Diversity in Canadian cities

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by wanderer34

It would probably be smarter for Montreal to gain immigrants from not just Francophone nations such as Haiti, Cote D'Ivoire, and Algeria, but also even get immigrants from Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines and Laos if it wants to increase it's Asian population, as well as get immigrants from the Spanish Caribbean (Cuba, Dominican Republic, & Puerto Rico) since Spanish and French are practically Latin languages.

Less than 1% of people in Vietnam can speak French and the majority of those are older and from the colonial days. It's estimated that there's only a few thousand people in the country who rely on it everyday as a core language. Laos is a bit more thorough with things like French language teaching in schools but that country likely isn't large enough to supply a large number of immigrants.

If Quebec is going to be focusing on Francophone immigration it'll have to focus on Africa.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Is West Asian presumably Persian, mostly? Toronto has a very visible Persian population in North York, along Yonge. My sister-in-law is a Persian Canadian hailing from the Quebec side of Ottawa area.

Canada has a pretty large Persian population relative to the U.S., where Muslim Persians aren't very common due to the post-revolution immigration shutdown. Jewish Persians are somewhat common in suburban CA and on Long Island. Muslim Persians are pretty rare outside of CA and a bit in DC suburbs.

Yes, that group is mostly Persian.

Large Persian population in North York and Richmond Hill north of Toronto. Also in the North Shore suburbs of Vancouver (North Vancouver and West Vancouver).

[Docere]

The South Asian and Black percentages in Canada are similar to Britain. But Canada has a lot more East Asians.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by Docere

Visible Minority

Total VM population 9,639,205 26.5%

South Asian 2,571,400 7.1%
Chinese 1,715,770 4.7%
Black 1,547,870 4.3%
Filipino 957,355 2.6%
Arab 694,015 1.9%
Latin American 580,235 1.6%
Southeast Asian 390,340 1.1%
West Asian 360,495 1%
Korean 218,140 0.6%
Japanese 98,890 0.3%

Also not included within the visible minority category, but Indigenous people are the 3rd largest demographic at 5.0% of the population. European Canadians comprise 69.8% (including those of mixed ancestry).

[Docere]

Canadian/Canadien only

Total 4,186,840 11.5%

Quebec 2,090,055 25.2%
Newfoundland 105,685 21%
New Brunswick 138,105 18.2%
Nova Scotia 111,390 11.7%
Prince Edward Island 17,635 11.7%
Alberta 314,795 7.5%
Ontario 1,006,435 7.2%
Saskatchewan 74,010 6.7%
British Columbia 256,545 5.2%
Manitoba 67,135 5.1%

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Less than 1% of people in Vietnam can speak French and the majority of those are older and from the colonial days. It's estimated that there's only a few thousand people in the country who rely on it everyday as a core language. Laos is a bit more thorough with things like French language teaching in schools but that country likely isn't large enough to supply a large number of immigrants.

If Quebec is going to be focusing on Francophone immigration it'll have to focus on Africa.

My friend's father in Calgary is ethnic Chinese but was among the numerous people whose family fled to Vietnam during the Mao (purge) regime. They have a Vietnamese last name.
He speaks Cantonese, French, and English. I never did ask him how fluent in Vietnamese he is. Speaking 4 languages is impressive at any rate

[Docere]

There's quite a few "French/French Canadian" groupings:

French 3,985,485
Quebecois 981,640
French Canadian 906,315
Acadian 305,175
Franco Ontarian 24,110

And probably another 2 million or so of the "Canadian" responses.

[wanderer34]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Less than 1% of people in Vietnam can speak French and the majority of those are older and from the colonial days. It's estimated that there's only a few thousand people in the country who rely on it everyday as a core language. Laos is a bit more thorough with things like French language teaching in schools but that country likely isn't large enough to supply a large number of immigrants.

One would think that because Vietnam used to be a French colony, that both Toronto and Montreal would've had an equal concentration of Vietnamese but Toronto practically beats Montreal in the concentration department. I can only hope that it's not that awful for non-Francophone immigrants in Montreal and Quebec, and that many, if not all are at least cognizant and decent in their French skills just to survive in Quebec.

Originally Posted by JHikka

If Quebec is going to be focusing on Francophone immigration it'll have to focus on Africa.

Quebec has every right to rely on Francophone immigrants the way Toronto should rely on Anglophone immigrants, but Francophone immigrants shouldn't be the sole immigration source, since Montreal is as diverse as Toronto. It should also focus on Latin Americans as well since Latin American speak Spanish, which is a Latin language fairly similar to French and many Latin Americans are Catholic, which would be a big plus for a mostly Catholic Quebec. Latin Americans would be able to assimilate the way Italians in Quebec have assimilated by being trilingual in French, Spanish, and even English.

[Docere]

[deleted]

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Docere

Yes, that group is mostly Persian.

Large Persian population in North York and Richmond Hill north of Toronto. Also in the North Shore suburbs of Vancouver (North Vancouver and West Vancouver).

I have no idea about the categories but to my mind West Asian in Canada would include Lebanese. Which are probably more numerous in Canada than Persians.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Docere

There's quite a few "French/French Canadian" groupings:

French 3,985,485
Quebecois 981,640
French Canadian 906,315
Acadian 305,175
Franco Ontarian 24,110

And probably another 2 million or so of the "Canadian" responses.

The number of Canadians who are of French origins is probably just under 10 million.

Most though not all of them still speak French. There are probably 2-3 million anglophone Canadians who have French origins who don't speak French. Almost all of them outside Quebec.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Amazing that Canada is still only 3-4% Indian. Metropolitan Canada seems like 20% Indian these days. Pop culture Canada (CBC commercials and the like) seem about the same. I occasionally watch The National for a different perspective and it seems the Canadian bank, retailer and govt. commercials have a heavy dose of South Asian families. The anchors for national and Toronto-area news are often South Asian.

Indians probably seem more visible bc, like Chinese, they're highly concentrated in the largest and most prominent Anglosphere metros.

True but Montreal is a huge exception to Metropolitan Canada being so visibly Indian. Yes there are some and it is growing but the share is much lower. East Asians are also less visible in Montreal. Blacks and Arabs make up a larger share of the visible minority population in Montreal.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I have no idea about the categories but to my mind West Asian in Canada would include Lebanese. Which are probably more numerous in Canada than Persians.

Lebanese are probably more numerous, though they would be Arab, which is a separate category.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Lebanese are probably more numerous, though they would be Arab, which is a separate category.

OK if that's the case then Persians (Iranians) would be first, followed at some distance by Turks and Armenians.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by wanderer34

Quebec has every right to rely on Francophone immigrants the way Toronto should rely on Anglophone immigrants, but Francophone immigrants shouldn't be the sole immigration source, since Montreal is as diverse as Toronto. .

The international Francophonie has over 300 million people and is growing fast. There are more than enough people for Quebec to bring in 50,000-100,000 good potential candidates every year with a knowledge of French. And limit our intake to just them.

Not suggesting this is what Quebec will or should do, but it's definitely feasible if we want to.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by wanderer34

It should also focus on Latin Americans as well since Latin American speak Spanish, which is a Latin language fairly similar to French and many Latin Americans are Catholic, which would be a big plus for a mostly Catholic Quebec. Latin Americans would be able to assimilate the way Italians in Quebec have assimilated by being trilingual in French, Spanish, and even English.

Quebec is way more culturally and historically Catholic than practising Catholic in any way these days, but yes Latin Americans are generally a very good fit in Quebec. Most people here would probably place them in the "most desirable immigrant" group, alongside a couple of other demographics.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Lebanese are probably more numerous, though they would be Arab, which is a separate category.

A lot of Lebanese Christians don't tick the Arab box and identify as white.

In the 2016 census, those of Lebanese origin are 48% were white, 47% Arab (the remainder mostly West Asian or Latin American).

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Docere

A lot of Lebanese Christians don't tick the Arab box and identify as white.

In the 2016 census, those of Lebanese origin are 48% were white, 47% Arab (the remainder mostly West Asian or Latin American).

Yup. Aside from Lebanese as a nationality, they often refer to themselves as "Phoenicians" as their ethnicity.

They also tend to say they speak "Lebanese" as opposed to "Arabic".

It's a bit odd when you overhear them speaking their language and referring to God as "Allah". (Allah is the generic Arabic word for "God", and doesn't just apply to the Muslim God. When speaking their language, Lebanese Christians refer to their God as "Allah".)

[wanderer34]

Originally Posted by Acajack

The international Francophonie has over 300 million people and is growing fast. There are more than enough people for Quebec to bring in 50,000-100,000 good potential candidates every year with a knowledge of French. And limit our intake to just them.

Not suggesting this is what Quebec will or should do, but it's definitely feasible if we want to.

Quebec doesn't need to strive for bilingualism, as I respect the French language now that I can, at the least, listen to French with ease, but within the island of Montreal, it should strive to be as diverse as possible, even as the Quebec language laws still maintain French as the official language, as many people who live in Montreal and Quebec will eventually learn, speak, write, type, and utilize French in their daily dealings while in Quebec, the province just has to be very smart about assimilating immigrants and not rely on the scare tactics that practically crippled Quebec back in the 1970s.

Originally Posted by Acajack

Quebec is way more culturally and historically Catholic than practising Catholic in any way these days, but yes Latin Americans are generally a very good fit in Quebec. Most people here would probably place them in the "most desirable immigrant" group, alongside a couple of other demographics.

Makes a lot of sense to make Montreal not just the center of la Francophone in America, but also make it a Latin capital for Canada as well not so much the same as, let's say, Miami, but just have a big enough population and concentration of visible Latin American groups like Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Venezuelans, and Colombians within Montreal and parts of Quebec.

[Docere]

Statistics Canada classifies "white and Arab", "white and West Asian" and "white and Latin American" responses not as visible minorities. All the rest are. But the 2021 census now has data on all sorts of combinations.

Arab 795,665 2.2% (694,015 VM)
Latin American 726,820 2% (580,235 VM)
West Asian 385,650 1.1% (360,495 VM)