Vietnamese Canadians
Total population | |
---|---|
220,425[1] (0.6% of Canada's population) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Toronto, Peel Region, York Region, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Montreal | |
Languages | |
Vietnamese, Canadian English, Quebec French, Vietnamese French | |
Religion | |
Mahayana Buddhism and Catholicism[2] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Vietnamese, Vietnamese Americans, Vietnamese people in France |
'Vietnamese Canadians (Vietnamese: Người Canada gốc Việt) are Canadian citizens who have ancestry from Vietnam. There are 157,450 Vietnamese Canadians, many of whom reside in the provinces of Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec.
History and demographics
Mainstream Vietnamese communities began arriving in Canada in the mid-1970s and early 1980s as refugees or boat people following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, though a couple thousand were already living in Quebec before then, most of whom were students. Most new arrivees were sponsored by groups of individuals, temples, and churches and settled in areas around Southern Ontario, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Montreal, Quebec. Between 1975 and 1985, 110,000 settled in Canada (23,000 in Ontario; 13,000 in Quebec; 8,000 in Alberta; 7,000 British Columbia; 5,000 in Manitoba; 3,000 in Saskatchewan; and 2,000 in the Maritime provinces). As time passed, most eventually settled in urban centres like Vancouver (2.2% Vietnamese), Calgary (1.6% Vietnamese), Montreal (1.6% Vietnamese), Edmonton (1.6% Vietnamese), Toronto (1.4% Vietnamese), Ottawa (1.0% Vietnamese), and Hamilton (0.8% Vietnamese).[3]
The next wave of Vietnamese migration came in the late 1980s and 1990s as both refugees and immigrant classes of post-war Vietnam entered Canada. These groups settled in urban areas, in particular Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary.
Vietnamese immigrants settled mainly in the East Vancouver and in Montreal's downtown and south shore. In Toronto they have settled in the city's Chinatown area near Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West or to the west in Mississauga.
Notable Canadians of Vietnamese origin
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Flag_of_South_Vietnam.svg/220px-Flag_of_South_Vietnam.svg.png)
Artists
- Kim Nguyen, film director and screenwriter
- Tommy Ton, photographer
Athletes
- Carol Huynh, freestyle wrestler, Olympic gold medallist
- Nam Nguyen, figure skater
Business
- Minh Le, software engineer, created the popular first-person shooter Counter Strike
- Trần Triệu Quân, engineer, businessman and president of the International Taekwon-Do Federation
Humanitarians
- Paul Nguyen, activist, journalist, and documentarian
- Phan Thị Kim Phúc, humanitarian, UNESCO ambassador, Vietnam War survivor
Entertainers
- Chuckie Akenz (aka Phong Nguyen), songwriter and rapper
- Christy Chung, Hong Kong based actress
- Tam Doan, singer
- David Huynh, Los Angeles based actor
- Chế Linh, singer
- Nguyen Ngoc Ngan, writer, essayist, and host of Paris By Night
- Mayko Nguyen, actress
- Dang Thai Son, pianist
- Siu Ta, actress (This is Wonderland)
- Kim Thúy, writer, food critic, and lawyer
Fashion
- Thien LE, fashion designer and founder of the Thien Le
Foods
- Don Duong, chef cook, top Gold Medal at the prestigious 2004 Culinary Olympics, won 1st Prize in both divisions in the last biannual Bakery Showcase
Politicians
- Wayne Cao, Progressive Conservative MLA for Calgary Fort (1997–2011)
- Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac, former federal Member of Parliament for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot and member of the Bloc Québécois
- Hoang Mai, federal Member of Parliament for Brossard—La Prairie (NDP)
- Thanh Hai Ngo, first Canadian Senator (Conservative) of Vietnamese descent
- Hung Pham, Progressive Conservative MLA for Calgary Montrose (1993–2008)
- Anne Minh-Thu Quach, federal Member of Parliament for Beauharnois—Salaberry (NDP)
Others
- Charles Chi, Entrepreneur, chancellor of Carleton University
Business
In Canada, local Vietnamese media is dominated by:
- Viet Nam Thoi Bao - Edmonton magazine[4]
- Thoi Bao - Toronto newspaper[5]
- Thoi Bao TV - Toronto[6]
- Thoi Moi - Toronto newspaper[7]
- Little Saigon Canada - Toronto newspaper
- Vietnamville - Montreal[8]
- Phố Việt Montreal, printed newspaper of Vietnamville.ca
- Viethomes Magazine - Toronto magazine[9]
- Culture Magazin - Canadian magazine[10]
In Vancouver, a large population of Vietnamese Canadians are self-employed; they're business owners of a variety of businesses, stores and restaurants throughout the city. Vietnamese Canadians also brought their cuisine and phở has become a popular food throughout the city. Vietnamese Canadians also resides in Central City, Surrey, which is a rapidly growing suburb of Metro Vancouver.
In the Toronto area, there are 19 Vietnamese owned supermarkets.
In Montreal there are about 40,000 Vietnamese Canadian population among highest median income and education of Vietnamese Canadians in major cities. There are more than 100 Vietnamese restaurants, hundreds of small size manufacturers of different products from clothing to technology, about 80 pharmacies and hundreds of doctors, dentists, over a thousand scientists, engineers and technicians, about sixty convenient stores and groceries. Since November 2006, Ngo Van Tan has started a daring project to promote and build the first Vietnam Town in Canada called Vietnamville near metro Jean Talon including St-Denis, Jean Talon, St-Hubert and Belanger streets with over 130 businesses already opened in the area. Investment opportunities in Vietnam Town are open to Vietnamese worldwide.
See also
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2] (Statistics Canada, Census 2001 - Selected Demographic and Cultural Characteristics (105), Selected Ethnic Groups (100), Age Groups (6), Sex (3) and Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories and Census Metropolitan Areas 1 , 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data)
- ^ NHS Profile, Canada Census
- ^ Viet Nam Thoi Bao
- ^ Thoi Bao
- ^ Thoi Bao TV
- ^ Thoi Moi
- ^ Vietnamville
- ^ Viethomes Magazine
- ^ Culture Magazin
External links
- Vietnamese Canadian organizations
- Vietnamese Canadian Federation (Non-profit organization)
- Fondation VinaVie Humanitaire (Non-profit organization)
- Vietnamese Canadian Community of Ottawa (Non-profit organization)
- Radio Tieng Noi Tre (Non-profit organization)
- Youths In Action Sports (Non-profit organization)
- About Vietnamese Canadians
- History of Vietnamese Canadians(Source: the Canada's Digital Collections)
- Civilization.ca - Boat People No Longer: Vietnamese Canadians - Religion(the Canadian Museum of Civilization)
- Vietnamese(Discover Vancouver)
- Welcome to Canada(CBC Archives, the )
- Sponsoring refugees: Canadians reach out(CBC Archives)
- Multicultural Canada website Vietnamese Boat People collection including photographs, correspondence, books, magazines, oral histories, newsletters, personal items, and organizational records.