Tamil Canadians
Tamil Canadians, or Canadian Tamils, are Canadians of Tamil ethno-linguistic origin. Much of Canada's Tamil diaspora from India and Sri Lanka then majority consist of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who sought to flee the ethnic tensions during the Sri Lankan Civil War between the 1970s and 2000s, while economic Tamil migrants also originate from India, Singapore and other parts of South Asia.
தமிழர் | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| 237,890 0.7% of the total Canadian population (2021) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Greater Toronto, Greater Montreal, Greater Vancouver, Calgary Region, Edmonton Region, National Capital Region | |
| Languages | |
| Tamil, Canadian English, Canadian French | |
| Religion | |
| Majority
Minority Christianity, Islam, Atheism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Indian Tamils, Sri Lankan Tamils |
| Part of a series on |
| Tamils |
|---|
| Tamil portal |
Canada's Tamil population is among the largest in the Western world, with Toronto being home to one of the largest Tamil-speaking populations outside of Asia, and Montreal recording Tamil as the most spoken South Asian language in the 2016 Census, ahead of Bengali, Punjabi and Urdu. Other Tamil diaspora communities are found in the metropolitan areas of Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa. Tamil is the second-most spoken South Asian language in Canada as of 2016.
From a population of fewer than 150 in 1983, Tamils have become one of the largest ethnic groups within the Greater Toronto Area, and form an increasing share of the overall Canadian population. As per the 2021 Canadian census, Tamil Canadians number approximately 240,000 and account for roughly 0.7% of Canada's population.