Canadians of Sri Lankan origin
Encyclopedia
Sri Lankan Canadians refers to people from Sri Lanka
who have arrived and settled in Canada
. Among these immigrant
s include members from the Sinhalese
, Tamil
, Moor
, Malay
and Burgher
ethnicities. As of 2006 there are 103,625 Sri Lankans in Canada.
and Montreal
. According to the 2001 census, there are 62,000 Canadians who claim Sri Lankan, but only 10,000 claimed sinhalese origin ancestry
. The number may not be an actual representation because many Tamil Canadians from Sri Lanka do not list themselves as Sri Lankans on the official Census.
Since almost all the Sri Lankans who immigrated to Canada under skilled migration schemes have received their higher education free, there is a moral tendency among them to obtain dual citizenship in addition to the fact that they left behind relatives and accrued wealth.{Ref:to be added}
Sri Lankan Associations in Canada and their role:
There is a considerable number of Sri Lankan associations in Canada. The main objectives of these associations are to help the immigrants, continue their Sri Lankan traditions and to help Sri Lanka. Some of these associations are ethnic based but majority of the cities have associations which cater to all people having a link with Sri Lanka regardless of their ethnic or political orientation (Eg. Sri Lanka Association of Cambridge,Guelph, Kitchener and Waterloo).
List of Sri Lankan associations in Ontario:
News Papers catering Sri Lankan Canadians
A number of newspapers are printed in Ontario to cater the Sri Lankan diaspora. They are printed in English, Sinhalese and Tamil languages and distributed free. These news papers mainly tell the stories from Sri Lanka (current and old) and talks about the achievements of Canadian Sri Lankans. Sometimes, they get in to small discussions on Sri Lankan politics as well as give some general information and tips necessary to help immigrants survive in Canada. These newspapers can be picked up at some grocery stores where they sell Sri Lankan food, places of religious worship, etc.
List of Sri Lankan news papers available in Ontario.
and his financier brother Christopher Ondaatje
; musician Nirmala Basnayake, formerly of the band controller.controller
; news anchor Anne-Marie Mediwake
; novelist Shyam Selvadurai
; cricketers Sanjayan Thuraisingam
, film Actor, producer and multiple Guinness World Record-holder Suresh Joachim
; and Pubudu Dassanayake
.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
who have arrived and settled in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Among these immigrant
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
s include members from the Sinhalese
Sinhalese people
The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...
, Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
, Moor
Sri Lankan Moors
The Sri Lankan Moors are the third largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka comprising 8% of the country's total population . They are predominantly followers of Islam. The Moors trace their ancestry to Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka some time between the 8th and 15th centuries...
, Malay
Sri Lankan Malays
The Malays of Sri Lanka originated in Southeast Asia and today consist of about 50,000 people...
and Burgher
Burgher people
The Burghers are a Eurasian ethnic group, historically from Sri Lanka, consisting for the most part of male-line descendants of European colonists from the 16th to 20th centuries and local women, with some minorities of Swedish, Norwegian, French and Irish.Today the mother tongue of the Burghers...
ethnicities. As of 2006 there are 103,625 Sri Lankans in Canada.
Demographics
Sri Lankan Canadians are concentrated in the cities of TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. According to the 2001 census, there are 62,000 Canadians who claim Sri Lankan, but only 10,000 claimed sinhalese origin ancestry
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
. The number may not be an actual representation because many Tamil Canadians from Sri Lanka do not list themselves as Sri Lankans on the official Census.
Population settlement
The Sri Lankan Canadian Population according to Statistics Canada in the 2006 census in the 10 Canadian Provinces and 3 territories:| Province Provinces and territories of Canada The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories... |
Sri Lankans |
|---|---|
 OntarioOntario Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.... |
85,935 |
 QuebecQuebec Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level.... |
10,750 |
 British ColumbiaBritish Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858... |
4,150 |
 AlbertaAlberta Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces... |
1,740 |
 ManitobaManitoba Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other... |
445 |
 SaskatchewanSaskatchewan Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota.... |
240 |
 Nova ScotiaNova Scotia Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the... |
155 |
 Newfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400... |
115 |
 New BrunswickNew Brunswick New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area... |
45 |
 YukonYukon Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in.... |
25 |
 Northwest TerritoriesNorthwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south... |
10 |
 NunavutNunavut Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993... |
10 |
 Prince Edward IslandPrince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population... |
0 |
 Canada |
103,625 |
Dual Citizenship
Some Sri Lankan Canadians are holding the citizenship of both countries, Canada and Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government encourage Sri Lankan expatriates to obtain the citizenship of their country of birth at a fee and to return to Sri Lanka at a future date. There is a drive to attract the educated Sri Lankan immigrants in Canada for new opportunities arising in the government sector of Sri Lanka (such as universities, research institutes etc.), which may sometime require the applicants to be Sri Lankan citizens.Since almost all the Sri Lankans who immigrated to Canada under skilled migration schemes have received their higher education free, there is a moral tendency among them to obtain dual citizenship in addition to the fact that they left behind relatives and accrued wealth.{Ref:to be added}
Ontario
Organizations- Global Sri Lankan Forum
Sri Lankan Associations in Canada and their role:
There is a considerable number of Sri Lankan associations in Canada. The main objectives of these associations are to help the immigrants, continue their Sri Lankan traditions and to help Sri Lanka. Some of these associations are ethnic based but majority of the cities have associations which cater to all people having a link with Sri Lanka regardless of their ethnic or political orientation (Eg. Sri Lanka Association of Cambridge,Guelph, Kitchener and Waterloo).
List of Sri Lankan associations in Ontario:
- Sri Lanka Canada Association of Ottawa,
- Canada/Sri Lanka Association
- Democratic Tamil Cultural Association,
- Malay Association,
- Sinhala Association,
- Canada Sri Lanka Muslim Association,
- Sri Jayewardenepura Graduates Association
- Ambalangoda Association,
- Sri Lanka Association of Cambridge, Guelph, Kitchener, and Waterloo
News Papers catering Sri Lankan Canadians
A number of newspapers are printed in Ontario to cater the Sri Lankan diaspora. They are printed in English, Sinhalese and Tamil languages and distributed free. These news papers mainly tell the stories from Sri Lanka (current and old) and talks about the achievements of Canadian Sri Lankans. Sometimes, they get in to small discussions on Sri Lankan politics as well as give some general information and tips necessary to help immigrants survive in Canada. These newspapers can be picked up at some grocery stores where they sell Sri Lankan food, places of religious worship, etc.
List of Sri Lankan news papers available in Ontario.
Notable Sri Lankan Canadians
Famous Sri Lankan Canadians include author Michael OndaatjeMichael Ondaatje
Philip Michael Ondaatje , OC, is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet of Burgher origin. He is perhaps best known for his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient, which was adapted into an Academy-Award-winning film.-Life and work:...
and his financier brother Christopher Ondaatje
Christopher Ondaatje
Sir Philip Christopher Ondaatje, OC, CBE is a Sri Lankan-Canadian businessman, philanthropist, adventurer, writer and Olympian. He lives in the United Kingdom.-Overview:...
; musician Nirmala Basnayake, formerly of the band controller.controller
Controller.controller
controller.controller was a Canadian indie rock band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consisted of vocalist Nirmala Basnayake, guitarists Colwyn Llewellyn-Thomas and Scott Kaija, bassist Ronnie Morris and drummer Jeff Scheven. The band took its name from a song by Shotmaker. The band formed in 2002...
; news anchor Anne-Marie Mediwake
Anne-Marie Mediwake
Anne Marie Abeyesinghe Mediwake is a Canadian television news anchor. Formerly co-anchor of Global Toronto's 6 p.m. News Hour, she was hired in September 2009 by the CBC News Network...
; novelist Shyam Selvadurai
Shyam Selvadurai
Shyam Selvadurai is a Sri Lankan Canadian novelist who wrote Funny Boy , which won the Books in Canada First Novel Award, and Cinnamon Gardens...
; cricketers Sanjayan Thuraisingam
Sanjayan Thuraisingam
Sanjayan Thuraisingam is a Tamil Canadian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast medium bowler....
, film Actor, producer and multiple Guinness World Record-holder Suresh Joachim
Suresh Joachim
Suresh Joachim Arulanantham is a Tamil Canadian film actor, producer, and multiple-Guinness World Record holder who has broken 60 world records set in several countries in attempts to benefit underprivileged children around the world.-World records:...
; and Pubudu Dassanayake
Pubudu Dassanayake
Pubudu Bathiya Dassanayake is a Sri Lankan cricketer who played in 11 Tests and 16 ODIs from 1993 to 1994. Chosen as the wicket keeper for the 1993 home Test series against South Africa he made his debut in the first match without making much of an impression, keeping solidly behind the wickets...
.