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East Asian Canadians

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
East Asian Canadians
East Asian ancestry % in Canada (2021)
Total population
2,289,805[1][2][a][b]
6.3%of the total Canadian population (2021)
Regions with significant populations
Southern Ontario,Metro Vancouver,Central Alberta,Montreal,Most urban areas
Languages
Canadian English·Canadian French·
Mandarin·Cantonese·Korean·Japanese·Mongolian·Min Nan·Tibetan
Other East Asian Languages
Religion
Buddhism·Chinese folk religion·Christianity·Confucianism·Shintoism·Taoism·Irreligion
Related ethnic groups
East Asian diaspora
Chinese labourers working on theCanadian Pacific Railway,1884
Founding members of the Canadian Japanese Association at the Japanese Canadian War Memorial in Vancouver, 1920.

East Asian CanadiansareCanadianswho were either born in or can trace theirancestrytoEast Asia.East Asian Canadians are also a subgroup ofAsian Canadians.According toStatistics Canada,East Asian Canadians are consideredvisible minoritiesand can be further divided by on the basis of both ethnicity and nationality, such asChinese Canadian,Hong Kong Canadian,Japanese Canadian,Korean Canadian,Mongolian Canadian,Taiwanese Canadian,orTibetan Canadian,as seen on demi-decadalcensus data.

According to the2021 Canadian census,2,289,805 Canadians had trace their ancestry to East Asia, constituting 6.3 percent of the total population and 31.2 percent of the total Asian Canadian population.[1][2][a][b]Additionally as of 2021, East Asians comprise the third largestpan-ethnicgroup in Canada afterEuropeans(69.8 percent)[3]andSouth Asians(7.1 percent).[2]

Terminology[edit]

For Canadian government census purposes and contemporary Canadian parlance, East Asian Canadians are typically identified and referred under the term "Asian"; popular usage of this term in Canada generally excludes bothWestandSouth Asians,both groups with ancestral origins in the Middle East and in the Indian subcontinent respectively, and instead solely referring to individuals who trace their ancestry to theEast Asian mainland.

History[edit]

East Asian Canadian
Population History[b]
YearPop.±%
20011,314,225—
20061,628,260+23.9%
20111,817,590+11.6%
20162,148,230+18.2%
20212,289,805[a]+6.6%
Source:Statistics Canada
[1][2][4][5][6][7]

18th century[edit]

The first record ofEast Asiansin what is known as Canada today can be dated back to 1788 when renegade British CaptainJohn Meareshired a group of Chinese carpenters from Macau and employed them to build a ship atNootka Sound,Vancouver Island,British Columbia.After the outpost was seized by Spanish forces, the eventual whereabouts of the carpenters was largely unknown.

19th century[edit]

In the mid-late 19th century, early settlers from East Asia, namely China and Japan, emigrated to Canada, predominantly settling in the province of British Columbia.

During the mid-19th century, many Chinese arrived to take part in theBritish Columbia gold rushes.Beginning in 1858, early settlers formedVictoria's Chinatownand other Chinese communities inNew Westminster,Yale,andLillooet.Estimates indicate that about 1/3 of the non-native population of the Fraser goldfields was Chinese.[8][9]Later, the construction of theCanadian Pacific Railwayprompted another wave of immigration from the East Asian country. Mainly hailing fromGuangdong,the Chinese helped build theCanadian Pacific Railwaythrough theFraser Canyon.

ManyJapanesepeople 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 asStevestonalong the pacific coast.

By 1884,Nanaimo,New Westminster, Yale, andVictoriahad the largest Chinese populations in the province. Other settlements such asQuesnelle Forkswere majority Chinese and many early immigrants from the East Asian country settled on Vancouver Island, most notably inCumberland.[10]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.[11]

In 1885, soon after the construction on the railway was completed, the federal government passed theChinese Immigration Act,whereby the government began to charge a substantialhead taxfor each Chinese person trying to immigrate to Canada. A decade later, the fear of the "Yellow Peril"prompted the government ofMackenzie Bowellto pass an act forbidding any East Asian Canadian from voting or holding office.[12]

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 establishedChinatownsand 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.[13]

20th century[edit]

Immigration restrictions stemming fromanti-East Asian sentiment in Canadacontinued during the early 20th century. Parliament voted to increase the Chinesehead taxto $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.

Heightened anti-East Asian sentiment resulted in the infamousanti-East Asian pogrom in Vancouverin 1907. Spurred by similarriots in Bellinghamtargeting Punjabi Sikh South Asian settlers, TheAsiatic Exclusion Leagueorganized 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, namely Chinese and Japanese Canadians were beaten up.

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

According to the1931 Canadian census,subdivisions includingRichmond(East Asians formed 40 percent of the total population),SkeenaCoast(37 percent),Fraser Mills(34 percent),Cumberland(32 percent),Maple Ridge(27 percent), WestVancouver Island(27 percent),Mission(24 percent),Bella CoolaCoast (24 percent),Duncan(18 percent), andPitt Meadows(17 percent) had the largest East Asian concentrations in British Columbia.[14]: 482 

East Asian Canadian Population in British Columbia (1931 census)[14]: 482 
Subdivision Type
Population Percentage
Vancouver Urban 21,339 8.65%
Victoria Urban 3,999 10.23%
Richmond Urban 3,262 39.87%
Maple Ridge Urban 1,351 27.39%
SouthVancouver Island Rural 1,315 8.56%
New Westminster Urban 1,200 6.85%
SkeenaCoast Rural 955 36.96%
Mission Urban 868 24.16%
Bella CoolaCoast Rural 865 24.11%
Upper Okanagan&Shuswap Rural 809 9.17%
Cumberland Urban 769 32.43%
WestVancouver Island Rural 614 26.92%
Surrey Urban 596 7.11%
Delta Urban 567 15.29%
Howe Sound Rural 529 10.96%
South East CoastVancouver Island Rural 523 9.81%
Nicola Rural 475 8.26%
North Cowichan Urban 449 13.64%
North East CoastVancouver Island Rural 442 6.08%
Saanich Urban 432 3.33%
Nanaimo Urban 420 6.49%
Prince Rupert Urban 390 6.14%
Duncan Urban 337 18.29%
Kamloops Urban 329 5.33%
Kelowna Urban 322 6.92%
NorthVancouver Island Rural 279 11.08%
Burnaby Urban 266 1.04%
Saltspring&Islands Rural 266 9.65%
Knight Inlet Coast Rural 228 17.18%
Vernon Urban 218 5.54%
Port Alberni Urban 217 9.21%
Fraser Mills Urban 210 34.09%
Matsqui Rural 200 5.22%
Powell RiverCoast Rural 195 3.21%
Nelson Urban 176 2.94%
Coquitlam Urban 175 3.59%
Upper Kootenay River Rural 173 2.27%
Portland Canal-Nass Rural 167 6.18%
Similkameen River Rural 154 2.48%
Lower Fraser Valley Rural 151 3.2%
Port Moody Urban 155 12.3%
Cranbrook Urban 147 4.79%
Pitt Meadows Urban 145 17.43%
North Vancouver Rural 126 2.63%
Chilliwack Rural 119 2.05%
Armstrong Urban 107 10.82%
Revelstoke Urban 106 3.87%
Trail Urban 102 1.35%
Upper Columbia River Rural 93 2.34%
Kootenay & Slocan Lakes Rural 91 0.95%
Summerland Urban 88 4.91%
Langley Urban 86 1.55%
West Vancouver Urban 86 1.8%
University Endowment Area Urban 83 14.43%
Coldstream Urban 78 9%
Prince George Urban 77 3.11%
Cariboo Rural 75 3.97%
North Thompson Rural 74 3.24%
Oak Bay Urban 73 1.24%
Chilliwack Urban 68 2.76%
North Columbia River Rural 65 3.4%
Bridge-Lillooet Rural 62 3.39%
Shuswap Rural 62 1.36%
Penticton Urban 60 1.29%
Spallumcheen Urban 52 3.19%
Merritt Urban 48 3.7%
Skeena-Bulkley Rural 42 1.61%
North Vancouver Urban 39 0.46%
Quesnel Urban 39 8.74%
Kent Urban 35 2.9%
Elk & Flathead Rivers Rural 35 0.73%
South Columbia River Rural 34 0.47%
Rossland Urban 33 1.16%
Salmon Arm Urban 33 3.98%
Kaslo Urban 32 6.12%
Port Coquitlam Urban 32 2.44%
Kettle River Rural 27 0.81%
North Coast Rural 27 8.88%
Courtenay Urban 26 2.13%
Fernie Urban 25 0.92%
Queen Charlotte Islands Rural 25 2.69%
Salmon Arm Rural 25 1.5%
Smithers Urban 25 2.5%
Esquimalt Urban 23 0.7%
South Chilcotin Rural 20 8.77%
Ladysmith Urban 18 1.25%
Kiskatinaw River Rural 15 0.32%
Sumas Urban 15 0.83%
Glenmore Urban 14 4.62%
North Chilcotin Rural 14 1.98%
Nechako-Fraser-Parsnip Rural 12 0.46%
Abbotsford Urban 10 1.96%
Creston Urban 10 1.44%
East Lillooet Rural 10 1%
Grand Forks Urban 10 0.77%
Hope Urban 9 2.41%
Enderby Urban 8 1.44%
Terrace Urban 8 2.27%
Williams Lake Urban 8 1.99%
Alberni Urban 7 1%
Stikine-Liard Rural 7 2.33%
Atlin Lake Rural 5 1.02%
Burns Lake Urban 5 2.48%
Fraser-Canoe Rural 5 0.21%
Vanderhoof Urban 5 1.64%
Upper Nechako Rural 3 0.16%
Babine-Stuart-Takla Lakes Rural 2 0.32%
Beaton River Rural 2 0.12%
Silverton Urban 2 0.74%
Tadanac Urban 2 0.43%
Greenwood Urban 1 0.58%
British Columbia Total 49,344 7.11%

World War IIprompted the federal government used theWar Measures Actto 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.

UnlikeKorean Americanswho 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.[15]However, with the 1966 reform ofCanadian immigrationlaws, South Korean immigration to Canada began to grow.[15]By 1969, there were an estimated 2000 Koreans in Canada.[16]

In the late 1990s,South Koreabecame the fifth-largest source of immigrants to Canada.[17]Torontohas the country's largest absolute number of Koreans, butVancouveris experiencing the highest rate of growth in its Korean population, with a 69% increase since 1996.Montrealwas the third most popular destination for Korean migrants during this period.[18]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.[19]One pair of researchers demonstrated that numbers of migrants were correlated with the exchange rate; the weakness of theCanadian dollarrelative to theUnited States dollarmeant that South Korean migrants bringing savings to Canada for investment would be relatively richer thanthose going to the United States.[20]Other factors suggested as drivers behind the growth of South Korean immigration to Canada included domestic anti-Americanism and the large presence of CanadianEnglish teachersin localhagwon.[21]

WhenHong Kongreverted to mainland Chinese rule, people emigrated and found new homes in Canada.

Demography[edit]

Ethnic and national origins[edit]

East Asian Canadians Demography by Ethnic and National Origins (2001−2021)
Ethnic/National
Origins 		2021[1][2] 2016[4] 2011[5] 2006[6] 2001[7]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Chinese 1,715,770 74.93% 1,769,1951 82.36% 1,487,5801 81.84% 1,346,5101 82.7% 1,094,7001 83.3%
Korean 218,140 9.53% 198,210 9.23% 168,890 9.29% 146,545 9% 101,715 7.74%
Japanese 129,425 5.65% 121,485 5.66% 109,740 6.04% 98,905 6.07% 85,230 6.49%
Hong Kong 81,680 3.57% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Taiwanese 64,020 2.8% 36,515 1.7% 30,330 1.67% 17,705 1.09% 18,080 1.38%
Tibetan 9,350 0.41% 8,040 0.37% 5,820 0.32% 4,275 0.26% 1,425 0.11%
Mongolian 9,090 0.4% 7,475 0.35% 5,355 0.29% 3,960 0.24% 1,675 0.13%
Hmong 1,030 0.04% 805 0.04% 830 0.05% 815 0.05% 595 0.05%
OtherEast
AsianOrigins 		61,300 2.68% 6,505 0.3% 9,045 0.5% 9,545 0.59% 10,805 0.82%
Total East Asian
Canadian Population[b] 		2,289,805 100% 2,148,230 100% 1,817,590 100% 1,628,260 100% 1,314,225 100%
1IncludingHong Kong Canadians.

Geographical distribution[edit]

Provinces & territories[edit]

East Asian Canadians byprovince and territory(2001−2016)[b]
Province 2016[4] 2011[5] 2006[6] 2001[7]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Ontario 1,008,780 7.62% 855,280 6.76% 767,160 6.38% 614,915 5.45%
British Columbia 679,015 14.89% 586,545 13.56% 539,350 13.24% 457,555 11.83%
Alberta 232,535 5.85% 191,305 5.36% 166,105 5.1% 129,590 4.41%
Quebec 140,235 1.76% 117,580 1.52% 105,245 1.42% 74,015 1.04%
Manitoba 37,825 3.05% 29,000 2.47% 23,200 2.05% 17,550 1.59%
Saskatchewan 22,950 2.14% 17,150 1.7% 12,775 1.34% 10,815 1.12%
Nova Scotia 12,570 1.38% 9,045 1% 6,720 0.74% 4,895 0.55%
New Brunswick 6,585 0.9% 5,345 0.73% 3,960 0.55% 2,430 0.34%
Newfoundland and Labrador 2,970 0.58% 2,275 0.45% 1,930 0.39% 1,260 0.25%
Prince Edward Island 3,105 2.22% 2,385 1.74% 475 0.35% 305 0.23%
Northwest Territories 715 1.74% 620 1.52% 530 1.29% 410 1.1%
Yukon 825 2.35% 920 2.76% 650 2.15% 365 1.28%
Nunavut 150 0.42% 110 0.35% 95 0.32% 55 0.21%
Canada 2,148,230 6.23% 1,817,590 5.53% 1,628,260 5.21% 1,314,225 4.43%

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^abcChinese: 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]
  2. ^abcdeStatistic includes combined population ofChinese Canadians,Korean Canadians,Japanese Canadians,Hong Kong CanadiansTaiwanese Canadians,Tibetan Canadians,Mongolian Canadians,Hmong Canadians,and Other East Asian Canadians.

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefghijkGovernment of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-10-26)."Ethnic or cultural origin by gender and age: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Retrieved2023-01-13.
  2. ^abcdefgGovernment of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-10-26)."Visible minority and population group by generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Retrieved2023-01-13.
  3. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-10-26)."The Canadian census: A rich portrait of the country's religious and ethnocultural diversity".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Retrieved2022-01-10.In 2021, just over 25 million people reported being White in the census, representing close to 70% of the total Canadian population. The vast majority reported being White only, while 2.4% also reported one or more other racialized groups.
  4. ^abcGovernment of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-06-17)."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.Retrieved2022-08-31.
  5. ^abcGovernment of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-01-23)."Ethnic Origin (264), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2011 National Household Survey".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Retrieved2022-08-31.
  6. ^abcGovernment of Canada, Statistics Canada (2020-05-01)."Ethnic Origin (247), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Retrieved2022-08-31.
  7. ^abcGovernment of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-12-23)."Ethnic Origin (232), Sex (3) and Single and Multiple Responses (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Retrieved2022-08-31.
  8. ^Claiming the Land, Dan Marshall, UBC Ph.D Thesis, 2002 (unpubl.)
  9. ^McGowan's War,Donald J. Hauka, New Star Books, Vancouver (2000)ISBN1-55420-001-6
  10. ^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.ISBN1439901201,9781439901205. Start:15.CITED: p.18.
  11. ^Harris, Cole.The Resettlement of British Columbia: Essays on Colonialism and Geographical Change.University of British Columbia Press,Nov 1, 2011.ISBN0774842563,9780774842563. p.145.
  12. ^"How Canada tried to bar the" yellow peril ""(PDF).Maclean's.1 July 1999. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 18 October 2015.Retrieved4 January2015.
  13. ^Lisa Rose Mar (2010).Brokering Belonging: Chinese in Canada's Exclusion Era, 1885-1945.Oxford University Press. p. 112.ISBN9780199780051.
  14. ^abGovernment of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-04-03)."Seventh census of Canada, 1931. v. 2. Population by areas".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Retrieved2023-12-30.
  15. ^abYoon 2006,p. 17
  16. ^Kim, Jung G (Spring–Summer 1982)."Korean-language press in Ontario".Polyphony: The Bulletin of the Multicultural History Society of Ontario.4(1): 82. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-09-24.Retrieved2022-09-19.
  17. ^Kwak 2004,p. 8
  18. ^Kwak 2004,p. 3
  19. ^Han & Ibbott 2005,p. 157
  20. ^Han & Ibbott 2005,p. 155
  21. ^Han & Ibbott 2005,p. 160

Sources[edit]

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