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Punjabi Canadians are Canadian citizens of Punjabi descent, numbering approximately 950,000 and accounting for roughly 2.6% of Canada's population, as per the 2021 Canadian census. [ b ] Their heritage originates wholly or partly from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan .
As immigration from other South Asian countries increased coupled with an increase of immigration from other regions within India, the percentage of Punjabi speakers out of the total South Asian population declined. [4] Today, Urdu, Punjabi and Tamil are the three most spoken languages in Toronto's South Asian community. [citation needed]
The term South Asian Canadian is a subgroup of Asian Canadian and, according to Statistics Canada, can further be divided by nationality, such as Indian Canadian, Pakistani Canadian, and Bangladeshi Canadian. [5] As of 2021, South Asians (7.1 percent) comprise the second largest pan-ethnic group in Canada after Europeans (69.8 percent). [1] [6]
A notable moment in early South Asian Canadian history in British Columbia was in 1902 when Punjabi Sikh settlers first arrived in Golden, British Columbia to work at the Columbia River Lumber Company. [16] This was a theme amongst most early Punjabi settlers in Canada to find work in the agricultural and forestry sectors in British Columbia. [17]
The Indo-Canadian community began to form around the late 19th century, pioneered by men, the great majority of whom were Punjabi Sikhs—primarily soldiers of the Sikh Regiment and Punjab Regiment but also from farming backgrounds—with some Punjabi Hindus and Punjabi Muslims, and many of whom were veterans of the British Indian Army. [37]
Punjabis make up approximately 2.6% of the Canadian population as per the 2021 Canadian Census. [23] The largest Punjabi community in Canada is in Ontario, with 397,867 Punjabis as of 2021 (making up 2.84% of the overall population), while British Columbia is home to approximately 315,000 Punjabis (making up 6.41% of the overall population).
The book discusses Punjabi immigrants to northern British Columbia in the period after World War II, [1] and several chapters have a focus on the Punjabis of Skeena Country. [2] The book has information on the female Punjabi experience. The book also discusses anti-Punjabi sentiments found in the First Nations peoples of British Columbia. [1]
The movement of South Asian professionals of Pakistani national origins from other Canadian provinces into Vancouver caused existing Punjabi Muslims to move further away from Punjabi Sikhs. [33] Immigration from several countries, including Fiji and Middle Eastern countries, increased the Indo-Canadian Sunni Muslim population. [ 79 ]