This article needs additional citations for verification .(March 2021) |
Total population | |
---|---|
46,765 (by ancestry, 2021 Census ) [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta | |
Languages | |
Religion | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Australian Canadians are Canadian citizens or residents with Australian ancestry. There are three groups of Australian Canadians, including Australian immigrants to Canada, descendants of Australian immigrants to Canada, and Australian expatriates residing in Canada. According to the 2021 Census, there were 46,765 Canadians who claimed full or partial Australian ancestry. [2] Historically, most Australian Canadians lived in the western provinces of Canada, [3] however in 2016, the most popular cities for Australian immigrants are Vancouver and Toronto. [2] While the number of Australian Canadians is quite low relative to other countries, [2] the number of Australians on working visas in Canada is extremely high. [4] [5] [6]
Both countries are among the most developed countries and share historical connections, language and similar customs. Further, both Canada and Australia have Charles III as their Head of State as both are also Commonwealth realms.[ citation needed ]
Both Canada and Australia are former British colonies, which forms the basis of early movement and migration between the two countries. [3] In the 19th century, however, movement was primarily from Canada to Australia with Canadian convicts being exiled to Australia. [7] Historians attribute the relatively low number of Australian Canadians to the fact that both countries relied on immigration and competed for immigrants from Britain. [8] [3]
Following the Confederation of Canada in 1867 and again after the Federation of Australia in 1901, government relations between the two countries strengthened, and immigration from Australia to Canada increased. [8] In 1941, the number of Australian-born Canadians was 2,800, most of whom lived in the western provinces of Canada. [3]
Following World War II, the number of Australian Canadians grew gradually, with many Australian professionals moving to Canada for economic opportunity. [3] [8] In the 1960s, working conditions were similar between Canada and Australia, however, salaries were higher in Canada which was appealing for Australian migrants during this time. [8] Hence, the number of Australian Canadians increased through the 1960s and peaked in 1967, with five thousand Australians entering Canada for work or education. [8] From the 1960s to 2000, the number of Australians migrating to Canada increased when the Australian economy declined and decreased as the economy improved. [3] Following the Canadian Immigration Act in 1976, which made it difficult for foreigners to find work if Canadians were qualified for the role, there was a decline in Australians moving to Canada. [9]
In the 21st century, the ease of working holiday and student visas in Canada has led to a strong Australian expatriate culture, and between 2006 and 2016, the number of Australians living in Canada doubled. [2] Since 2015, there has been support for and discussion of opening up Freedom of Movement between Australia and Canada, as well as the United Kingdom and New Zealand, which would allow Australians the right to live and work freely in Canada without applying for visas, and vice versa. [10] Of Australian Canadians in 2016, 23.5% arrived between 2011 and 2016. [2]
In the 2016 Canadian Census, 42,315 people identified Australia as their ethnic origin, of who 14,370 were first-generation Canadian, 16,410 were second-generation Canadian and 11,530 were third-generation Canadian. [2] The most popular cities for Australian immigrants to Canada are Vancouver and Toronto, making up almost half of the total, with 4,520 and 3,775 immigrant residents respectively. [2]
Period of Immigration | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Province/Territory of Residence | Before 1981 | 1981 to 1990 | 1991 to 2000 | 2001 to 2005 | 2006 to 2010 | 2011 to 2016 | Total Australian immigrant population |
Alberta | 870 | 320 | 425 | 275 | 425 | 1,065 | 3,360 |
British Columbia | 3,180 | 675 | 1,060 | 730 | 1,055 | 1,925 | 8,605 |
Manitoba | 120 | 40 | 55 | 30 | 45 | 85 | 370 |
New Brunswick | 30 | 10 | 30 | 30 | - | 20 | 110 |
Newfoundland and Labrador | - | 10 | - | - | 20 | 25 | 55 |
Northwest Territories | - | 10 | - | 10 | 20 | ||
Nova Scotia | 95 | 20 | 15 | 40 | 50 | 35 | 260 |
Nunavut | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Ontario | 2,770 | 580 | 780 | 605 | 815 | 1,540 | 7,080 |
Prince Edward Island | 15 | - | 10 | - | 10 | - | 30 |
Quebec | 320 | 80 | 70 | 45 | 110 | 200 | 790 |
Saskatchewan | 125 | 50 | 75 | 20 | 25 | 85 | 375 |
Yukon | 10 | 10 | - | - | 20 | 10 | 50 |
Total Canada | 7,695 | 1,595 | 2,515 | 1,780 | 2,560 | 4,965 | 21,115 |
Source: (Statistics Canada, 2017) [2]
John Powell (2009) has proposed that numbers of Australian Canadians were in fact higher than what was represented in census data throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. [8] The measure of ‘ethnic origin’ may underrepresent the number of Australians in Canada because of how it can be interpreted. As such, to some people 'ethnic origin' may connote 'country of earliest ancestry' rather than last residence or partial ancestry. It is argued that because Australia is a country of immigrants, many migrants who arrived from Australia to Canada may have immigrated to Australia previously or be first-generation Australians. [8]
Another factor that is argued to contribute to the underrepresentation of Australian Canadians in census data is the cultural similarities between the two countries. It is argued that because the cultures are similar and ethnic difference is non-visible, individuals may identify less with their Australian heritage and thus not report it as their 'ethnic origin' when surveyed. [8] [11] [12]
Australian expatriates (expats) in Canada refer to Australian citizens who temporarily or permanently reside in Canada. This group is not fully represented in census data, because often they are not permanent residents, but instead are living in Canada on working holiday visas or student visas.[ citation needed ]
There are a number of expatriate groups across Canada, which allow Australian communities to form through sports events and social activities. [13] Australian Football League (AFL) competitions are held in six Canadian provinces, but are most popular in Ottawa and Ontario. [14]
International Experience Canada (IEC) work permits allow young people to work and travel in Canada for up to 24 months. Under the Reciprocal Youth Mobility Agreement, Australians between the age of 18 and 35 are eligible to apply for an IEC visa. [4] Previously the upper age limit was 30 years old, and was recently increased to 35 in the 2019 IEC season. [6] [5]
For Australians, there are three IEC categories available: [4] [5]
Australia is the only IEC country where applicants are not selected based on quotas, meaning they receive an unlimited number of IEC work permits. [5] Australians make up 17.7% of the total Working Holiday visitors under IEC in Canada, which is the highest-ranking country of citizenship. [4] The most popular destinations for Australians on working holidays are Whistler and Banff. [4] [5] Australia is also a highly popular destination for Canadians on working holidays, hence highlighting the reciprocity of the popularity of destinations. [6]
Canadian study permits allow students from Australia to become temporary residents for the duration of their university or college degree. [15] In 2018, there were 710 Australians with study permits living in Canada. [16] Since 2000, the year with the highest number of Australians with Canadian study permits was 2001, with 1210 students. [16] The total number of Australian students in Canada is much larger, however, as study permits are not required to engage in student exchange programs. [15] The similarity between cultures of Australia and Canada is a strong reason that Australian students choose to study in Canada. [17] [18] Furthermore, Canadian policy, as part of international education strategy, offers the opportunity for Australians to continue living in Canada following their studies. [15]
Australians studying at all Australian universities have access to study abroad programs, whereby students can study for up to one year at a Canadian university as part of their Australian degree without needing a study permit. [17] In 2001, 15.7% of all Australians studying abroad were in Canada, however, this number has declined as the popularity of Asian countries as study destinations has increased. [17] [19] In 2012, just 1,277 Australian students went on exchange to Canada. [19] In 2015, two-thirds of Australian exchange students in Canada were studying humanities or business-related courses. [17]
There is currently funding and scholarship opportunities for Australian students in Canada from both the Australian and Canadian governments. This includes fee-paying scholarships, fellowships and research grants. Additionally, both governments are funding institutional partnerships that Australians can participate in Canada as part of their university degree. [20]
The town of Whistler, British Columbia holds a congregation of Australians and has been described as a ‘Little Australia’ due to the strong Australian culture present. Australian Alpine skier Jono Brauer coined the term "Whistralia" to refer to the ski village in an interview in 2010, and this has since become a nickname. [21] In 2010 it was estimated that Australians made up 34% of the workforce for Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort. [21] Australian snacks such as meat pies, Tim Tams and Vegemite are sold at supermarkets in Whistler, and Australia Day is celebrated, with multiple pubs throwing organised party events. [21]
Name | Born - Died | Notable for | Connection with Australia | Connection with Canada |
---|---|---|---|---|
Howard Leyton-Brown [22] | 1918 – 2017 | Musician and music educator | Born in Australia | Migrated to Canada in 1952, died in Regina, Saskatchewan |
Rachel Cavalho [23] | 1907 – 2002 | Pianist and music educator | Born in Australia | Migrated to Canada in 1948 |
William McKie [24] | 1901 – 1984 | Musician, director of Westminster Abbey and producer of music for Queen Elizabeth's wedding and coronation | Born in Australia | Migrated to Canada in 1963, died in Ottawa |
Name | Born - Died | Notable for | Connection with Australia | Connection with Canada |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tommy Dunderdale | 1887 – 1960 | Professional ice hockey player in Canada | Born in Australia | Migrated to Canada in 1894 |
Steve Badger | 1956 – | Swimmer, has represented both Australia and Canada | Born in Sydney, New South Wales | Migrated to Canada in 1974 |
Name | Born - Died | Notable for | Connection with Australia | Connection with Canada |
---|---|---|---|---|
Colin Vaughan | 1931 – 2000 | Architect and urban activist | Born in Sydney, New South Wales | Migrated to Montreal, Quebec in 1950s |
John Hamilton Andrews [25] | 1933 – | Architect | Born in Australia | Migrated to Canada in 1958 |
Name | Born - Died | Notable for | Connection with Australia | Connection with Canada |
---|---|---|---|---|
Thomas Griffith Taylor [3] | 1880 – 1963 | First professor of Geography at University of Sydney, and professor of Geography at University of Toronto in 1935. | Migrated from Britain to Australia in 1883, grew up in Sydney, New South Wales | Migrated to Canada in 1935 |
Janette Turner Hospital [26] | 1942 – | Writer and professor at several Canadian universities | Born in Australia | Lived in Canada |
Mollie Gillen | 1908 – 2009 | Historian and writer | Born in Sydney, New South Wales | Migrated to Canada in 1941, died in Toronto, Ontario |
Name | Born - Died | Notable for | Connection with Australia | Connection with Canada |
---|---|---|---|---|
John Peter Lee Roberts | 1930 – | Musician and cultural policy advisor, awarded Member (1981) and then Officer (1995) of the Order of Canada [27] | Born in Australia [27] | Migrated to Canada in 1955 [27] |
Adam Vaughan | 1961 – | Politician for Canadian Liberal Party, current Member of Parliament for Spadina-Fort York | Australian father (Colin Vaughan) | Born in Canada |
Helen Cooper | 1946 – | Canadian politician, former Mayor of Kingston, Ontario | Born in Australia | Migrated to Canada in childhood |
Yuri Leith Fulmer | 1974 – | Philanthropist and entrepreneur | Mother was Australian, born in Perth, Western Australia | Father was Canadian, migrated to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1992 |
John Best | 1861 – 1923 | Politician for Canadian Conservative Party and Unionist Party, former Member of Parliament for Dufferin | Born in Australia | Migrated to Canada |
Katie Telford | 1978 – | Public servant, chief of staff to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau | Australian father | Born in Canada |
Andrew Wilkinson | 1957/58 – | MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena, Leader of BC Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia | Born in Brisbane, Queensland | Migrated to British Columbia at 4, became Canadian citizen |
Name | Born - Died | Notable for | Connection with Australia | Connection with Canada |
---|---|---|---|---|
Helene Joy | 1978 – | Actress | Born in Australia | Migrated to Vancouver, British Columbia |
Peter Kelamis | 1967 – | Voice actor | Born in Australia | Migrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, became Canadian citizen |
Scott McNeil | 1962 – | Voice actor | Born in Australia | Migrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, became Canadian citizen |
Statistics Canada conducts a country-wide census that collects demographic data every five years on the first and sixth year of each decade. The 2021 Canadian census enumerated a total population of 36,991,981, an increase of around 5.2 percent over the 2016 figure. It is estimated that Canada's population surpassed 40 million in 2023 and 41 million in 2024. Between 1990 and 2008, the population increased by 5.6 million, equivalent to 20.4 percent overall growth. The main driver of population growth is immigration. Between 2011 and May 2016, Canada's population grew by 1.7 million people, with immigrants accounting for two-thirds of the increase.
Canada is divided into 10 provinces and three territories. The majority of Canada's population is concentrated in the areas close to the Canada–US border. Its four largest provinces by area are also its most populous; together they account for 86.5 percent of the country's population. The territories account for over a third of Canada's area but are home to only 0.32 percent of its population, which skews the national population density value.
Foreign workers or guest workers are people who work in a country other than one of which they are a citizen. Some foreign workers use a guest worker program in a country with more preferred job prospects than in their home country. Guest workers are often either sent or invited to work outside their home country or have acquired a job before leaving their home country, whereas migrant workers often leave their home country without a specific job in prospect.
In Canada, temporary residency applies to those who are not Canadian citizens but are legally in Canada for a temporary purpose, including international students, foreign workers, and tourists.
The Australian continent was first settled when ancestors of Indigenous Australians arrived via the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and New Guinea over 50,000 years ago.
Lebanese Canadians are Canadians of Lebanese origin. According to the 2016 census there were 219,555 Canadians who claimed Lebanese ancestry, showing an increase compared to the 2006 census, making them by far the largest group of people with Arabic-speaking roots. As of the 2016 census, they are also one of the largest communities of Asian origin in the country.
A working holiday visa is a residence permit allowing travellers to undertake employment in the country issuing the visa to supplement their travel funds. For many young people, holding a working holiday visa enables them to experience living in a foreign country without having to find work sponsorship in advance or going on an expensive university exchange programme.
Immigration law includes the national statutes, regulations, and legal precedents governing immigration into and deportation from a country. Strictly speaking, it is distinct from other matters such as naturalization and citizenship, although they are sometimes conflated. Countries frequently maintain laws that regulate both the rights of entry and exit as well as internal rights, such as the duration of stay, freedom of movement, and the right to participate in commerce or government.
According to the 2021 Canadian census, immigrants in Canada number 8.3 million persons and make up approximately 23 percent of Canada's total population. This represents the eighth-largest immigrant population in the world, while the proportion represents one of the highest ratios for industrialized Western countries.
Canadian immigration and refugee law concerns the area of law related to the admission of foreign nationals into Canada, their rights and responsibilities once admitted, and the conditions of their removal. The primary law on these matters is in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, whose goals include economic growth, family reunification, and compliance with humanitarian treaties.
Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to the continent of Asia. Canadians with Asian ancestry comprise both the largest and fastest growing group in Canada, after European Canadians, forming approximately 20.2 percent of the Canadian population as of 2021. Most Asian Canadians are concentrated in the urban areas of Southern Ontario, Southwestern British Columbia, Central Alberta, and other large Canadian cities.
European Canadians, or Euro-Canadians, are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to the continent of Europe. They form the largest panethnic group within Canada.
The visa policy of Canada requires that any foreign citizen wishing to enter Canada must obtain a temporary resident visa from one of the Canadian diplomatic missions unless they hold a passport issued by one of the 53 eligible visa-exempt countries and territories or proof of permanent residence in Canada or the United States.
Hong Kong Canadians are Canadians who were born or raised in Hong Kong, hold permanent residency in Hong Kong, or trace their ancestry back to Hong Kong. In Canada, the majority of Hong Kong Canadians reside in the metropolitan areas of Toronto and Vancouver. Many Hong Kong Canadians continue to maintain their status as Hong Kong permanent residents.
Australia–Hong Kong relations are distinct to Australia-China relations. Hong Kong has the status of a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, and maintains its own international relations including those with Australia, as it is empowered to do under the Hong Kong Basic Law. Australia supports the Sino-British Joint Declaration, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and in accordance with China's policy of observing "one country, two systems". On the other hand, mainland China has stated that Hong Kong is within China's internal affairs.
Immigration to Vietnam is the process by which people migrate to become Vietnamese residents. After the declaration of independence in 1945, immigration laws were modified to give the central government some control over immigrant workers arriving from nearby South Asian countries such as China, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, and Thailand. The Vietnam Immigration Department recently relaxed the strict controls on immigrant workers under Decree 21/2001/ND-CP, 34/2008/NĐ-CP and 46/2011/NĐ-CP.
The Malaysian diaspora are Malaysian emigrants from Malaysia and their descendants that reside in a foreign country. Population estimates vary from seven hundred thousand to one million, both descendants of early emigrants from Malaysia, as well as more recent emigrants from Malaysia. The largest of these foreign communities are in Singapore, Australia, Brunei and the United Kingdom.
Yugoslav Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Yugoslav ancestry. At the 2016 Census, the total number of Canadians whose origins lie in former Yugoslavia, majority of whom indicated specific ethnic origin, was 386,340 or 1.12% of the total population.
West Asian Canadians, officially known as West Central Asian and Middle Eastern Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to West Asia and Central Asia. The term West Asian Canadian is a subgroup of Asian Canadians and Middle Eastern Canadians. According to Statistics Canada, West Asian Canadians are considered visible minorities and can be further divided by nationality, such as Iranian Canadian or Afghan Canadian.
Since confederation in 1867 through to the contemporary era, decadal and demi-decadal census reports in Canada have compiled detailed immigration statistics. During this period, the highest annual immigration rate in Canada occurred in 1913, when 400,900 new immigrants accounted for 5.3 percent of the total population, while the greatest number of immigrants admitted to Canada in single year occurred in 2023, with 471,550 persons accounting for 1.2 percent of the total population.
{{cite web}}
: Check |url=
value (help){{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)