his turban, a mandatory article of clothing worn by many Sikh men. The caused controversy with opponents arguing that the uniform of the RCMP was a national icon to be preserved, while proponents pointed out that Sikh soldiers served in the British army during World War I and World War II and also served in many Canadian police forces. On March 16, 1990, the policy was amended to include Sikhs to serve while wearing a turban.
21st century
Beginning in the 21st century the makeup of Canadians from South Asia had changed greatly. Sikhs had gone from making up nearly 90% of Canadian South Asians during much of the early−mid 20th century to just 28% in 2001. This is as a result of a more diverse background of South Asians immigrating to Canada as opposed to the primarily Sikh and Punjabi immigrants of the early 20th century. In 2006 total South Asian Canadians outnumbered the specific numbers of Chinese Canadians as the largest visible minority group in Canada with 25% of visible minorities. On February 24, 2000 Ujjal Dosanjh became the first Canadian of South Asian origin to become a provincial premier when he became premier of British Columbia as leader of New Democratic Party.
During the first decade of the 21st century, India remained the second largest source of invited immigrants behind China but ahead of the Philippines. Pakistan was also among the top ten sources of invited immigrants to Canada. In addition, India is also the second largest source of foreign students in Canada with 28,939 invited Indian students studying in Canada in 2012 compared with 1,747 in 2000. In 2007, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Toronto opened in Toronto, making it the largest Hindu temple in Canada. The Aga Khan Museum, built and run by Ismaili Muslims, was opened in 2014. Several other notable places of worship have been built by Canadians from South Asia including the Khalsa Darbar Gurdwara and Baitul Islam mosque.
South Asian Canadian culture also began to move into the Canadian mainstream in the 21st century. Bhangra music, a genre of music from India that combines traditional Punjabi music with pop and hip hop and other Western musical styles has grown increasingly popular throughout Canada. Canadians of all backgrounds enjoy and are also familiar with Bollywood. In 2011 the 12th International Indian Film Academy Awards were hosted in Toronto, which was home to nearly 832,000 Canadians of South Asian ancestry, one of the largest in the Western World. How to Be Indie, a Canadian children's television program produced by YTV, revolves around the daughter of Hindu Indian immigrants living in Toronto, and has since been syndicated in the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Latin America and elsewhere. The Indian Canadian comedian Russell Peters has used his heritage as material for many of his jokes.
In the 2015 Canadian federal election, 16 South Asian Members of Parliament (MPs) were elected from Ontario alone, which is the most in Canadian history.[70] Four South Asian ministers have been appointed to the Canadian cabinet, which includes the Minister of National Defence, Harjit Sajjan.[71]
Demography
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
| Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Population
| Year | Population | % of total population |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 [12] |
>100 | 0.002% |
| 1908 [32] |
5,209 | 0.079% |
| 1911 [34]: 354 [32] |
2,342 | 0.032% |
| 1921 [34]: 356 [32] |
1,016 | 0.012% |
| 1931 [37]: 503 [32] |
1,400 | 0.013% |
| 1941 [38]: 272 [39]: 2 [32] |
1,465 | 0.013% |
| 1951 [40]: 484 [32] |
2,148 | 0.015% |
| 1961 [41]: 5 [32] |
6,774 | 0.037% |
| 1971 [42]: 2 [32] |
67,925 | 0.315% |
| 1981 [43]: 7 [44]: 68 |
223,235 | 0.927% |
| 1986 [45]: 34 [44]: 31 |
314,305 | 1.256% |
| 1991 [47]: 68 [48]: 11 |
505,515 | 1.873% |
| 1996 [49] |
723,345 | 2.536% |
| 2001 [50] |
963,190 | 3.25% |
| 2006 [51] |
1,316,770 | 4.215% |
| 2011 [52] |
1,615,925 | 4.919% |
| 2016 [53] |
1,963,330 | 5.697% |
| 2021 [1] |
2,571,400 | 7.078% |
The first confirmed reports on the Canadians from India were in 1908 which put the East-Indian Canadian population at 5,209. The overwhelming majority of whom were Sikh, male, and settled in British Columbia. However, as a result of laws which restricted the immigration the community had declined to only 1,100 by the mid-1920s. By 1961, right before racial restriction were respectfully removed from Canada's immigration policy, Canadians of South Asian descent rose to 6,774. With racial quotas being removed (invitations extended) during the 1960s the number of Canadians of South Asian ancestry created the diverse population we see into the present day.
According to the 2021 census, 2,322,895 Canadians had South Asian origins and 2,571,400 other Canadians were classified as belonging to the visible minority group, generally termed, South Asian.[1][72] The growth of the population is mainly attributed to sustained invitations of immigration from South Asian nations. According to a 2022 study conducted by Statistics Canada, Canadians with South Asian ancestry will grow to between 4.7 and 6.5 million by 2041 or 11.0 to 12.5 percent of the Canadian population overall.[73][74]
National origins
| National origin | 2021[1][72] | 2016[53] | 2011[52] | 2006[51] | 2001[50] | 1996[49] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
| India[c] | 1,858,755 | 72.29% | 1,582,215 | 80.59% | 1,321,360 | 81.77% | 1,072,380 | 81.44% | 813,730 | 84.48% | 638,345 | 88.25% |
| Pakistan | 303,260 | 11.79% | 215,560 | 10.98% | 155,310 | 9.61% | 124,730 | 9.47% | 74,015 | 7.68% | 38,655 | 5.34% |
| Sri Lanka | 144,490 | 5.62% | 152,595 | 7.77% | 139,415 | 8.63% | 103,625 | 7.87% | 61,315 | 6.37% | 46,585 | 6.44% |
| Bangladesh | 75,425 | 2.93% | 45,940 | 2.34% | 34,205 | 2.12% | 24,595 | 1.87% | 13,080 | 1.36% | 6,955 | 0.96% |
| Nepal | 21,975 | 0.85% | 17,140 | 0.87% | 9,780 | 0.61% | 3,780 | 0.29% | 1,170 | 0.12% | — | — |
| Bhutan | 3,215 | 0.13% | 3,600 | 0.18% | — | — | — | — | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=South_Asian_Canadian||||