Hinduism in Canada

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Hindus in Canada generally come from one of two groups. The first is comprised primarily of Indian immigrants who began arriving in British Columbia about 100 years ago and continue to immigrate today. The other group is made up of Canadian converts to the various sects of Hinduism through the efforts of Hare Krishna, the Gurus during the last 50 years, and other organizations.

According to the 2001 Census of Canada, there were 297,200 practitioners of Hinduism.^[1] However, the non-profit organization Association for Canadian Studies estimates the Hindu population grew to 372,500 by 2006.^[2], and the Hindu Conference of Canada estimates number of Hindus in Canada to be about 700,000 .^[3] The vast majority of Hindus reside in Ontario, but British Columbia (primarily around the Vancouver area) and Quebec (primarily around the Montreal area) both have significant populations as well.^[1] Recently, the Canadian Hindu population has become more politically active, spearheaded primarily by the Hindu Conference of Canada .^[4] This organization is the largest and most influential Hindu political and media lobby group in Canada ^[5], and has represented the community in taking stands against terrorism, endorsing political parties, and highlighting human rights violations by Islamic terrorists in Pakistan and Kashmir ^[6].

1 Early Hindus
2 Hindu Converts
3 Recent immigrant Hindus
4 Temple Societies
5 See Also
6 Reference
7 Notes
8 External links

[edit] Early Hindus

Early South Asian immigrants to Canada were mainly Punjabi Sikh individuals. However, within this group of early pioneers there were also many male Hindus. All South Asian migrants, regardless of religion, were referred to as ‘'Hindoos’’ by the predominantly White British Columbians. These early Hindus maintained their religious traditions in mostly hostile environment which viewed the so-called colored immigrants as a threat to the British culture and way of life of the time. These male pioneers could not marry brides from India up until the 1930s, and did not have the right to vote in Federal elections until 1947. Religious life was centered around homes and Bhajans organized by community members.

[edit] Hindu Converts

Since 1960s many westerners attracted by the world view presented in Asian religious systems including Hinduism have converted to Hinduism. Canada was no exception. Many native born Canadians of various ethnicities have converted during the last 50 years through the actions of Hare Krishna, Arya Samaj and other missionary organizations as well as due to the visits and guidance of Indian Gurus such as Guru Maharaj the controversial Rajneesh, Sai Baba.

[edit] Recent immigrant Hindus

Due to the liberalization of Canadian immigration policies many Hindus from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Trinidad, Guyana and Eastern African nations such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania along with South Africa have arrived in the great metropolises of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

[edit] Temple Societies

See also: Hindu Temples in Canada

These communities have formed over 100 temple societies across the country that essentially functions community organizations. Some of these associations also have established private schools in Toronto to compete with secular and Catholic school boards that most Hindu students go to.