Kurdish Canadians

Kurdish Canadians
Total population
16,315 (2016 census)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa
Languages
Kurdish, Canadian English, Canadian French
Religion
Majority Islam

(Sunni Muslim, Shia Islam)

with minorities of Kurdish Alevism, Yazidism, Yarsanism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Kurdish diaspora

Kurdish Canadians refers to people of Kurdish origin who are born in or living in Canada.

The Kurdish community in Canada is 16,315[1] based on the 2016 Canadian Census, among which the Iraqi Kurds make up the largest group of Kurds in Canada, exceeding the numbers of Kurds from Turkey, Iran and Syria.

In Canada, Kurdish immigration was largely the result of the Iran–Iraq War, the Gulf War and Syrian Civil War. Thus, many Iraqi Kurds immigrated to Canada due to the constant wars and suppression of Kurds and Shiites by the Iraqi government.[2] Many Kurds arrived in Canada in the 1980s and the 1990s, most of whom were refugees resettled by the Government of Canada. However, smaller numbers of them also immigrated to Canada in the 1960s and 1970s.

Like all Canadians with origins in West Asia, Kurdish Canadians are legally defined as a visible minority, irrespective of their appearance.[3][4]

2011 census

Provinces and territories Kurdish as mother tongue[5]
 Ontario 6,830
 Alberta 1,465
 British Columbia 1,435
 Quebec 1,415
 Manitoba 260
 Saskatchewan 110
 Nova Scotia 55
 New Brunswick 40
 Prince Edward Island 30

2016 census

Province or territory Number of Kurdish speakers[6]
 Ontario 8,095
 British Columbia 1,915
 Alberta 1,680
 Quebec 1,040
 Manitoba 440
 Saskatchewan 155
 Nova Scotia 125
 New Brunswick 55
 Newfoundland and Labrador 10
 Nunavut 5
 Northwest Territories
 Prince Edward Island
 Yukon

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Ethnic origin population". www12.statcan.gc.ca/. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  2. ^ Powell, John (2005). Encyclopedia of North American Immigration. Infobase Publishing. p. 152. ISBN 0-8160-4658-1.
  3. ^ "Classification of visible minority". Archived from the original on 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  4. ^ "Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity in Canada". 12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  5. ^ "2011 National Household Survey: Data tables". Statistics of Canada. Statistics of Canada. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Proportion of mother tongue responses for various regions in Canada, 2016 Census". Statistics of Canada. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
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