Canada is home to one of the most diverse populations in the world, with citizens and permanent residents from all over the world. The country is frequently praised for its multiculturalism and cultural diversity.
The South Asian community in Canada is one of the strongest, and it has grown significantly over the past 20 years. According to the most recent census (2021), there are 2.3 million South Asians living in Canada. South Asian immigrants may be curious about where to locate others with comparable backgrounds around the nation, given that South Asian nations account for a significant portion of the country’s annual immigration (statistics Canada estimates that there will be more than 5 million South Asian immigrants in Canada by 2041).
What is South Asian, according to Statistics Canada?
As per Statistics Canada, persons from many national backgrounds, such as Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Bhutanese, Nepalis, and Sri Lankans, might be categorized as “South Asians.”
With 1.3 million members, Indians constituted the largest of these groups, followed by Pakistanis (303,000), Sri Lankans (132,000), Bangladeshis (75,425), and Nepalis (22,000).
The majority of South Asians in Canada reside where?
Here are the corresponding populations of South Asian communities in Canada, broken down by province:
- province of Alberta: 267,375;
- British Columbia has 428,910 inhabitants.
- Manitoba: 63,235 individuals
- 8,400 in New Brunswick;
- 4,600 in Newfoundland and Labrador;
- 21,345 in Nova Scotia;
- 1,484,185 in Ontario
- 3,485 on Prince Edward Island;
- Quebec: 129,000; further
- 40,760 in Saskatchewan.
In which provinces do the majority of South Asians reside?
We will take into consideration the Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) and Census Agglomerations (CAs) in each province where South Asians are most prevalent in order to further break down where members of the South Asian community reside in Canada.
A population center, often known as a core, is surrounded by municipalities that make up a CMA or CA. For instance, the Greater Toronto Area’s Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, Caledon, Oakville, Milton, Vaughan, and other cities may be mistaken for CMAs or CAs itself, as does the CMA of Toronto, which has the city of Toronto as its center. The figure that follows demonstrates this:
You may probably find the CMA or CA your city belongs to by doing a fast web search using the following query: “(city name) + CMA/CA, Canada.”
Note: Statistics Canada’s 2021 National Census provided all of the information shown.
The Ontario
With more than a million residents, Ontario is the most populated province in Canada among South Asians.
The top five South Asian-populated CMAs or CAs in Ontario were:
- 1.1 million people live in Toronto;
- Ottawa: 62,095 individuals;
- Kitchener, population 52,110
- Hamilton: 47,570 individuals; and
- Oshawa, population 39,810.
- BC, or British Columbia
For those of South Asian descent, British Columbia is the second most populated province in Canada. The CMAs or CAs in the province with the largest South Asian populations were:
- Vancouver: 333,385 individuals;
- Abbotsford: 43,855 individuals;
- Victoria—13,405, individuals
- 6,925 residents in Kelowna; and
- Kamloops has 3,885 residents.
Alberta
In Canada, the province with the third-highest South Asian population was Alberta. The CMAs and CAs with the largest South Asian populations throughout the province were:
- 138,280 persons in Calgary;
- Edmonton: 109,615 individuals
- Wood Buffalo: 4,310 individuals
- Lethbridge—2,790 individuals; and
- Red Deer: 2,240 individuals.
The following CMAs and CAs in Canada have the largest South Asian populations in addition to the ones mentioned above:
- Montréal, Quebec: 128.280 individuals;
- 56,180 people live in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
- (14,560) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan;
- 14,285 individuals in Regina, Saskatchewan; and
- 12,925 people live in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
