Latin American Canadians

Latin American Canadians (French: Canadiens d'Amérique latine; Portuguese: Canadenses da América Latina; Spanish: Canadienses Latinoamericanos) are Canadians who are descendants of people from countries of Latin America. The majority of Latin American Canadians are multilingual, primarily speaking Spanish or Portuguese. Most are fluent in one or both of Canada's two official languages, English and French. Spanish, Portuguese and French are Romance languages and share some similarities in morphology and syntax.

Latin American Canadians
Total population
447,325
(all, 2016 Census)[1]
1.3% of the total Canadian population (2016)
Regions with significant populations
Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Leamington, London, Kitchener, Winnipeg, Brandon, Laval, Burnaby, Sherbrooke, Red Deer
Languages
Canadian English, Canadian French, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Indigenous American languages
Religion
Predominantly Christianity (Roman Catholicism; minority Protestantism)
Related ethnic groups
Latin Americans, Spanish Canadians, Portuguese Canadians, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Native Americans

Latin American Canadians have made distinguished contributions to Canada in all major fields, including politics, the military, music, philosophy, sports, business and economy, and science.

The largest Latin American immigrant groups in Canada are Mexican Canadians, Colombian Canadians and Salvadoran Canadians.

Latin Americans comprise a heterogeneous variation of ancestral and racial origins that span from South and North America to Europe, Africa, and Asia. Therefore, a Latin American can be of any ancestry but the most frequent ancestral backgrounds found in the region are Mestizos, Whites and Native Americans. Blacks/Afro-Latinos, Arabs and Asians are also common.

History

The majority of Latin American Canadians are recent immigrants who arrived in the late 20th century from Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, Peru, and Brazil, with smaller communities from Chile, Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba, Guatemala, and elsewhere, with nearly all Latin American countries represented.[2] Reasons for immigrating include Canada's better economic opportunities and politics or civil war and political repression in their native countries, as in the case of Cubans fleeing from the Fidel Castro revolution, Chileans escaping from Augusto Pinochet's rule, Salvadorans fleeing from the Salvadoran Civil War, Peruvians escaping from the Juan Velasco Alvarado dictatorship, Dominicans opposed to the regimes of Rafael Trujillo and Joaquin Balaguer, Mexicans escaping from the Mexican Drug War, Colombians from the violence in their country and Venezuelans opposed to the rule of the Socialist Unity Party.

Demographics

As of the 2016 Canadian Census, the largest Latin American Canadian communities are in the census metropolitan areas of Toronto (132,945),[3] Montreal (110,200),[4] Vancouver (34,800),[5] Calgary (27,710),[6] Edmonton (18,755),[6] Ottawa (15,635),[3] and Hamilton (10,910).[3] The fastest growing are in the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia.

Latin American population of Canada by census year
Census Latin American population Change from previous census Total Canadian population Change from previous census Latin American population (%)
1996[7] 176,970 N/A 28,528,125 N/A 0.6%
2001[8] 216,980 22.6% 29,639,030 3.9% 0.7%
2006[9] 304,245 40.2% 31,241,030 5.4% 1%
2011[10] 381,280 25.3% 32,852,325 5.2% 1.2%
2016 447,325 17.3% 34,460,065 4.9% 1.3%

Latin American Canadian population in Canada by province or territory according to the Census
Province Latin Americans 2001 % 2001 Latin Americans 2011 % 2011 Latin Americans 2016 % 2016
Ontario 106,835 0.9% 172,560 1.4% 195,950 1.5%
Québec 59,520 0.8% 116,380 1.5% 133,920 1.7%
Alberta 18,745 0.6% 41,305 1.2% 55,090 1.4%
British Columbia 23,885 0.6% 35,465 0.8% 44,115 1.0%
Manitoba 4,775 0.4% 9,140 0.8% 9,895 0.8%
Saskatchewan 2,010 0.2% 3,255 0.3% 4,195 0.4%
Nova Scotia 520 0.0% 1,360 0.2% 1,685 0.2%
New Brunswick 425 0.0% 1,160 0.2% 1,285 0.2%
Prince Edward Island 75 0.1% 235 0.2% 255 0.2%
Newfoundland and Labrador 80 0.0% 185 0.0% 635 0.1%
Yukon 45 0.1% 105 0.3% 130 0.4%
Northwest Territories 60 0.2% 105 0.3% 135 0.3%
Nunavut 10 0.0% 30 0.1% 40 0.1%
Canada 216,980 0.8% 381,280 1.2% 447,325 1.3%

Immigration
Latin Americans in Canada by country of origin (2016)[11]
Region Number of immigrants % of Latin American immigrants % of total immigrant population
 Mexico 80,585 19% 1.1%
 Colombia 70,035 16.5% 0.9%
 El Salvador 48,075 11.3% 0.6%
 Peru 29,620 7% 0.4%
 Brazil 29,315 6.9% 0.4%
 Chile 26,705 6.3% 0.4%
 Venezuela 20,775 4.9% 0.3%
 Argentina 19,425 4.6% 0.3%
 Cuba 17,850 4.2% 0.2%
 Guatemala 17,270 4.1% 0.2%
 Ecuador 14,970 3.5% 0.2%
 Dominican Republic[a] 10,605 2.5% 0.2%
 Nicaragua 9,865 2.3% 0.1%
 Honduras 7,785 1.8% 0.1%
 Paraguay 7,300 1.7% 0.1%
 Uruguay 6,535 1.5% 0.1%
 Bolivia 4,395 1% 0.1%
 Costa Rica 3,945 0.9% 0.1%
 Panama 2,620 0.6% 0%
 Puerto Rico 505 0.1% 0%
Total Latin American immigrant population 423,585 100% 5.5%
Total immigrant population 7,482,860 N/A 100%
  • a The number of Dominican Republic immigrants compared to Dominica immigrants is not specified, due to both countries using the term "Dominican".

List of Canadian census subdivisions with Latin American populations higher than the national average

Source: Canada 2016 Census[12]
National average: 1.3%

Alberta

British Columbia

Manitoba

Ontario

Quebec

List of notable Latin American Canadians

Music

Writers

Entertainment

Photography

Politics

Science and technology

Sport

Cultural adjustment

In 2002, 82% of those who reported Latin American origin said they had a strong sense of belonging to Canada. At the same time, 57% said that they had a strong sense of belonging to their ethnic or cultural group.

People with Latin American origins are also active in Canadian society. For example, 66% of Canadians of Latin American origin who were eligible to vote did so in the 2000 federal election.[14]

2008 Montreal riots

The Latin American community of Quebec was brought into the spotlight when 18-year-old Honduran immigrant Fredy Alberto Villanueva was shot and killed by police officers of the SPVM on 9 August 2008.[15] The following day, what started out as a peaceful protest against the officers' actions in the borough of Montréal-Nord erupted into a riot in which neighborhood stores were looted, several cars and garbage cans were set on fire, one paramedic and two police officers were wounded and one female police officer was shot.[16]

See also

References
  1. Statistics Canada. "Census Profile, 2016 Census Canada [Country] and Canada [Country]". Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  2. Canada, Government of Canada, Statistics. "Statistics Canada: Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada Highlight Tables, 2006 Census". www12.statcan.ca.
  3. "Visible minority (Latin American), both sexes, age (total), Canada, Ontario and census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Canada 2016 Census. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  4. "Visible minority (Latin American), both sexes, age (total), Canada, Quebec and census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Canada 2016 Census. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  5. "Visible minority (Latin American), both sexes, age (total), Canada, British Columbia and census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Canada 2016 Census. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  6. "Visible minority (Latin American), both sexes, age (total), Canada, Alberta and census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Canada 2016 Census. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  7. , Total Population by Visible Minority Population(1), for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 1996
  8. , 2001 Community Profiles
  9. , Community Profiles from the 2006 Census, Statistics Canada - Province/Territory
  10. , National Household Survey (NHS) Profile, 2011
  11. Canada, Government of Canada, Statistics. "Immigrant population by selected places of birth, admission category and period of immigration, Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and areas outside of census metropolitan areas, 2016 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  12. , Canada 2016 Census Profile, 2016
  13. "Quien Es Ricardo Miranda? | Hola Calgary". Hola Calgary. 2017-04-09. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  14. "latin calgary". www.myfriendfernando.ca.
  15. "Family 'destroyed' by death of Montreal man shot by police". CBC News. 2008-08-15.
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2013-08-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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