| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 68,855 (2021 census)[1] 0.18% of Canada's population 80,000—100,000 (estimates) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Greater Montreal · Greater Toronto | |
| Languages | |
| Armenian · Canadian English · Canadian French | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (predominantlyArmenian Apostolic withArmenian Catholic andEvangelical minorities) |
Armenian Canadians (Western Armenian: գանատահայեր,Eastern Armenian: կանադահայեր,kanadahayer;French:Arméno-Canadiens) arecitizens and permanent residents ofCanada who have total or partialArmenian ancestry. According to the2021 Canadian Census they number almost 69,000,[1] while independent estimates claim around 80,000 Canadians of Armenian origin, with the highest estimates reaching 100,000. Though significantly smaller than theArmenian American community, the formation of both underwent similar stages beginning in the late 19th century and gradually expanding in the latter 20th century and beyond. Most Armenian Canadians are descendants ofArmenian genocide survivors from the Middle East (Syria,Lebanon,Egypt), with less than 7% of all Canadian Armenians having been born inArmenia. Today most Armenian Canadians live inGreater Montreal andGreater Toronto, where they have established churches, schools and community centers.
The first Armenians migrated to Canada in the 1880s. The first recorded Armenian to settle in Canada was a man named Garabed Nergarian, who came toPort Hope, Ontario in 1887.[2][3] Some 37 Armenians settled in Canada in 1892 and 100 in 1895. Most early Armenian migrants to Canada were men who were seeking employment. After theHamidian massacres of mid-1890s Armenian families from the Ottoman Empire began settling in Canada. Before theArmenian genocide of 1915 some 1,800 Armenians already lived in Canada. They were overwhelmingly from the Armenian provinces of the Ottoman Empire and usually lived in industrial urban areas. The influx of Armenians to Canada was limited in the post-World War I era because Armenians were classified as Asians.[3] Nevertheless, some 1,500 genocide survivors—mostly women and children—came to Canada as refugees.[4] In 1923–24 some 100 Armenians orphans aged 8–12, later known asThe Georgetown Boys, were brought to Canada fromCorfu, Greece by theArmenian Canadian Relief Fund toGeorgetown, Ontario.[2] Dubbed "The Noble Experiment", it was Canada's first humanitarian act on an international scale.[3] The Georgetown Farmhouse (now theCedarvale Community Centre) was designated historic and protected municipal site in 2010.[5]
Overall, between 1900 and 1930 some 3,100 Armenians entered Canada, with 75% settling in Ontario and 20% in Quebec.[7] Some later moved to the United States; 1,577 Armenians entered the U.S. from Canada between 1899 and 1917.[3] Between 1931 and 1949 only 74 Armenians migrated to Canada.[7] By the 1940s the community was still no larger than 4,000.[3] The two early centers of the Armenian community was inBrantford andSt. Catharines, Ontario, with each having 500 Armenians in the 1920s.[3] The first Armenian church was established in St. Catharines in 1930, becoming the hub of Armenians in Canada.[7][3]
Immigration laws were loosened in the post-World War II era. Through the efforts of the Canadian Armenian Congress thousands of Armenians were allowed in. In the 1960s some 5,000 Armenians settled in Canada and by the 1970s Canada already boasted an Armenian population of 30,000. Most Armenians came from the Middle East (Syria,Lebanon,Egypt,Turkey) andGreece. Migrants from Soviet Armenia were also increasingly moving to Canada.[7] TheArmenian Soviet Encyclopedia entry on Armenians (1980) bySuren Eremian estimated some 50,000 Armenians in Canada.[8] The same number was given byHrag Vartanian, writing for theAGBU Magazine in 2000.[3]
In the 2010s thousands ofSyrian Armenian families fleeing thewar there settled in Canada.[9][10] By December 2015 the Armenian Community Centre, a government-sanctioned sponsorship agency, and individual Canadian Armenians co-sponsored around 2,500 Syrian Armenians.[11] The Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada sponsored some 1,000 Syrian Armenian refugees by 2016.[12]
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1996 | 37,500 |
| 2001 | 40,505 |
| 2006 | 50,500 |
| 2011 | 55,740 |
| 2016 | 63,810 |
| 2021 | 68,855 |
| Year | Total responses | Single responses | Multiple responses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996[13] | 37,500 | 25,805 | 11,690 |
| 2001[14] | 40,505 | 27,175 | 13,330 |
| 2006[15] | 50,500 | 32,530 | 17,970 |
| 2011[16] | 55,740 | 31,075 | 24,675 |
| 2016[17] | 63,810 | 34,560 | 29,250 |
| 2021[1] | 68,855 | 38,010 | 30,835 |
According to2016 Canadian Census, 63,810 people of Armenian ancestry reside in Canada, of which 34,560 claimed only Armenian ancestry, while 29,250 people indicated Armenian as one of their multiple ancestries.[17] The number of Canadian Armenians stood at 37,500 in1996, when the number of Armenians were first reported in Canadian censuses.[13] In two decades, from 1996 to 2016, the number of Canadian Armenians grew 1.7 times.
According to the2006 census, most Canadian Armenians were Canadian citizens (45,960 vs 4,535 not Canadian citizens).[18] Of 50,500 Armenians in Canada at the time, 19,910 were classified as non-immigrants, while 30,055 were immigrants, mostly from West Central Asia and the Middle East (22,300), Northern Africa (3,755) and Eastern Europe (1,460).[18] In 2006 Armenia-born Canadians numbered 2,195.[19] It grew to 4,165 by 2016, 72% of whom had migrated to Canada between 2001 and 2016.[20]
Unofficial estimates put the number of Canadian Armenians significantly higher than census results. The 2003Encyclopedia of the Armenian Diaspora estimated 60,000–65,000 Armenians in Canada,[2] while the 2001 census had found 40,505 Canadians of Armenian ancestry.[14] The Embassy of Armenia to Canada reported some 81,500 Armenians in Canada in 2009.[21] Estimates in the 2010s usually ranged from 80,000 to 100,000.[22][23][24][25]
According to the 2016 census, almost 90% of Canadian Armenians reside in Canada's two largestprovinces:Ontario andQuebec. Smaller number of Armenians live inBritish Columbia andAlberta. Armenian communities in other provinces and territories number less than 1,000. According to the 2016 census, the number of Canadian Armenians by provinces, territories and census divisions was as follows:[26][27]
| Province | Armenians | Census divisions with largest Armenian populations |
|---|---|---|
 Ontario | 29,675 | Toronto: 12,270;York: 5,820;Peel: 2,120;Ottawa: 1,470; Waterloo: 1,270;Halton: 1,085;Durham: 1,055 |
 Quebec | 27,380 | Montreal: 13,185;Laval: 10,370;Longueuil: 1,025 |
 British Columbia | 3,720 | Greater Vancouver: 2,845 |
 Alberta | 1,780 | Division No. 6 (Calgary): 1,020 |
| Rest of Canada | 1,255 |
Other provinces and territories had significantly less Armenians:Manitoba (500),Nova Scotia (270),Saskatchewan (240),New Brunswick (110),Newfoundland and Labrador (55),Northwest Territories (30),Prince Edward Island (30),Yukon (25),Nunavut (0).[26]
According to the 2016 census, the largest number of Armenians reside in the following census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations:Montreal (26,100),Toronto (21,710),Vancouver (2,845),Ottawa–Gatineau (1,735),Hamilton (1,360),Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo (1,270),Calgary (1,010),St. Catharines –Niagara (920),Edmonton (620),Windsor (570).[28]
The highest concentration of Armenian Canadians of any major settlement is inLaval (part of Greater Montreal), where Armenians are the 9th largest ethnicity and comprise around 2.5% of the total population.[29]
| Year | "Language spoken most often at home" | "Mother tongue" |
|---|---|---|
| 1991[30] | 20,515[b] | 30,630[c] |
| 2001[31] | 26,215 | — |
| 2006[32] | 21,480 | — |
| 2011[33][34] | 19,145 | 31,680 |
| 2016[35][36] | 21,510 | 35,790 |
The2016 census enumerated 35,790 Canadians who consider Armenian their mother tongue, but only 21,510 Canadians claimed Armenian to be the "language spoken most often at home".[36][35] In the 2006 census 21,480 Canadians had indicated Armenian as the "language spoken most often at home", of whom 4,915 had non-immigrant status, while 16,320 were immigrants.[32]
In the 2006 census, of the 50,500 Canadian Armenians, 10,250 indicated English as their mother tongue, while 3,995 indicated French. Majority (34,345) indicated a non-official language as their mother tongue. Most Canadian Armenians claimed to speak either both official languages (English and French: 23,785) or English only (21,965), while a minority speaks only French (2,700). Some 2,045 Canadian Armenians speakneither English nor French.[18]
Most Armenian-speakers in Canada speakWestern Armenian, while a minority speaksEastern Armenian.[37]
The first Armenian school in Canada was established inSt. Catharines in 1919. The first day government-sponsored Armenian schools were established in the 1970s.[7] The first school Armén-Québec Alex Manoogian School in Montreal in 1970.[38] As of 2003, six Armenian schools operated in Canada.[7] They include five elementary schools (three in Montreal, two in Toronto) one high school in Montreal (École Arménienne Sourp Hagop), and one high school in Toronto (A.R.S. Armenian School).
Most Armenian Canadians belong to theArmenian Apostolic Church.[4] Its parishes are affiliated with either theMother See of Holy Etchmiadzin (under the Armenian Diocese of Canada) or theHoly See of Cilicia (Armenian Prelacy of Canada). The Armenian Diocese of Canada was established in 1983 during the reign of CatholiosVazgen I. It broke off from the New York City-based Eastern Diocese of America.[39] TheArmenian Prelacy of Canada was founded in 2002, breaking off from the Armenian Prelacy of Eastern America, which in turn had split from the Armenian Prelacy of America, originally established in 1958, during the height of the Etchmiadzin-Cilicia tensions.[40] The Armenian Diocese and Prelacy have 20 churches in total. Ontario contains half (10), followed by Quebec (4), British Columbia (2), Alberta (2), Manitoba (1) andNorthwest Territories (1). The Etchmiadzin-affiliated Armenian Diocese of Canada has 12 churches,[41] while the Cilicia-affiliated Prelacy has 8.[42] The cathedrals of both are located in Montreal.
A minority of Armenian Canadians are Protestant and Catholic. TheArmenian Catholic Church has two churches: Notre Dame de Nareg inSaint-Laurent (Montreal, 1983) and St. Gregory the Illuminator in Toronto (1993).[4] The two churches operate under theArmenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg in the United States of America and Canada.[4] Up to 10,000 Catholic Armenians reside in Canada, with the largest community in Montreal.[43][44]
There are four Armenian Protestant churches in Canada, two in Montreal and one in Toronto andCambridge. One in Montreal and the church in Toronto are affiliated with theArmenian Evangelical Church, while the other two are affiliated with theUnited Church of Canada,[45] but are "autonomous and have services in the Armenian vernacular language."[4]
A number of Armenian organizations have branches in Canada, including the non-partisan and secularArmenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), which has two chapters in Montreal (founded in 1957) and Toronto.[46] Other Armenian organizations with established presence in Canada are theArmenian Relief Society with ten chapters,[47] theHamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society (two chapters, 5 units),[48] and Homenetmen (six chapters and units).[49]Armenia Fund also has two branches (in Montreal and Toronto).[50]
TheZoryan Institute of Canada, a center for contemporary Armenian research and documentation, was established in 1984.[51]
The three traditional parties of theArmenian diaspora are present in Canada. The nationalistArmenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF, Dashnaktsutiun) is by far the largest and most influential with nine chapters.[4] Its active circles include the young wing (Armenian Youth Federation, AYF)[52] and the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC), established in 1965 with the mission to advance the "concerns of the Armenian Canadian community on a broad range of issues", including fostering "public awareness in support of afree, united and independent Armenia."[53] The current spokesperson of the ARF Bureau, Hagop Der-Khatchatourian, is from Montreal. The conservativeRamgavar and social democraticHunchak parties have branches in Montreal and Toronto.[54][4]
In 1996 and 2002 Canadian Prime MinisterJean Chrétien released statements on the "Armenian tragedy of 1915"[55] and the "calamity suffered by the Armenian community."[56]
In 2002 theSenate of Canada passed a resolution (39–1) sponsored byShirley Maheu that called upon the Government of Canada to "recognize the genocide of the Armenians and to condemn any attempt to deny or distort a historical truth as being anything less than genocide, acrime against humanity, and to designate April 24th of every year hereafter throughout Canada as a day of remembrance of the 1.5 million Armenians who fell victim to the first genocide of the twentieth century."[57][58]
However, it was not until April 21, 2004, when Canada officiallyrecognized the Armenian genocide. On that day theHouse of Commons adopted a "strongly worded"[59] resolution which stated: "That this House acknowledges the Armenian genocide of 1915 and condemns this act as a crime against humanity." It passed with 153 votes in favor, 68 against.[60][61] The motion was opposed by theLiberalcabinet of Prime MinisterPaul Martin, who was absent during the vote,[59] however, most Liberal backbenchers voted in favor of theBloc Québécois motion, while cabinet members rejected it.[59]
Since 2006, Prime MinisterStephen Harper released annual statements explicitly referring to the Armenian genocide.[62] The tradition has been continued by his successor,Justin Trudeau.[63]
On April 24, 2015, on the100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, the House of Commons of Canada unanimously passed a resolution that designated the month of April as Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month and April 24 asArmenian Genocide Memorial Day. The parliament also reaffirmed its support for the Armenian genocide recognition resolution adopted on April 21, 2004.[64][65]
According to theArmenian National Institute there are sixArmenian genocide memorials in Canada, including two in Toronto, one in Montreal,St. Catharines,Markham, andCambridge.[66]
Armenian Canadians have risen to prominence in many fields.
Two Armenian Canadians have beenMembers of Parliament: Syria-bornSarkis Assadourian in 1993–2004[67] andAndré Arthur in 2006–2011.[68][69]Raymond Setlakwe wasSenator in 2000–2003.[70] Egypt-bornAnn Cavoukian wasInformation and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario for three terms in 1997–2014.[71][72]Aris Babikian was elected to theLegislative Assembly of Ontario in 2018. TheMontreal City Council has had several Armenian members: Aleppo-bornNoushig Eloyan[73][74] in 1994–2009; Lebanese-bornHarout Chitilian in 2009–2017; Lebanese-bornHasmig Belleli (Vasilian),[73][74]Jack Chadirdjian in 1994–1998,[74][73]Mary Deros (since 1998).[73]
Ottoman-bornYousuf Karsh, who was based in Ottawa, is considered the leading portrait photographer of the 20th century.[75][76][77][78] Egypt-born film directorAtom Egoyan has been described as "the most accomplished Canadian director of his generation."[79] His wifeArsinée Khanjian is a Beirut-born actress.Raffi (Cavoukian), a singer known for hischildren's music, was called "by far the most popular artist in the burgeoning children's music market" in 1988.[80]Andrea Martin, born to Armenian parents in the US, is a celebrity comedian and actress.[81]Peter Oundjian was the music director of theToronto Symphony Orchestra in 2004–2018.[82] Egypt-bornRaffi Armenian was the director of theConservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal between 2008 and 2011.[83] Lebanese-born operatic sopranoIsabel Bayrakdarian has earned acclaim for her Mozart roles.[84][85] Syrian-bornHrag Vartanian is the co-founder and editor ofHyperallergic, an online arts magazine.[86]
Ottoman-born medical scientistJohn Basmajian was Head of the Department of Anatomy atQueen's University.[87] His work inelectromyography "resulted in significant progress in rehabilitative science."[88] Istanbul-bornAgop Jack Hacikyan and Beirut-bornRazmik Panossian are known for their work inArmenian studies.[89][90]Armine Yalnizyan is a prominent progressive economist.[91]
Ottoman-bornAris Alexanian was one of Canada's leading rug importers between 1920s and 1960s.[92] Bulgarian-bornAlice Panikian was crownedMiss Universe Canada in 2006 and was in top 10 ofMiss Universe 2006.[93] Russian-bornNatalia Khoudgarian is a four-timeCanadian Women's Chess Champion (2006, 2007, 2011, 2012).[94][95][96]Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist media critic, was at the center of theGamergate controversy.[97][98]
Ըստ նրա` Կանադայում ապրում է 80–90 հազար հայ...
...ամբողջ Կանադայում՝ մոտ 80 հազար...
Ներկայումս Կանադայում ապրում է 80–100 հազար հայ...
Currently the Apostolic Exarchate for Armenian Catholics counts approximately 25.000 faithful in the United States of America and 10.000 in Canada. The larger communities are in Los Angeles, California, and Montréal, Canada.
First Canadian of Armenian origin elected to the House of Commons. (Source: Encyclopedia of Canada's peoples)
Le premier Arménien à s'être installé au Canada est Aziz Setlakwe, le grand-père du sénateur Raymond Setlakwe.
I wasn't born in the west. My grandparents barely escaped the Armenian genocide. They valued privacy a lot more once they realized what harm could arise from the wrong people knowing their nationality.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Armenian chess player WIM Natalia Khoudgarian...
Several other Armenians in the women's section are representing other countries. Natalia Khoudgarian, for example, heads the Canadian women's team.
Sarkeesian is Armenian, and her family is from Iraq.
Sarkeesian was something of a rebel growing up. The daughter of Armenian immigrants...
 | ||
| Historic areas of Armenian settlement | ||
| Caucasus | ||
| Former Soviet Union | ||
| Americas | ||
| Europe | ||
| Middle East | ||
| Asia | ||
| Africa | ||
| Oceania | ||