Latin American Canadians

Latin American Canadians (Template:Langx; Template:Langx; Template:Langx), 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. However, the census acknowledges the fact that Latin Americans can be white, as is the case of many Latin Americans in Canada, since Latin Americans are not a homogenous race and can have their origins in European, African, Indigenous, Asian people, or any mix of those groups.

Over 1 million (3% of Canadians) are of Latin American or Hispanic descent, according to 2023 Statistics Canada data estimates.

History

Template:More citations needed section 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. 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.

Demographics

As of the 2021 Canadian Census, the largest Latin American communities are in the census metropolitan areas of Toronto (396,459; 3.5%), Montreal (287,856; 3.2%), Vancouver (151,500; 2.0%), Calgary (134,395; 2.3%), Edmonton (121,960; 1.6%), Ottawa (90,620; 1.4%), and Hamilton (30,605; 1.9%). The fastest growing are in the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia.

Latin American population of Canada by census year

Census	Latin American population	Change from previous census	Total Canadian population	Change from previous census	Latin American population (%)
1996	176,970	N/A	28,528,125	N/A
2001	216,980		29,639,030
2006	304,245		31,241,030
2011	381,280		32,852,325
2016	447,325	17.3%	34,460,065	4.9%	1.3%

Latin American Canadian population in Canada by province or territory according to the Census

Province	2001		2011		2016		2021
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
File:Flag of Ontario.svg Ontario	106,835	0.9%	172,560	1.4%	195,950	1.5%	249,190	1.8%
File:Flag of Quebec.svg Québec	59,520	0.8%	116,380	1.5%	133,920	1.7%	172,925	2.0%
File:Flag of Alberta.svg Alberta	18,745	0.6%	41,305	1.2%	55,090	1.4%	66,520	1.6%
File:Flag of British Columbia.svg British Columbia	23,885	0.6%	35,465	0.8%	44,115	1.0%	65,970	1.3%
File:Flag of Manitoba.svg Manitoba	4,775	0.4%	9,140	0.8%	9,895	0.8%	12,835	1.0%
File:Flag of Saskatchewan.svg Saskatchewan	2,010	0.2%	3,255	0.3%	4,195	0.4%	5,680	0.5%
File:Flag of Nova Scotia.svg Nova Scotia	520	0.0%	1,360	0.2%	1,685	0.2%	2,915	0.3%
File:Flag of New Brunswick.svg New Brunswick	425	0.0%	1,160	0.2%	1,285	0.2%	2,450	0.3%
File:Flag of Prince Edward Island.svg Prince Edward Island	75	0.1%	235	0.2%	255	0.2%	585	0.4%
File:Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador.svg Newfoundland and Labrador	80	0.0%	185	0.0%	635	0.1%	755	0.2%
File:Flag of Yukon.svg Yukon	45	0.1%	105	0.3%	130	0.4%	235	0.6%
File:Flag of the Northwest Territories.svg Northwest Territories	60	0.2%	105	0.3%	135	0.3%	125	0.3%
File:Flag of Nunavut.svg Nunavut	10	0.0%	30	0.1%	40	0.1%	60	0.2%
File:Flag of Canada.svg Canada	216,980	0.8%	381,280	1.2%	447,325	1.3%	580,235	1.6%

Immigration

Latin Americans in Canada by country of origin (2016)

Region	Number of immigrants	Region's share of total Latin American immigrants to Canada	As % of Canada's total immigrant population from all areas of the world
Template:Country data Mexico	80,585
Template:Country data Colombia	70,035
Template:Country data El Salvador	48,075
Template:Country data Peru	29,620
Template:Country data Brazil	29,116
Template:Country data Chile	26,705
Template:Country data Venezuela	20,775
Template:Country data Argentina	19,425
Template:Country data Cuba	17,850
Template:Country data Guatemala	17,270
Template:Country data Ecuador	14,970
Template:Country data Dominican Republic	10,605
Template:Country data Nicaragua	9,865
Template:Country data Honduras	7,785
Template:Country data Paraguay	7,300
Template:Country data Uruguay	6,535
Template:Country data Bolivia	4,395
Template:Country data Costa Rica	3,945
Template:Country data Panama	2,620
Template:Country data Puerto Rico	505
Total Latin American immigrant population	428,180
Total immigrant population	7,482,860	N/A

List of Canadian census subdivisions with Latin American populations higher than the national average

Source: Canada 2021 Census
National average: 1.6%

Alberta

• Brooks ()
• Calgary ()
• Edmonton ()
• Red Deer ()
• Lethbridge ()

British Columbia

• Greater Vancouver A ()
• Burnaby ()
• New Westminster ()
• Vancouver ()
• Port Moody ()
• Coquitlam ()

Manitoba

• Brandon ()

Ontario

• Leamington ()
• Abitibi ()
• Bradford West Gwillimbury ()
• Toronto ()
• Kitchener ()
• London ()
• Grand Valley ()
• Pic River ()
• Vaughan ()
• Milton ()
• Innisfil ()
• Mississauga ()
• Newbury ()
• St. Catharines ()
• New Tecumseth ()
• Brampton ()
• Hamilton ()
• Oakville ()
• Barrie ()
• Waterloo ()
• Burlington ()
• Cambridge ()
• Caledon ()

Quebec

• Sainte-Justine ()
• Brossard ()
• Courcelles-Saint-Évariste ()
• Longueuil ()
• Montréal ()
• Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans ()
• La Guadeloupe ()
• Saint-Didace ()
• Saint-René ()
• Dorval ()
• Lyster ()
• Laval ()
• Candiac ()
• Saint-Constant ()
• Plessisville ()
• Châteauguay ()
• Grand-Saint-Esprit ()
• Saint-Hyacinthe ()
• Saint-Lambert ()
• Montréal-Est ()
• Delson ()
• Vaudreuil-Dorion ()
• Sainte-Catherine ()
• Saint-Gédéon-de-Beauce ()
• Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur ()
• Très-Saint-Sacrement ()
• L'Île-Perrot ()
• Saint-Édouard-de-Lotbinière ()
• Hampstead ()
• Deux-Montagnes ()
• Boucherville ()
• La Prairie ()
• Bois-des-Filion ()
• Repentigny ()
• Terrebonne ()
• Pointe-Claire ()
• Saint-Amable ()
• Charlemagne ()
• Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly ()
• Sherbrooke ()
• Saint-Rémi ()
• Gatineau ()
• Saint-Alexis-de-Matapédia ()
• Boisbriand ()
• Rosemère ()
• Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu ()
• Marieville ()
• Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue ()
• Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac ()
• Beaconsfield ()
• Saint-Basile-le-Grand ()
• Noyan ()
• Ham-Nord ()
• Louiseville ()
• Blainville ()
• Dollard-des-Ormeaux ()
• Joliette ()
• Mont-Royal ()
• Lorraine ()
• Les Cèdres ()
• Montréal-Ouest ()
• Léry ()
• Saint-Polycarpe ()
• Mascouche ()
• Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville ()
• Saint-Philippe ()
• Saint-Isidore ()

List of notable Latin American Canadians

Music

• Eva Avila, pop singer and 2006 Canadian Idol winner
• Boogat, rapper
• Fito Blanko, tropical/urban singer-songwriter, born in Panama
• Camila, member of American girl group, Vcha
• Patricia Cano, singer
• Marco Castillo, singer-songwriter
• José Miguel Contreras, rock musician and lead vocalist of By Divine Right
• Criollo, hip-hop group
• Beto Cuevas, rock musician and former lead vocalist of La Ley
• Eliana Cuevas, singer-songwriter
• Lhasa de Sela, folk musician
• Carlos del Junco, harmonica player, member of the Cuban del Junco family
• Quique Escamilla, Mexican-born musician
• Carole Facal, rock musician
• Alberto Guerrero, music composer and pianist, born in Chile
• DJ Kemo, producer and DJ for hip-hop group Rascalz
• Tom Landa, Mexican-born folk-rock musician
• Oscar Lopez, flamenco musician, born in Chile
• Lindi Ortega, singer-songwriter
• John Paul Ospina, singer
• Lido Pimienta, singer-songwriter
• Adonis Puentes, singer-songwriter
• Alexis Puentes, musician known by the stage name Alex Cuba
• Quilla, singer-songwriter
• Jessie Reyez, singer-songwriter
• Alejandra Ribera, singer-songwriter
• Smiley, rapper
• Isabella Lovestory, singer-songwriter

Writers

• Rodrigo Bascuñán, author and journalist, born in Chile
• Caroline Dawson, born in Chile
• Nicholas Dawson, born in Chile
• Gloria Escomel, writer and journalist born in Uruguay
• Gabriela Etcheverry, poet and novelist, born in Chile
• José Latour, novelist, born in Cuba.
• José Luis Rodríguez Pittí, writer and photographer born in Panama.
• Silvia Moreno-Garcia, novelist, born in Mexico.

Diplomacy / International Relations

• Pierre Alarie, of Mexican Descent; former Canadian Ambassador to Mexico; former Vice president, business development and sales at the Canadian Commercial Corporation

Entertainment

• David Alvarez, actor
• Daniela Bobadilla, actress born in Mexico
• Ariane Castellanos, actress
• Joana Ceddia, YouTube Personality, born in Brazil
• Martha Chaves, stand-up comedian
• Juan Chioran, stage actor, born in Argentina
• Nick Cordero, stage actor, Costa Rican descent
• Nelson Coronado, actor
• Laysla De Oliveira, actress
• Humberly González, actress
• Ona Grauer, television and film actress, born in Mexico
• Marito Lopez, actor and stand-up comedian, born in El Salvador
• Lisette Morelos, telenovela actress
• Michael Mando, film and television actor (of Mexican descent).
• Flora Martínez, actress, part-Colombian descent
• Emilia McCarthy, actress (of Mexican descent).
• Emma Rabbe, television and film actress
• Klea Scott, television and film actress, born in Panama
• Tasya Teles, actress

Photography

• Bruce Chun, cinematographer, born in Mexico
• German Gutierrez, cinematographer and documentary filmmaker
• Federico Hidalgo, filmmaker and film professor.
• Pedro Ruiz, documentary filmmaker

Politics

• Paulina Ayala, former MP for Honoré-Mercier (New Democratic Party), born in Chile
• Estefania Cortes-Vargas, Canadian politician, elected in the Alberta general election, 2015 to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the electoral district of Strathcona-Sherwood Park, born in Colombia
• Joseph Facal, former minister in Quebec (Parti Québécois), born in Uruguay
• Miguel Figueroa, leader and President of the Communist Party of Canada
• Andrés Fontecilla, leader of Québec solidaire, born in Chile
• Rosa Galvez, Senator, born in Peru
• Rod Loyola, Canadian politician, elected in the Alberta general election, 2015 to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the electoral district of Edmonton-Ellerslie, born in Chile
• Sergio Marchi, former MP (Liberal Party of Canada), born in Argentina
• Ricardo Miranda, Canadian politician, elected in the Alberta general election, 2015 to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the electoral district of Calgary-Cross, born in Nicaragua
• Osvaldo Nunez, former MP (Bloc Québécois), born in Chile
• Cesar Palacio, first Latino person elected to the Toronto City Council, born in Ecuador
• Saul Polo, MNA in Quebec, born in Colombia
• Pablo Rodríguez, MP for Honoré-Mercier (Liberal Party of Canada), born in Argentina.

Science and technology

• Ivar Mendez, MD surgeon, Professor and Chairman of Surgery at the University of Saskatchewan, born in Bolivia
• Manuel Buchwald, geneticist and academic, born in Peru
• Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, electronic artist, born in Mexico.

Visual Art

• Gustavo Chams, visual artist

See also

• Latino
• Latin American diaspora
• Hispanic Americans
• Portuguese Canadians
• Spanish Canadians