 |
| Tamil Canadian children in traditional garments in Toronto. |
| Total population |
|---|
| ~140,000- 200,000 [1][2] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Southern Ontario, British Columbia Coast, Greater Montreal, Central Alberta |
| Languages |
| Religion |
| Related ethnic groups |
Tamil Canadian or Canadian Tamils are Canadians of Tamil ethnic origins mostly from Sri Lanka and other countries such as India, Malaysia, South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Fiji. It is estimated that the Tamil Diaspora in Canada ranges from 138,675 (Year 2006) [2] to 200,000[1]. From a population of fewer than 2,000 Tamils in 1983, it has become one of the largest visible minority population groups within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). More than 25,000 were added between 1984 and 1992; in the 1991 census, Tamils were the fastest-growing ethnic group in Metropolitan Toronto. Canada's Tamil population is thought to constitute the largest Sri Lankan diaspora in the world and Toronto is "the city with the largest number of Sri Lankan Tamils in the world".[3][4][5]
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Background information
In 2000, Sri Lanka was the sixth largest source country of immigrants to Canada, sending 5,841 people or 2.57% of Canada's immigrant total. It is also the second largest source of refugees. Between 1991-2001, Sri Lanka was the fifth largest source country of immigrants to Canada, after China, India, the Philippines, and Hong Kong.[4]
Education
In 2001 the Canadian Tamil community had over 4,500 software programmers and 40 practising medical doctors in the GTA area alone. The local university Tamil student population in the country numbers over 5,500, of whom about 200 are in post-graduate studies..[6] Tamil students have also started many student movements in Canada including the TSA and Hindu Youth Network
Media
A bilingual Tamil, English newspaper "The Ceylon Times" claiming to be the first English Tamil bilingual newspaper in the world, is in publication since 2002. A community directory of businesses and services for this community, Thamilar Mathiyil (Amidst Tamils), has been published since 1990 and has grown to several hundred pages in length. There are ten weekly Tamil language newspapers, four Tamil language radio stations, and three cinemas that show Tamil language films that are produced in Tamil Nadu and in Canada. Toronto is also home to the largest Tamil video and music stores in the world. There are also two television stations in Tamil serving the community.[3] Two local Tamil Television channels are broadcasted 24 hours service in Tamil, such as TVI and Tamil One. Many films are produced by Tamils based in Toronto are called as Tamil Canadian cinema.
Social and political activity
There are many social and political organizations such as the Canadian Tamil Congress that work as a lobby group to get across the viewpoints of their constituents at the provincial and federal level. Some organizations are explicit in their support of the the struggle for an independent Tamil Eelam by the rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). As the LTTE was banned in Canada, such activities have been curtailed. Most other organizations are geared towards organizing kin and village groups from Sri Lanka, as well as supporting various political parties such as the Liberal Party of Canada, New Democratic Party and Conservative Party of Canada. Tamil candidates have participated in the political process representing various parties at municipal, provincial and federal level. Logan Kanapathi is the first Tamil Canadian candidate to win a significant political position.[3][5][7][8]. He currently serves as Ward 7 councilor in the town of Markham. Many Hindu Temples have been built by the community to cater to its religious needs. Hindu Youth Network, an organization founded by Sri Lankan Tamils, is currently the largest Hindu youth movement in Canada with thousands of Hindu Tamil students and over 80% of the Hindu student groups in the country under its umbrella.[9] There are also Christian churches that cater particularly to the Tamil community in Canada.[10]
Sports and literature
Canada has attracted a number of internationally renowned writers from Sri Lanka, including Shyam Selvadurai. Despite his family's relative privilege and urban base, his family left Sri Lanka because of the 1983 riots.
Canadian Tamils have also contributed to the sports fields such as the former ranked Canadian tennis player Sonya Jayaseelan and cricketer Sanjayan Thuraisingam
See also
- List of Canadian Tamils
- Tamil Sri Lankans
- Sri Lankan Canadians
- Tamil Malaysians
- Tamil diaspora
- Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora
References
- ^ a b DIVERSITY WATCH - Ryerson University School of Journalism
- ^ a b Statistics Canada - Various Languages Spoken (147), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data
- ^ a b c Cheran, R (2000). Changing Formations: Tamil Nationalism and National Liberation in Sri Lanka and the Diaspora. Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Sociology, York University.
- ^ a b Jennifer Hyndman (2000). Aid, conflict and migration: the Canada Sri Lanka connection. Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University. http://web.mit.edu/cis/www/migration/seminars/Discussion_Hyndman.pdf#search='Sri%20Lanka%20Tamil%20migration'. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
- ^ a b Sriskandarajah, Dhananjayan (2005). "Diaspora politics". Springer US. http://www.springerlink.com/content/x2543gl118672348/. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
- ^ "Canada’s Tamils celebrate their successes" (in English). Tamil Guardian. 2001-06-03. http://www.tamilguardian.com/tg112/community.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
- ^ Lak, Daniel (2003-05-03). "Canada's Tamils dream of peace". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3020907.stm. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
- ^ "Tamil rebels 'coercing diaspora'". BBC. 2006-03-15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4807846.stm. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
- ^ globeandmail.com: National
- ^ "List of Hindu temples in Canada". Tamil library. 2002-05-14. http://tamilelibrary.org/teli/temple1.html. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
External links
- Alberta Tamils Society
- Edmonton Tamil Forum
- Tamils in Canada from Ravindiran Vaitheespara, The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples
- Hindu Youth Network - Tamil Hindu youth movement in Canada
- Canadian Multicultural Radio-Online
- Canadian Tamil Radio
- Young Tamils searching for roots, peace
- Canadian Tamil Congress
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