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Coptic Canadians

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Coptic Canadians
Total population
16,255 (by religion, 2011 Census)[1]
35,000 (estimated by Canadian Coptic Association)
Regions with significant populations
Ontario: Mississauga, Toronto (North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke), Hamilton, Kitchener; Quebec: Montreal, Laval, Quebec City; etc.
Languages
Canadian English · Canadian French
Mainly older people: Arabic (Egyptian Arabic, Sudanese Arabic, Libyan Arabic)
Liturgical: Coptic language.
Religion
Coptic Orthodoxy, Coptic Catholicism, Coptic Evangelical and Coptic Atheism

Copts in Canada are Canadian citizens of Coptic descent or people of Coptic descent residing in Canada.

Population and distribution

According to the 2011 Census there were 3,570 Canadians who reported Coptic ancestry (this figure combines single and multiple ethnic origin responses). Of this number, 755 Canadians reported Coptic as their only ancestry, whereas 2,810 reported Coptic as one of multiple ancestries.[2]

In the same survey, 16,255 Canadians said they belonged to the Coptic Orthodox church. Of this number, 12,645 were immigrants and 3,365 were born in Canada.[1]

The Canadian Coptic Association estimates that there are 35,000 Copts living in Canada; according to CBC News, "if other sects with strong ties to the Coptic community are included, the figure is possibly higher still."[3] (Note: There is likely a typo in the CBC article where an extra zero was added, thereby erroneous stating that there are 350,000 Copts in Canada).

Toronto and the surrounding metropolitan region have the largest concentration of Copts in Canada.[3]

Immigration history

St. George & St. Rueiss Coptic Orthodox Church in Toronto, Ontario.
St. Mina and St. Kyrillos Coptic Orthodox Church in Mississauga, Ontario.

The immigration of the Copts to Canada might have started as early as the late 1950s. Due to an increasing amount of discrimination towards Copts in Egypt in the 1970s, many decided to emigrate in order to escape the rising racial tensions. Canada has been receiving a greater number of these immigrants, and the number of Coptic immigrants into Canada has been growing ever since.[4]

Coptic Orthodox Church in Canada

Main article: Coptic Orthodox Church in Canada

In 1964, St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church was established in Toronto; this was the first Coptic church established in the Coptic diaspora.[5]

In 2002, a survey showed 22 Coptic Orthodox parishes in Canada, indicating growth.[6]

In 2011, there were five Coptic Orthodox churches in Montreal.[7]

Notable Coptic Canadians

See also

References

  1. ^ a b https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=0&PID=105399&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2013&THEME=95&VID=0. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ Statistics Canada. "2011 National Household Survey: Data tables". Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b Coptic Christians in Canada, CBC News (January 3, 2011).
  4. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/15/world/muslims-fury-falls-on-egypt-s-christians.html
  5. ^ Saad Michael Saad, "Coptic Civilization in the Diaspora" in Coptic Civilization: Two Thousand Years of Christianity in Egypt (ed. Gawdat Gabra: American University in Cairo Press, 2014), p. 291.
  6. ^ Charles D. Smith, "The Egyptian Copts: Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Definition of Identity for a Religious Minority" in Nationalism and Minority Identities in Islamic Societies (ed. Maya Shatzmiller: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005), p. 60.
  7. ^ Coptic churches in Canada on alert, CBC News (January 4, 2011).
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