East Asian Canadians

East Asian Canadians

Total population
2,140,920 6.2% of the total Canadian population (2016)
Regions with significant populations
Southern Ontario, Southwestern BC, Central Alberta, Montreal, Most urban areas
Languages
Canadian English · Canadian French · Mandarin · Cantonese · Korean · Japanese · Mongolian · Min Nan · Tibetan Other East Asian Languages
Religion
Buddhism · Christianity · Irreligion
Related ethnic groups
Asian Canadians · East Asians in the United Kingdom · Asian Americans

East Asian Canadians are Canadians with ancestry, origins, or citizenship from East Asia. The term East Asian Canadian is a subgroup of Asian Canadians. According to statistics Canada, East Asian Canadians are considered visible minorities and can be further divided by ethnicity and/or nationality, such as Chinese Canadian, Hong Kong Canadian, Japanese Canadian, Korean Canadian, Mongolian Canadian, Taiwanese Canadian or Tibetan Canadian.

As of 2016, 2,140,920 Canadians had East Asian geographical origins, constituting 6.2% of the Canadian population and 34% of Canada's Asian Canadian population.

Terminology

East Asian Canadians are typically identified under the term "Asian"; popular usage of this term in Canada generally excludes both West and South Asians, instead solely referring to individuals of East Asian or South East Asian ancestry.

History

Chinese labourers working on the Canadian Pacific Railway, 1884

Founding members of the Canadian Japanese Association at the Japanese Canadian War Memorial in Vancouver, 1920.

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.

In the mid-late 19th century, early settlers from East Asia (China and Japan) emigrated to Canada, predominantly settling in British Columbia.

Demography

East Asian population by province or territory (2016)

Province / territory	Population	Percentage
Ontario	1,003,750	7.6%
British Columbia	678,105	14.9%
Alberta	231,810	5.8%
Quebec	139,925	1.8%
Manitoba	37,685	3%
Saskatchewan	22,840	2.1%
Nova Scotia	12,495	1.4%
New Brunswick	6,565	0.9%
Prince Edward Island	3,105	2.2%
Newfoundland and Labrador	2,955	0.6%
Yukon	810	2.3%
Northwest Territories	710	1.7%
Nunavut	140	0.4%
Canada	2,140,920	6.2%

Ethnic and national origins

Demography by region and ethnicity

	2016
	Number	%
Chinese	1,769,1951	82.6%
Korean	198,210	9.3%
Japanese	121,485	5.7%
Taiwanese	36,510	1.7%
Tibetan	8,040	0.4%
Mongolian	7,480	0.3%
Total population	2,140,920	100%
1Including Hong Kong Canadians.

See also

• Chinese Canadians
• Korean Canadians
• Japanese Canadians
• Mongolian Canadians
• Tibetan Canadians
• Hong Kong Canadians
• Taiwanese Canadians
• Asian Canadians