East Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to East Asia. East Asian Canadians are also a subgroup of Asian Canadians. According to Statistics Canada, East Asian Canadians are considered visible minorities and can be further divided by on the basis of both ethnicity and nationality, such as Chinese Canadian, Hong Kong Canadian, Japanese Canadian, Korean Canadian, Mongolian Canadian, Taiwanese Canadian, or Tibetan Canadian, as seen on demi-decadal census data.
According to the 2021 Canadian census, 2,288,775 Canadians had trace their ancestry to East Asia, constituting 6.3 percent of the total population and 31.2 percent of the total Asian Canadian population. Additionally as of 2021, East Asians comprise the third largest pan-ethnic group in Canada after Europeans (69.8 percent) and South Asians (7.1 percent).
Terminology For Canadian government census purposes and contemporary Canadian parlance, East Asian Canadians are typically identified and referred under the term "Asian"; popular usage of this term in Canada generally excludes both South and West Asians, both groups with ancestral origins in the Middle East and in the Indian subcontinent respectively, and instead solely referring to individuals who trace their ancestry to the East Asian mainland.
History
18th century The first record of East Asians in what is known as Canada today can be dated back to 1788 when renegade British Captain John Meares hired a group of Chinese carpenters from Macau and employed them to build a ship at Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. After the outpost was seized by Spanish forces, the eventual whereabouts of the carpenters was largely unknown.
19th century In the mid-late 19th century, early settlers from East Asia, namely China and Japan, emigrated to Canada, predominantly settling in the province of British Columbia.
During the mid-19th century, many Chinese arrived to take part in the British Columbia gold rushes. Beginning in 1858, early settlers formed Victoria's Chinatown and other Chinese communities in New Westminster, Yale, and Lillooet. Estimates indicate that about 1/3 of the non-native population of the Fraser goldfields was Chinese.Claiming the Land, Dan Marshall, UBC Ph.D Thesis, 2002 (unpubl.)McGowan's War, Donald J. Hauka, New Star Books, Vancouver (2000) Later, the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway prompted another wave of immigration from China. Mainly hailing from Guangdong, the Chinese helped build the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Fraser Canyon.
Many Japanese people also arrived in Canada during the mid to late 19th century and became fishermen and merchants in British Columbia. Early immigrants from Japan most notably worked in canneries such as Steveston along the pacific coast.
By 1884, Nanaimo, New Westminster, Yale, and Victoria had the largest Chinese populations in the province. Other settlements such as Quesnelle Forks were majority Chinese and many early immigrants from there settled on Vancouver Island, most notably in Cumberland.Lim, Imogene L. "Pacific Entry, Pacific Century: Chinatowns and Chinese Canadian History" (Chapter 2). In: Lee, Josephine D., Imogene L. Lim, and Yuko Matsukawa (editors). Re/collecting Early Asian America: Essays in Cultural History. Temple University Press, 2002. , 9781439901205. Start: 15. CITED: p. 18. In addition to work on the railway, most Chinese in the late 19th century British Columbia lived among other Chinese and worked in market gardens, coal mines, sawmills, and salmon canneries.Harris, Cole. The Resettlement of British Columbia: Essays on Colonialism and Geographical Change. University of British Columbia Press, Nov 1, 2011. , 9780774842563. p. 145.
In 1885, soon after the construction on the railway was completed, the federal government passed the Chinese Immigration Act, whereby the government began to charge a substantial head tax for each Chinese person trying to immigrate to Canada. A decade later, the fear of the "Yellow Peril" prompted the government of Mackenzie Bowell to pass an act forbidding any East Asian Canadian from voting or holding office.
Many Chinese workers settled in Canada after the railway was constructed, however most could not bring the rest of their families, including immediate relatives, due to government restrictions and enormous processing fees. They established Chinatowns and societies in undesirable sections of the cities, such as East Pender Street in Vancouver, which had been the focus of the early city's red-light district until Chinese merchants took over the area from the 1890s onwards.
20th century Immigration restrictions stemming from anti-East Asian sentiment in Canada continued during the early 20th century. Parliament voted to increase the Chinese head tax to $500 in 1902; this temporarily caused Chinese immigration to Canada to stop. However, in following years, Chinese immigration to Canada recommenced as many saved up money to pay the head tax.
Heightened anti-East Asian sentiment resulted in the infamous anti-East Asian pogrom in Vancouver in 1907. Spurred by similar riots in Bellingham targeting Punjabi Sikh South Asian settlers, the Asiatic Exclusion League organized attacks against homes and businesses owned by East Asian immigrants under the slogan "White Canada Forever!"; though no one was killed, much property damage was done and numerous East Asian Canadians, namely Chinese and Japanese Canadians were beaten up.
In 1923, the federal government passed the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, which banned all Chinese immigration, and led to immigration restrictions for all East Asians. In 1947, the act was repealed.
According to the 1931 Canadian census, subdivisions including Richmond (East Asians formed 40 percent of the total population), Skeena Coast (37 percent), Fraser Mills (34 percent), Cumberland (32 percent), Maple Ridge (27 percent), West Vancouver Island (27 percent), Mission (24 percent), Bella Coola Coast (24 percent), Duncan (18 percent), and Pitt Meadows (17 percent) had the largest East Asian concentrations in British Columbia.
+East Asian Canadian Population in British Columbia (1931 census)SubdivisionTypePopulationPercentageVancouverUrban21,339VictoriaUrban3,999RichmondUrban3,262Maple RidgeUrban1,351South Vancouver IslandRural1,315New WestminsterUrban1,200Skeena CoastRural955MissionUrban868Bella Coola CoastRural865Upper Okanagan & ShuswapRural809CumberlandUrban769West Vancouver IslandRural614SurreyUrban596DeltaUrban567Howe SoundRural529South East Coast Vancouver IslandRural523NicolaRural475North CowichanUrban449North East Coast Vancouver IslandRural442SaanichUrban432NanaimoUrban420Prince RupertUrban390DuncanUrban337KamloopsUrban329KelownaUrban322North Vancouver IslandRural279BurnabyUrban266Saltspring & IslandsRural266Knight Inlet CoastRural228VernonUrban218Port AlberniUrban217Fraser MillsUrban210MatsquiRural200Powell River CoastRural195NelsonUrban176CoquitlamUrban175Upper Kootenay RiverRural173Portland Canal-NassRural167Similkameen RiverRural154Lower Fraser ValleyRural151Port MoodyUrban155CranbrookUrban147Pitt MeadowsUrban145North VancouverRural126ChilliwackRural119ArmstrongUrban107RevelstokeUrban106TrailUrban102Upper Columbia RiverRural93Kootenay & Slocan LakesRural91SummerlandUrban88LangleyUrban86West VancouverUrban86University Endowment AreaUrban83ColdstreamUrban78Prince GeorgeUrban77CaribooRural75North ThompsonRural74Oak BayUrban73ChilliwackUrban68North Columbia RiverRural65Bridge-LillooetRural62ShuswapRural62PentictonUrban60SpallumcheenUrban52MerrittUrban48Skeena-BulkleyRural42North VancouverUrban39QuesnelUrban39KentUrban35Elk & Flathead RiversRural35South Columbia RiverRural34RosslandUrban33Salmon ArmUrban33KasloUrban32Port CoquitlamUrban32Kettle RiverRural27North CoastRural27CourtenayUrban26FernieUrban25Queen Charlotte IslandsRural25Salmon ArmRural25SmithersUrban25EsquimaltUrban23South ChilcotinRural20LadysmithUrban18Kiskatinaw RiverRural15SumasUrban15GlenmoreUrban14North ChilcotinRural14Nechako-Fraser-ParsnipRural12AbbotsfordUrban10CrestonUrban10East LillooetRural10Grand ForksUrban10HopeUrban9EnderbyUrban8TerraceUrban8Williams LakeUrban8AlberniUrban7Stikine-LiardRural7Atlin LakeRural5Burns LakeUrban5Fraser-CanoeRural5VanderhoofUrban5Upper NechakoRural3Babine-Stuart-Takla LakesRural2Beaton RiverRural2SilvertonUrban2TadanacUrban2GreenwoodUrban1British ColumbiaTotal49,344
World War II prompted the federal government used the War Measures Act to brand Japanese Canadians enemy aliens and categorized them as security threats in 1942. Tens of thousands of Japanese Canadians were placed in internment camps in British Columbia; prison of war camps in Ontario; and families were also sent as forced labourers to farms throughout the prairies. By 1943, all properties owned by Japanese Canadians in British Columbia were seized and sold without consent.
Unlike Korean Americans who have relatively much longer history settling in the United States, very few settled in Canada; as late as 1965, the total permanent Korean population of Canada was estimated at only 70. However, with the 1966 reform of Canadian immigration laws, South Korean immigration to Canada began to grow. By 1969, there were an estimated 2000 Koreans in Canada.
In the late 1990s, South Korea became the fifth-largest source of immigrants to Canada. Toronto has the country's largest absolute number of Koreans, but Vancouver is experiencing the highest rate of growth in its Korean population, with a 69% increase since 1996. Montreal was the third most popular destination for Korean migrants during this period. The 1990s growth in South Korean migration to Canada occurred at a time when Canadian unemployment was high and income growth was low relative to the United States. One pair of researchers demonstrated that numbers of migrants were correlated with the exchange rate; the weakness of the Canadian dollar relative to the United States dollar meant that South Korean migrants bringing savings to Canada for investment would be relatively richer than those going to the United States. Other factors suggested as drivers behind the growth of South Korean immigration to Canada included domestic anti-Americanism and the large presence of Canadian English teachers in local hagwon.
When Hong Kong reverted to mainland Chinese rule, people emigrated and found new homes in Canada.
Demography
Ethnic and national origins + East Asian Canadians Demography by Ethnic and National Origins (2001−2021)Ethnic/NationalOrigins20212016201120062001 Chinese 1,715,770 1,769,1951 1,487,5801 1,346,5101 1,094,7001 Korean 218,140 198,210 168,890 146,545 101,715 Japanese 129,425 121,485 109,740 98,905 85,230 Hong Kong 81,680 Taiwanese 64,020 36,515 30,330 17,705 18,080 Tibetan 9,350 8,040 5,820 4,275 1,425 Mongolian 9,090 7,475 5,355 3,960 1,675 Other EastAsian Origins 61,300 6,505 9,045 9,545 10,805 Total East AsianCanadian Population 2,288,775 2,147,425 1,816,760 1,627,445 1,313,630 1Including Hong Kong Canadians.
Geographical distribution Provinces and territories + East Asian Canadians by province and territory (2001−2016)Province2016201120062001 Ontario 1,008,780 855,280 767,160 614,915 British Columbia 679,015 586,545 539,350 457,555 Alberta 232,535 191,305 166,105 129,590 Quebec 140,235 117,580 105,245 74,015 Manitoba 37,825 29,000 23,200 17,550 Saskatchewan 22,950 17,150 12,775 10,815 Nova Scotia 12,570 9,045 6,720 4,895 New Brunswick 6,585 5,345 3,960 2,430 Newfoundland and Labrador 2,970 2,275 1,930 1,260 Prince Edward Island 3,105 2,385 475 305 Northwest Territories 715 620 530 410 Yukon 825 920 650 365 Nunavut 150 110 95 55 Canada 2,148,230 1,817,590 1,628,260 1,314,225
See also Chinese Canadians Hong Kong Canadians Japanese Canadians Korean Canadians Mongolian Canadians Taiwanese Canadians Tibetan Canadians
Notes
References
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