Canadians of
Asian ancestry comprise the largest
visible minority in Canada, at almost 10% of the Canadian population. Most "Asian Canadians" are concentrated in the urban areas of
southern Ontario, the
Greater Vancouver area,
Montréal, and other large
Canadian cities.
Demographics
Ethnicity
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Canadians of Chinese descent (1,094,700) - the largest Asian-Canadian subgroup, the eighth-largest ethnicity in all of Canada, and the largest Asian group in every province and territory, except
Manitoba
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Indo-Canadians (713,330)
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Canadians of Filipino descent (400,000)
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Vietnamese-Canadians (151,410)
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Lebanese Canadian (143,630)
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Korean-Canadians (101,715)
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Iranian-Canadians (88,225)
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Japanese-Canadians (85,230)
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Pakistani-Canadians (74,015)
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Afghanistani-Canadians (26,000)
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Laotian-Canadians (18,659)
Notable Asian Canadians
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Ken Adachi,
Toronto Star writer
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Mikey Bustos, singer,
Canadian Idol finalist of Filipino ancestry
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Raymond Chan, Member of Parliament
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Wei Chen, television news anchor (
CTV Television Network,
Toronto One)
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Ben Chin, former television news anchor (
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,
Toronto One) and now advisor to
Ontario Premier
Dalton McGuinty
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Ben Chiu, founder of
KillerApp.com
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Denise Chong, writer and economist
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Kevin Chong, novelist
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Tommy Chong, actor (''Cheech and Chong Up in Smoke'')
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Olivia Chow, Member of Parliament, and wife of
New Democratic Party leader
Jack Layton
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Wayson Choy, novelist
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Nathalie Chung, journalist and television news anchor of
Korean and
French-Canadian descent, (
RDI /
SRC)
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Adrienne Clarkson,
Governor General of Canada from 1999 to 2005, former journalist, novelist, publisher, winner of the
Gemini Award Best Host in a Light Information
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Monika Deol, television presenter of
Sikh ancestry
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Herb Dhaliwal,
Liberal Member of Parliament and cabinet minister of
Indian ancestry
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Lexa Doig Actress of Filipino ancestry
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Ujjal Dosanjh, former premier of
British Columbia, of Indian ancestry,
Liberal MP and federal Minister of Health
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Hedy Fry,
Liberal Member of Parliament
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Yasmeen Ghauri, is a Canadian
supermodel, of Pakistani descent
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Jian Ghomeshi, musician (
Moxy Früvous) and
CBC television host
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Gurmant Grewal and
Nina Grewal,
Conservative Members of Parliament, the first married couple to serve as MPs in the same session of Parliament
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Emm Gryner, singer-songwriter of mixed
Filipino ancestry
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Ian Hanomansing,
CBC journalist of Indian ancestry
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Tariq Hussain - is a Canadian singer-songwriter and radio personality of Pakistani descent. Currently a host for
CBC Radio 3.
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David Huynh, actor, mix of Chinese and Vietnamese ancestry
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Robert Ito, actor
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Rahim Jaffer, politician of Pakistani ancestry
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Ron Josol, stand-up comedian and TV host of Filipino ancestry
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Paul Kariya,
NHL star of partial
Japanese ancestry
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Wajid Khan - is a Canadian businessman and politician. He is a current member of the
Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of
Mississauga — Streetsville for the
Conservative Party of Canada. He is also the special advisor of the Prime Minister of Canada for the Middle East and South Asia.
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Arsinée Khanjian, actress and wife of
Atom Egoyan
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Gail Kim,
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler of Korean heritage
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Tanya Kim, CTV Personality, Host of ''
eTalk Daily'' (with
Ben Mulroney)
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Joy Kogawa, writer of
Japanese ancestry
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Kristin Kreuk, actress born to a Chinese mother
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Jenny Kwan,
British Columbia MLA
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Norman Kwong,
Lieutenant governor of
Alberta
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Katie Lai, actress
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Larissa Lai, writer
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Evelyn Lau, poet and novelist
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Jeannie Lee,
CBC journalist
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Sook-Yin Lee, musician, television (
MuchMusic) and radio (
CBC Radio One) personality
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Sophia Leung,
Liberal Member of Parliament
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Linlyn Lue, actress
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Hazel Mae, sports broadcaster of Filipino descent
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Shaun Majumder, comedian
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Gurbax Malhi,
Liberal Member of Parliament
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Inky Mark,
Conservative Member of Parliament
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Deepa Mehta, film director of Indian ancestry
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Roy Miki, poet of
Japanese ancestry
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Bharati Mukherjee, novelist
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Sharon Navarro, newscaster/reporter of Filipino descent
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Zarqa Nawaz, a freelance writer, broadcaster, and filmmaker of Pakistani descent. creator and writer of a popular Canadian CBC sitcom called ''
Little Mosque on the Prairie''
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Sandra Oh, actor of
Korean ancestry, who starred in the
film version of ''The
Autobiography of
Evelyn Lau'' She also stars on the hit TV show, "Grey's Anatomy" as Cristina Yang.
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Natsuko Ohama, an actor of Japanese ancestry
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Ruth Ozeki, novelist
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Rey Pagtakhan, former
Liberal Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister
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Alex Pagulayan, billiards world champion of Filipino origin
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Jon Kimura Parker, Classical pianist and recording artist of Japanese ancestry
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Russell Peters, comedian of Anglo-Indian ancestry
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Vivienne Poy,
Senator
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Keanu Reeves, actor of partial Chinese and Hawaiian ancestry
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Kerri Sakamoto, novelist of Japanese ancestry
★ Eric San, musician and turntablist who records as
Kid Koala
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Shyam Selvadurai, novelist
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Tetsuro Shigematsu,
CBC radio host
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Jaspreet Singh, Author
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Ashwin Sood, drummer for (and husband of)
Sarah McLachlan, of
Indian descent
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Lillian Suh, Chemist
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Alfred Sung, fashion designer
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Hannah Sung,
MuchMusic videographer
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David Suzuki, scientist and
television personality of Japanese ancestry
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Siu Ta, actress (''This is Wonderland'')
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Harinder Takhar,
Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament, currently Minister of Transportation
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Jennifer Tilly and
Meg Tilly, actresses of mixed Chinese ancestry
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David Usher, singer-songwriter of mixed
Thai ancestry
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M.G. Vassanji, novelist of
Indian descent, although born in
Kenya
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Adnan Virk, anchorman of
The Score, of Pakistani descent.
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Fred Wah, poet and novelist
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Jan Wong,
Globe & Mail reporter
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Jean Yoon, poet and playwright
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Christine Yoshikawa, classical pianist and recording artist of Japanese ancestry
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George Nozuka, singer/songwriter. New artist.
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Ida Chong,
British Columbia Cabinet Minister,
CGA
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Alan Lowe, Victoria BC, Mayor,
architect
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Norman Kwong,
Alberta,
Lieutenant-Governor, former
Canadian Football League (
CFL) player, &
National Hockey League (
NHL) team executive
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David Lam, former
British Columbia Lieutenant-Governor, lawyer, real estate tycoon,
Uvic David Lam Auditorium is named after him
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Zillur Rahman John,
Bangladeshi Canadian, Internationally renowned Mime and pantomime Artiste,Director,Teacher,Author of several Mime and Pantomime Books and Researcher of Non-Verbal art.
In
2002, Asian Canadians were especially concerned for their security when several Asian women and girls were harassed, some seriously attacked or even killed. (See
International student)
See also
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Demographics of Canada
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Immigration to Canada
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Asian American
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Asian Argentine
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Asian Australian
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British Asian
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Desi
★ ''For more Asian Canadians of Chinese ancestry, see
Chinese Canadians.''
★ ''For more Asian Canadians specifically of Taiwanese ancestry, see
Taiwanese Canadians.''
External links
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Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
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2001 Statistics I
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Arts, Literature, Culture
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2001 Statistics II
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Information for South Asians and Indians in Canada
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A Community platform for asians living in Canada