Chinese Canadians
Chinese Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Han Chinese ancestry, which includes both naturalized Chinese immigrants and Canadian-born Chinese.[3][4][5] They comprise a subgroup of East Asian Canadians which is a further subgroup of Asian Canadians. Demographic research tends to include immigrants from Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, as well as overseas Chinese who have immigrated from Southeast Asia and South America into the broadly defined Chinese Canadian category.[6][7]
"Canadian Chinese" redirects here. For the Chinese language used in Canada, see § Language. For Chinese people of Canadian ancestry, see Canadians in China.
Canadians who identify themselves as being of Chinese ethnic origin make up about 5.1% of the Canadian population, or about 1.77 million people according to the 2016 census.[8]
While other Asian groups are growing rapidly in the country, the Chinese Canadian community fell slightly to 1.71 million, or 4.63% of the Canadian population, in the 2021 Canadian census.[9]
The Chinese Canadian community is the second largest ethnic group of Asian Canadians, constituting approximately 30% of the Asian Canadian population. Most Canadians of Chinese descent are concentrated within the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia.
Socioeconomics[edit]
In 2001, 31% of Chinese in Canada, both foreign-born and Canadian-born, had a university education, compared with the national average of 18%.[54]
Of prime working-age Chinese in Canada, about 20% were in sales and services; 20% in business, finance, and administration; 16% in natural and applied sciences; 13% in management; and 11% in processing, manufacturing, and utilities.[54] However, there is a trend that Chinese move toward small towns and rural areas for agricultural and agri-food operations in recent years.[69]
Chinese who immigrated to Canada in the 1990s and were of prime working-age in 2001 had an employment rate of 61%, which was lower than the national average of 80%. Many reported that the recognition of foreign qualifications was a major issue. However, the employment rate for Canadian-born Chinese men of prime working-age was 86%, the same as the national average. The employment rate for Canadian-born Chinese women of prime working-age was 83%, which was higher than the national average of 76%.[54]
Various Chinese language media outlets in Canada operate in the Canadian media scene targeting Canadians of Chinese origin.
Newspapers
Radio
Television
Cultural adjustment and assimilation[edit]
According to the Canadian Ethnic Diversity Survey conducted in 2002, 76% of Canadians of Chinese origin said they had a strong sense of belonging to Canada; at the same time, 58% said that they had a strong sense of belonging to their ethnic or cultural group. Canadians of Chinese origin are also active in Canadian society; 64% of Chinese Canadians who were eligible to vote reported doing so in the 2000 federal election, while 60% said they voted in the 1996 provincial election. About 35% reported that they had participated in an organization such as a sports team or community association in the 12 months preceding the survey. 34% of Chinese Canadians also reported that in the past five years, or since they came to Canada, they have suffered discrimination, prejudice or unfair treatment, mainly from Anglo-Saxons. Most people who have experienced discrimination said that they thought it was based on Anglo-Saxon malice, while 42% believed that discrimination occurred at work or when applying for a job or promotion.
Most Canadian-born Chinese during the 1970s and 1980s were descended from immigrants of Hong Kong, while more recent Canadian-born Chinese come from mainland Chinese immigrants. Most Chinese Canadians born in Canada who have assimilated into Canadian society identify as solely Canadian while those born overseas and immigrated to Canada later in life primarily identify as a mixture of both Chinese and Canadian. In Canada, strong feelings of ethnic heritage are bolstered by the clustering of immigrant communities in large urban centres, especially because new immigrants tend to associate almost exclusively with people of the same culture due to unfamiliarity to the new mainstream culture. Canadians of Chinese origin, particularly the second generation and beyond, tend to have more liberal and Western style beliefs.[73][74][75][76][77][78][79]