Hong Kong Canadian
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| Total population | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 205,430 (born in Hong Kong)[1] over 500,000 (estimated)[2] |
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| Regions with significant populations | ||||||||||
 Ontario |
Toronto | |||||||||
 British Columbia |
Vancouver | |||||||||
 Alberta |
Edmonton | |||||||||
| Languages | ||||||||||
| Cantonese, English | ||||||||||
| Religion | ||||||||||
| Catholicism, Anglicanism, Protestantism, Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Atheism | ||||||||||
| Related ethnic groups | ||||||||||
| Chinese Canadian, Taiwanese Canadian | ||||||||||
Canadians of Hong Kong origin (Chinese: 香港裔加拿大人 or 加拿大港人) are Canadian citizens who identify him or herself to be of Hong Kong descent. The largest wave of immigration to Canada from Hong Kong occurred during the late 1980s and early 1990s, chiefly as the fear of uncertainties concerning the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997.
The vast majority of Canadians of Hong Kong origin are ethnically Chinese, though some choose to eschew their "Chinese" identity.[3] They often trace their ancestry to Cantonese, Hakka, Hoklo, and Toisan cultural groups.
Many Hong Kong Canadians hold multiple citizenships, often possessing Canadian, HKSAR, and British National (Overseas) passports. Some Hong Kong Canadians have returned to Hong Kong from Canada since 1997 and have resettled in the territory permanently. As of 2014, Hong Kong has the highest concentration of Canadian citizens in Asia – with approximately 300,000 Canadian citizens of all ethnic backgrounds living in the city.[4]
In Canada, the majority of Hong Kong Canadians reside in the metropolitan areas of Toronto and Vancouver.
History[edit]
The majority of Chinese Canadians migrated to Canada from the mid 1980s to 2000. However, ever since Hong Kong became a British crown colony, natives from Kwangtong (now Guangdong) have escaped to Hong Kong and settled there for a short while, then migrated to North America. In 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed and outlined the future of Hong Kong. The then British colony would become a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Many people in Hong Kong traced their heritage to people living in the nearby Canton Province who fled the Chinese Communists. Hong Kong people generally had a negative image of both Chinese regimes. They feared that they would be wiped off by China and became cynical about their Chinese identity. After Beijing massacre, the emigration wave to anglophone world was intensified. The most popular destination was Canada, where thousands of Hongkongers settled in Greater Toronto and Metro Vancouver. However, some of the expatriates have returned to Hong Kong in the early 2000s due to its political stability and job market. [weasel words][citation needed]
Numbers[edit]
In 2006, among the 790,035 speakers of any of the varieties of Chinese, 300,590 were speakers of Cantonese.[5] According to 2001 statistics, 44% of the Cantonese speakers were born in Hong Kong, 27% were born in Guangdong, the Chinese province where most Hongkongers have their ancestral roots, and 18% were Canadian-born.[6]
During the 2000s, some Canadian citizens from Hong Kong and their descendants have returned to Hong Kong for job opportunities. There are estimated to be as many as 300,000 Canadians in Hong Kong.[7] Conversely, according to the Canadian Consulate General in Hong Kong, there are 500,000 people of Hong Kong descent in Canada.[8] Hong Kong boasts one of the largest Canadian communities abroad (an estimated 295,000). This community, along with some 500,000 people of Hong Kong descent in Canada, plays a dynamic role in building vibrant bilateral relations between Canada and Hong Kong.
Canada's presence in Hong Kong is also reflected by the presence of Hong Kong-Canadian associations, such as the Chinese Canadian Association, established in 1989 and the Canadian University Association, which now acts as an umbrella group for some twenty Canadian university alumni associations active in Hong Kong today.
Notable people[edit]
- Denise Ho – Singer
- Aimee Chan – TVB actress
- Michael Chan – provincial politician (Ontario Liberal MPP and cabinet minister)
- Patrick Chan – ice skater
- Raymond Chan – federal politician (former Liberal MP and cabinet minister)
- Edison Chen – film actor
- Joyce Cheng – singer
- Fred Cheng – TVB actor
- Michael Chong – federal politician (Conservative MP and former cabinet minister)
- Olivia Chow – federal politician (Ontario NDP MP and wife of former (and late) leader of the federal NDP Jack Layton)
- Adrienne Clarkson – former Governor-General of Canada
- Linda Chung – TVB actress
- Charlene Choi – Cantopop singer
- Harnam Singh Grewal – career civil servant, former Secretary for the Civil Service in Hong Kong Government
- Joshua Ho-Sang – ice hockey player
- Patricia Hy-Boulais – tennis player
- Jenny Kwan – provincial politician (BC NDP MLA and former cabinet minister)
- David Lam – vice regal (former Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (deceased))
- Henry Lau – Member of Mandopop group Super Junior- M
- Philip S. Lee – vice regal (Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba)
- Sook-Yin Lee – musician and former Much Music program host
- Bernice Liu – actress
- Michael Luk – professional soccer player; also represents the Hong Kong National Football Team
- Vivienne Poy – federal politician (Liberal Senator from Ontario)
- Deborah Moore – television presenter
- Darryl O'Young – racing driver
- Monita Rajpal – CNN International presenter
- Eliza Sam – TVB actress
- Mary-Woo Sims – social justice activist, former Chief Commissioner of the British Columbia Human Rights Commission
- Greg So – solicitor, returned to Hong Kong for private practice; and from 2008 onwards serves as Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, thereupon renounce his Canadian citizenship
- Angela Tong – TVB actress
- Nicholas Tse – film actor
- Alice Wong – federal politician (Conservative MP and cabinet minister)
- Tony Wong – provincial and municipal politician (Ontario Liberal MPP and York Region Councillor (deceased))
- Teresa Woo-Paw – provincial politician, Member of Legislative Assembly of Alberta
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "NHS Profile, Canada, 2011;".
- ^ "Canada-Hong Kong Relations". Consulate of Canada in Hong Kong.
- ^ Wong, Edward; Wong, Alan (Oct 7, 2014). "Seeking Identity, ‘Hong Kong People’ Look to City, Not State". The New York Times.
- ^ Keung, Nicholas (February 24, 2011). "Hong Kong: Asia’s most Canadian city". The Toronto Star.
- ^ The 790,035 figure includes 300,590 persons listed as speaking Cantonese, 143,385 listed as speaking Mandarin, 4,580 listed as speaking Taiwanese, and 341,480 speaking other varieties, or else simply filling out the relevant question on their census forms by noting "Chinese" without being more specific. See Statistics Canada, 2006 Census Profile of Federal Electoral Districts (2003 Representation Order): Language, Mobility and Migration and Immigration and Citizenship. Ottawa, 2007, p. 8 and note no. 1 on p. 503.
- ^ "Chinese Canadians: Enriching the cultural mosaic," Canadian Social Trends, Spring 2005, no. 76
- ^ "中國評論新聞：香港住了30萬加拿大人 成加國第16大城市". chinareviewnews.com.
- ^ "Canada-Hong Kong Relations". canadainternational.gc.ca.
Further reading[edit]
- "The Hong Kong influx." CBC. 1997. Description page (Archived).
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