Latin American Canadian

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Latin American Canadian
Total population
304,245 2006 census^[1] 0.97% of Canadian population
Regions with significant populations
Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver
Languages
Spanish, Portuguese, English
Religion
Roman Catholic

Latin American Canadian, Latino Canadian, Latin Canadian, and Hispanic Canadian are terms describing a Canadian of Latin American descent or birth. Latin American is the term used by Statistics Canada.^[1] The other terms, though conveniently short, may be subject to controversy on whether not only people of Latin American descent, but also Canadians of Spanish descent and even French Canadians and other "Latin" Canadians (such as Italian Canadians) are also included.

The majority of Latino Canadians are recent immigrants arriving in the late 20th century, most of whom came from Mexico, El Salvador, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, and smaller numbers from Cuba, Peru and elsewhere, with all or nearly all the Latin American countries represented. The largest Latin American Canadian communities are in Toronto (with 99,290) followed by Montreal (with 75,400). Vancouver is third, with 22,695.^[1]

Reasons for immigrating include Canada's better economic opportunities and politics in their native countries, such as Chileans who wanted to escape from Augusto Pinochet's rule, or Salvadorans fleeing the civil war in their country. A small proportion came from the Caribbean islands, such as the Dominican Republic (a notably large community of Dominicians live in Toronto) and Puerto Rico, the latter of which is an U.S. territory and whose citizens are U.S. citizens by law.

The largest Latino Canadian communities are in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, and are rapidly growing in size in the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Nova Scotia. A sizable Puerto Rican persence is noted in Toronto, but demographers debate if they are more numerous than other Latino groups in Canada.^{[citation needed]} Many Canadians of American family origin (especially from the state of Texas) in Alberta includes those of Mexican-Texan descent came as oil field workers in the 1960s.^{[citation needed]} Venezuelans in the 2000s are increasingly involved in the Canadian oil industry.^{[citation needed]}

The majority of Latino Canadians are bilingual or multilingual, speaking Spanish, or Portuguese if they are from Brazil and English or French.

1 List of notable Latin American Canadians
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] List of notable Latin American Canadians

[edit] Entertainment

Eva Ávila - Pop singer, and 2006 Canadian Idol winner.
Fito Blanko - Reggaeton singer, born in Panama.
Keshia Chanté - R&B singer.
José Miguel Contreras - Rock singer and lead vocalist of By Divine Right.
Beto Cuevas - Rock singer and former lead vocalist of La Ley.
Marc Garcia - Punk rock musician.
Ona Grauer - TV and film actress, born in Mexico.
Alberto Guerrero - Music composer and pianist.
DJ Kemo - Producer and DJ for hip-hop group Rascalz.
Oscar Lopez - Flamenco musician.
Klea Scott - TV and film actress.

[edit] Photography

Marcos Arriaga - Photographer and film-maker.
Bruce Chun - Cinematographer, born in Mexico.
Raul Rincon - Photographer and director who works in the fields of fashion, advertising and fine art photography. Born in Colombia.