Buddhism in Canada

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Ling Yen Mountain Temple in Richmond, BC Buddhist Temple on No. 5 Road, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.jpg
Ling Yen Mountain Temple in Richmond, BC

Buddhism is one of the smaller minority religions in Canada. The 2021 Canadian census recorded 356,975 Buddhists, representing 1% of Canada's population, the same percentage reported in the 2001 census. [1]

Contents

History

Buddhism has been practised in Canada for more than a century. Buddhism arrived in Canada with the arrival of Chinese labourers in the territories during the 19th century. [2] Modern Buddhism in Canada traces to Japanese immigration during the late 19th century. [2] The first Japanese Buddhist temple in Canada was built at the Ishikawa Hotel in Vancouver in 1905. [3] Over time, the Japanese Jōdo Shinshū branch of Buddhism established the largest Buddhist organization in Canada. [2] In the 1971 Canadian census, nearly two-thirds of Buddhists in Canada were of Japanese ethnicity. [4]

Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery near Kamloops, BC Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery Vihara.jpg
Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery near Kamloops, BC

A substantial expansion of Buddhism in Canada began in the 1970s. Changes in Canadian immigration and refugee policies corresponded to increasing communities from South, Southeast, and East Asian nations with Buddhist traditions. The 2001 Canadian census reported that 54.5% of Buddhists in Canada were of Chinese origin, and 33.5% were of Southeast Asian origin, while the percentage of Japanese Buddhists had declined to 4.5% of the total. [4] In addition, the popularity of the 14th Dalai Lama, the third person ever to be granted honorary Canadian citizenship in 2006, [5] increased the Canadian public's exposure to and interest in Buddhism, particularly Tibetan Buddhism. [6] [7]

In 2012, there were 489 Buddhist organizations in Canada, [8] including temples, centres, associations, retreats, charities and businesses. All lineages (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, and newer Navayana schools) are represented. The following universities in Canada have incorporated Buddhist studies either as a sub-discipline of religious studies, or as a subsidiary to Asian studies: the University of Toronto has two professors specialized in Buddhism, [9] and the University of Calgary also maintains two professorships related to Buddhism. [10] Smaller universities in Canada will typically have just one professor assigned to Buddhism (sometimes the same professor responsible for all Asian Religions) as, e.g., at the University of Lethbridge. [11]

Many immigrant and refugee populations continue to maintain their traditions in Canada, building places of worship in both urban and rural areas, including the Sinhalese Mahavihara (1978) in Toronto, [12] the Cambodian Khmer Pagoda of Canada (1980) in Montreal, the Vietnamese Đại Tòng Lâm Monastery (1988) in Harrington, Quebec, the Lao and Thai Theravada Wat Buddhadhamma (1992) in Regina, Saskatchewan, [13] [14] and the Chinese Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden (2019) in Cavan Monaghan, Ontario. [15] In the 2021 Canadian census, over 90% of Buddhists reported being part of a visible minority, with Chinese (37%), Vietnamese (26%), Cambodian (5.5%), and Sri Lankan/Sinhalese (5.3%) being the most common ethnic origins. [16]

Small numbers of Canadians of non-Asian ancestry have also been converting to Buddhism. [17] Many non-Asian Canadians, such as Namgyal Rinpoche, Glenn H. Mullin, and Richard Barron, have embraced Buddhism in various traditions and some have become leaders in their respective sanghas. The book Choosing Buddhism [18] by the cultural anthropologist Mauro Peressini provides a survey of the history of Buddhism in Canada and documents the conversion to Buddhism of eight notable contemporary Canadian Buddhists including Ajahn Viradhammo, Jim Bedard, Albert Low, Taigen Henderson, Zengetsu Myōkyo, Louis Cormier, Kelsang Drenpa and Tsultrim Palmo.

Demographics

Buddhist population in Canada
YearPop.±%
1901 10,407    
1911 10,012−3.8%
1921 11,281+12.7%
1931 15,784+39.9%
1941 15,635−0.9%
1951 8,184−47.7%
1961 11,611+41.9%
1971 16,175+39.3%
1981 51,955+221.2%
1991 163,415+214.5%
2001 300,345+83.8%
2011 366,830+22.1%
2021 356,975−2.7%
Sources: Beyer, [4] 2011 [19] and 2021 [16] Censuses
Buddhist population in Canadian provinces and territories, 2011–2021
Province or territoryBuddhist populationChange
2021 [20] 2011 [21]
Flag of Ontario.svg Ontario 164,210163,750+0.3%
Flag of British Columbia.svg British Columbia 83,86090,620−7.5%
Flag of Quebec.svg Quebec 48,37052,385−7.7%
Flag of Alberta.svg Alberta 42,83044,410−3.6%
Flag of Manitoba.svg Manitoba 7,4406,770+9.9%
Flag of Saskatchewan.svg Saskatchewan 4,4154,265+3.5%
Flag of Nova Scotia.svg Nova Scotia 2,9552,205+34.0%
Flag of New Brunswick.svg New Brunswick 1,115975+14.4%
Flag of Prince Edward Island.svg Prince Edward Island 755560+34.8%
Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador.svg Newfoundland and Labrador 490400+22.5%
Flag of Yukon.svg Yukon 260295−11.9%
Flag of the Northwest Territories.svg Northwest Territories 250170+47.1%
Flag of Nunavut.svg Nunavut 20200.0%
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada356,975366,830−2.7%
Percentage of people who are Buddhists in Canadian provinces and territories, 2021
Province or territoryBuddhist [20]
Flag of British Columbia.svg British Columbia 1.68%
Flag of Ontario.svg Ontario 1.15%
Flag of Alberta.svg Alberta 1.00%
Flag of Yukon.svg Yukon 0.65%
Flag of the Northwest Territories.svg Northwest Territories 0.61%
Flag of Quebec.svg Quebec 0.57%
Flag of Manitoba.svg Manitoba 0.55%
Flag of Prince Edward Island.svg Prince Edward Island 0.49%
Flag of Saskatchewan.svg Saskatchewan 0.39%
Flag of Nova Scotia.svg Nova Scotia 0.30%
Flag of New Brunswick.svg New Brunswick 0.14%
Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador.svg Newfoundland and Labrador 0.10%
Flag of Nunavut.svg Nunavut 0.05%
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada0.97%

Prison population

Public Safety Canada's 2023 statistics indicated that 1.9% of offenders in federal (CSC) facilities are Buddhists. [22]

See also

References

  1. "The Canadian census: A rich portrait of the country's religious and ethnocultural diversity". Statistics Canada. October 26, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Buddhism" Archived 2018-04-12 at the Wayback Machine . The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  3. "A Journalist's Guide to Buddhism" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-14. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  4. 1 2 3 Beyer, Peter (2006). "Buddhism in Canada: A Statistical Overview from Canadian Censuses, 1981-2001" (PDF). Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies (2): 83–102. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  5. "Who are the honorary Canadians?". CBC. October 10, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  6. Scrivener, Leslie (May 8, 2004). "'Ordinary as daylight'; The Dalai Lama is revered as a successor to Gandhi, or dismissed as a hot tub" guru of a disillusioned generation Thousands turned out daily during his Toronto visit to hear his message of peace, serenity and hope, writes Leslie Scrivener". Toronto Star . Toronto. p. E04 via ProQuest.
  7. Bramadat, Paul; Seljak, David (2009). Religion and Ethnicity in Canada. University of Toronto Press. p. 83. ISBN   9781442610187.
  8. Negru, John H. (2013). Highlights from the Survey of Canadian Buddhist Organizations Archived 2017-05-11 at the Wayback Machine , Journal of Global Buddhism 14, 1-18
  9. (1) Prof. Frances Garret & (2) Prof. Christoph Emmrich. http://www.religion.utoronto.ca/people/faculty/frances-garrett/ Archived 2012-11-03 at the Wayback Machine & "Emmrich, Christoph | Department of Historical Studies". Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  10. "| Faculty of Arts | University of Calgary". Archived from the original on 2012-11-24. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  11. "Campus Directory: John Harding". Archived from the original on 2013-01-07. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  12. "Toronto Mahavihara" . Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  13. Yuan, Ren. "Wat Buddhadhamma". The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  14. Anderson, Leona; Hillis, Bryan; Sanche, Margaret. "Religion". The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  15. Shiu, Henry C. H.; Scott, Jamie S. (2021). "Building Buddhism in Canada: From the Ishikawa Hotel to the Four Great Sacred Buddhist Mountains Project". Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada. 46 (2): 38–59. doi:10.7202/1088488ar . Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Religion by ethnic or cultural origins: Canada, provinces and territories and census metropolitan areas with parts". Statistics Canada. May 10, 2023. Table 98-10-0341-01. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  17. John S. Harding, Victor Sogen Hori and Alexander Soucy (2010). Wild Geese: Buddhism in Canada. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN   978-0-7735-3666-1.
  18. Mauro Peressini (2016). Choosing Buddhism: The Life Stories of Eight Canadians. Ottawa University Press; 1st edition. ISBN   978-0-776-62333-7. Archived from the original on 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  19. "Religions in Canada—Census 2011". Statistics Canada/Statistique Canada. 8 May 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  20. 1 2 "Religion by gender and age: Canada, provinces and territories". Statistics Canada. June 21, 2023. Table: 98-10-0353-01. doi:10.25318/9810035301-eng . Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  21. "Religion (108), Immigrant Status and Period of Immigration (11), Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2011 National Household Survey". Statistics Canada. January 23, 2019. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 99-010-X2011032. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  22. "CSC offender population by religion". 2023 Corrections and Conditional Release Statistical Overview. Public Safety Canada. July 2025. Retrieved September 25, 2025.

Further reading