Latin American Canadians (French: Canadiens d'Amérique latine; Portuguese: Canadenses da América Latina; Spanish: Canadienses de América Latina), are Canadians who are descendants of people from countries of Latin America. The majority of Latin American Canadians are multilingual, primarily speaking Spanish, Portuguese, French and English. Most are fluent in one or both of Canada's two official languages, English and French. Spanish and Portuguese are Romance languages and share similarities in morphology and syntax with French.
Latin American Canadians have made distinguished contributions to Canada in all major fields, including politics, the military, diplomacy, music, philosophy, sports, business and economy, and science.
The largest Latin American groups represented in Canada are Mexican Canadians, Colombian Canadians and Salvadoran Canadians. The Latino population is mostly concentrated in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Ontario holds the largest Latin American population with Toronto having the largest concentration (including the suburbs of Mississauga and Brampton), as well as other cities such as London, Leamington, Ottawa and Kitchener-Waterloo. Quebec has the second-largest Latin American population with Montreal having the largest concentration.
Latin American Canadians make up one of the major groups designated as a visible minority according to Statistics Canada.[2]
Over 1 million (3% of Canadians) are of Latin American or Hispanic descent, according to 2023 Statistics Canada data estimates.
The majority of Latin American Canadians are recent immigrants who arrived in the late 20th century from Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Peru with smaller communities from Chile, Venezuela, Brazil, Cuba, Guatemala, and elsewhere, with nearly all Latin American countries represented.[3] Reasons for immigrating include Canada's better economic opportunities and politics or civil war and political repression in their native countries, as in the case of Chileans escaping from Augusto Pinochet's rule, Salvadorans fleeing from the Salvadoran Civil War, Peruvians escaping from the Internal conflict in Peru, Dominicans opposed to the regimes of Rafael Trujillo and Joaquin Balaguer, Mexicans escaping from the Mexican Drug War, and Colombians from the violence in their country.
As of the 2021 Canadian Census, the largest Latin American communities are in the census metropolitan areas of Toronto (396,459; 3.5%),[4] Montreal (287,856; 3.2%),[5] Vancouver (151,500; 2.0%),[6] Calgary (134,395; 2.3%),[7] Edmonton (121,960; 1.6%),[8] Ottawa (90,620; 1.4%),[9] and Hamilton (30,605; 1.9%).[9] The fastest growing are in the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia.
Source: Canada 2021 Census[15]National average: 1.6%
In 2002, 82% of those who reported Latin American origin said they had a strong sense of belonging to Canada. At the same time, 57% said that they had a strong sense of belonging to their ethnic or cultural group.[citation needed]
People with Latin American origins are also active in Canadian society. For example, 66% of Canadians of Latin American origin who were eligible to vote did so in the 2000 federal election.[17]
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The main groups designated as visible minorities are South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Arab, Latin American, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese.