| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 98,250[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Ontario | 42,525[2] |
 Quebec | 31,590[3] |
| Languages | |
| Canadian English,Canadian French,Arabic (Syrian Arabic),Armenian,Kurdish,Turkmen,Aramaic | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity,Islam,Druze andJudaism | |
Syrian Canadians are Canadians who claimSyrian ancestry and newcomers who have Syrian citizenship. According to the2016 Census, there were 77,050 Syrian Canadians compared to the2011 Census where there were 50,840.[4]
Syrians started immigrating to theAmericas in the early part of the 1880s, while the vast majority migrated toSouth America, a small percentage made their way toAmerica, and an even smaller percentage settled inCanada. The overwhelming majority of Syrians who settled in Canada from the 1880s to 1960s were of theChristian faith. The so-called Shepard of the lost flock,Saint Raphael Hawaweeny ofBrooklyn, New York, came toMontreal in1896 to help establish aChristian association called theSyrian Benevolent Society and then later on anOrthodox church in Montreal for the newly arrived Syrian faithful.[5]
WhenJustin Trudeau was elected asPrime Minister of Canada in 2015, over 25,000 Syrianrefugees settled in Canada.[6][7]
| Religious group | 2021[8][a] | 2001[9][b] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
| Islam | 47,895 | 48.75% | 5,555 | 25.17% |
| Christianity | 39,115 | 39.81% | 14,820 | 67.15% |
| Irreligion | 9,365 | 9.53% | 1,515 | 6.86% |
| Judaism | 595 | 0.61% | 120 | 0.54% |
| Hinduism | 35 | 0.04% | 0 | 0% |
| Buddhism | 20 | 0.02% | 15 | 0.07% |
| Indigenous spirituality | 20 | 0.02% | — | — |
| Sikhism | 10 | 0.01% | 0 | 0% |
| Other | 1,200 | 1.22% | 50 | 0.23% |
| Total Syrian Canadian population | 98,250 | 100% | 22,070 | 100% |
| Religious group | 2021[8][a] | 2001[9][b] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
| Catholic | 16,515 | 42.22% | 8,535 | 57.61% |
| Orthodox | 10,060 | 25.72% | 3,115 | 21.03% |
| Protestant | 2,505 | 6.4% | 1,875 | 12.66% |
| Other Christian | 10,035 | 25.66% | 1,290 | 8.71% |
| Total Syrian Canadian christian population | 39,115 | 100% | 14,815 | 100% |
The leading factor for the immigration of Syrians has been to find better employment. The early immigrants found themselves engaging in basic commerce, with the term 'peddler' becoming almost synonymous with 'Syrian'.[10] Most of these peddlers were successful, and, with time, and after raising enough capital, some became importers and wholesalers, recruiting newcomers and supplying them with merchandise. Others opened small businesses in urban centers all over the country.[11] Later, these merchants would go towards larger urban locations, where the economy was improving. Smaller number of Syrians worked as laborers in factories, miners, or as plumbers. Also, some became pioneers in the Southern prairie regions ofWestern Canada, and worked in farming.[11] These workers settled in communities such asSwift Current,Saskatchewan, andLac La Biche,Alberta. Few reached theNorthwest Territories, the best known beingPeter Baker, author of the bookAn Arctic Arab, and laterelected as a member of the legislative assembly of the Northwest Territories. By the 1930s, many towns in theMaritimes,Quebec,Ontario, and Western Canada had one or more retail stores run by Syrian immigrants.[12]
Women also worked occasionally, in addition to housekeeping, and usually helped run the family store if they had one, and in the cities they would sell goods from door to door.[12]
Sabah, a 2005 film directed by Ruba Nadda, portrays a Syrian Canadian family in Toronto.
Arab Canadians by state of origin | ||
|---|---|---|
| Africa |  | |
| Asia | ||
| Related topics | ||
Based onstate membership in theArab League. | ||
| Countries |
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