Armenian Canadians (
Western Armenian
Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly based ...
: գանատահայեր,
Eastern Armenian
Eastern Armenian ( ''arevelahayeren'') is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Western Armenian. The two standards form a pluricentric language.
Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia, Artsakh, Russia, as we ...
: կանադահայեր, ''kanadahayer''; french: Arméno-Canadiens) are
citizens and permanent residents of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
who have total or partial
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
ancestry. According to the
2016 Canadian Census
The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census. ...
they number almost 64,000, while independent estimates claim around 80,000 Canadians of Armenian origin, with the highest estimates reaching 100,000. Though significantly smaller than the
Armenian American
Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians in ...
community, the formation of both underwent similar stages beginning in the late 19th century and gradually expanding in the latter 20th century and beyond. Most Armenian Canadians are descendants of
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
survivors from the Middle East (
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
), with less than 7% of all Canadian Armenians having been born in
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
. Today most Armenian Canadians live in
Greater Montreal
Greater Montreal (french: Grand Montréal) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with a ...
and
Greater Toronto
The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...
, where they have established churches, schools and community centers.
History
![Georgetown boys](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Georgetown_boys.jpg)
The first Armenians migrated to Canada in the 1880s. The first recorded Armenian to settle in Canada was a man named Garabed Nergarian, who came to
Port Hope, Ontario
Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County. ...
in 1887.
Some 37 Armenians settled in Canada in 1892 and 100 in 1895. Most early Armenian migrants to Canada were men who were seeking employment. After the
Hamidian massacres
The Hamidian massacres also called the Armenian massacres, were massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the mid-1890s. Estimated casualties ranged from 100,000 to 300,000, Akçam, Taner (2006) '' A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide an ...
of mid-1890s Armenian families from the Ottoman Empire began settling in Canada. Before the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
of 1915 some 1,800 Armenians already lived in Canada. They were overwhelmingly from the Armenian provinces of the Ottoman Empire and usually lived in industrial urban areas. The influx of Armenians to Canada was limited in the post-World War I era because Armenians were classified as Asians.
Nevertheless, some 1,500 genocide survivors—mostly women and children—came to Canada as refugees.
In 1923–24 some 100 Armenians orphans aged 8–12, later known as
The Georgetown Boys
The Georgetown Boys, or Canada's Noble Experiment, was the first humanitarian act on an international scale by the country. This effort was spearheaded by the Armenian Relief Association of Canada.Ohanian, Daniel (2017). "Sympathy and Exclusion: ...
, were brought to Canada from
Corfu
Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
, Greece by the
Armenian Canadian Relief Fund to
Georgetown, Ontario
Georgetown is a large unincorporated community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Halton. The town includes several small villages or settlements such as Norval, Limehouse, Stewarttown and Glen William ...
. Dubbed "The Noble Experiment", it was Canada's first humanitarian act on an international scale.
The Georgetown Farmhouse (now the
Cedarvale Community Centre) was designated historic and protected municipal site in 2010.
![Komitas Quebec](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Komitas_Quebec.JPG)
Overall, between 1900 and 1930 some 3,100 Armenians entered Canada, with 75% settling in Ontario and 20% in Quebec. Some later moved to the United States; 1,577 Armenians entered the U.S. from Canada between 1899 and 1917.
Between 1931 and 1949 only 74 Armenians migrated to Canada. By the 1940s the community was still no larger than 4,000.
The two early centers of the Armenian community was in
Brantford
Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County, but is politically separate with ...
and
St. Catharines, Ontario, with each having 500 Armenians in the 1920s.
The first Armenian church was established in St. Catharines in 1930, becoming the hub of Armenians in Canada.
Immigration laws were loosened in the post-World War II era. Through the efforts of the Canadian Armenian Congress thousands of Armenians were allowed in. In the 1960s some 5,000 Armenians settled in Canada and by the 1970s Canada already boasted an Armenian population of 30,000. Most Armenians came from the Middle East (Syria,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
) and
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. Migrants from Soviet Armenia were also increasingly moving to Canada. The ''
Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia'' ( hy, Հայկական սովետական հանրագիտարան, ''Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran''; ASE) publishing house was established in 1967 as a department of the Institute of History of the Armeni ...
'' entry on Armenians (1980) by
Suren Eremian estimated some 50,000 Armenians in Canada. The same number was given by
Hrag Vartanian
Hrag Vartanian ( hy, Հրակ Վարդանեան)(born ) is an Armenian-American arts writer, art critic, and art curator. He is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of the arts online magazine, '' Hyperallergic''.
Life and work
Vartanian was born ...
, writing for the
AGBU
The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU, Eastern Armenian: Հայկական Բարեգործական Ընդհանուր Միություն, ՀԲԸՄ, ''Haykakan Baregortsakan Endhanur Miutyun'', or hyw, Հայ Բարեգործական Ընդ ...
Magazine in 2000.
In the 2010s thousands of
Syrian Armenian families fleeing the
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
there settled in Canada. By December 2015 the Armenian Community Centre, a government-sanctioned sponsorship agency, and individual Canadian Armenians co-sponsored around 2,500 Syrian Armenians. The Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada sponsored some 1,000 Syrian Armenian refugees by 2016.
Demographics
According to the latest Canadian census, conducted in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, 63,810 people of Armenian ancestry reside in Canada, of which 34,560 claimed only Armenian ancestry, while 29,250 people indicated Armenian as one of their multiple ancestries.
The number of Canadian Armenians stood at 37,500 in
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
, when the number of Armenians were first reported in Canadian censuses.
In two decades, from 1996 to 2016, the number of Canadian Armenians grew 1.7 times.
According to the
2006 census
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
, most Canadian Armenians were Canadian citizens (45,960 vs 4,535 not Canadian citizens).
Of 50,500 Armenians in Canada at the time, 19,910 were classified as non-immigrants, while 30,055 were immigrants, mostly from West Central Asia and the Middle East (22,300), Northern Africa (3,755) and Eastern Europe (1,460).
In 2006 Armenia-born Canadians numbered 2,195. It grew to 4,165 by 2016, 72% of whom had migrated to Canada between 2001 and 2016.
Unofficial estimates put the number of Canadian Armenians significantly higher than census results. The 2003 ''Encyclopedia of the Armenian Diaspora'' estimated 60,000–65,000 Armenians in Canada, while the 2001 census had found 40,505 Canadians of Armenian ancestry.
The Embassy of Armenia to Canada reported some 81,500 Armenians in Canada in 2009. Estimates in the 2010s usually ranged from 80,000 to 100,000.
Geographic distribution
According to the 2016 census, almost 90% of Canadian Armenians reside in Canada's two largest
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
:
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. Smaller number of Armenians live in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
and
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. Armenian communities in other provinces and territories number less than 1,000. According to the 2016 census, the number of Canadian Armenians by provinces, territories and census divisions was as follows:
Other provinces and territories had significantly less Armenians:
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
(500),
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
(270),
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
(240),
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
(110),
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
(55),
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
(30),
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...
(30),
Yukon
Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
(25),
Nunavut
Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...
(0).
According to the 2016 census, the largest number of Armenians reside in the following census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations:
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
(26,100),
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
(21,710),
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
(2,845),
Ottawa–Gatineau (1,735),
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
(1,360),
Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo (1,270),
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
(1,010),
St. Catharines –
Niagara
Niagara may refer to:
Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada
*Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River
*Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border
*Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...
(920),
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
(620),
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
(570).
The highest concentration of Armenian Canadians of any major settlement is in
Laval
Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of:
People
* House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne
* Laval (surname)
Places Belgium
* Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...
(part of Greater Montreal), where Armenians are the 9th largest ethnicity and comprise around 2.5% of the total population.
Language and education
The
2016 census enumerated 35,790 Canadians who consider Armenian their mother tongue, but only 21,510 Canadians claimed Armenian to be the "language spoken most often at home".
In the 2006 census 21,480 Canadians had indicated Armenian as the "language spoken most often at home", of whom 4,915 had non-immigrant status, while 16,320 were immigrants.
In the 2006 census, of the 50,500 Canadian Armenians, 10,250 indicated English as their mother tongue, while 3,995 indicated French. Majority (34,345) indicated a non-official language as their mother tongue. Most Canadian Armenians claimed to speak either both official languages (English and French: 23,785) or English only (21,965), while a minority speaks only French (2,700). Some 2,045 Canadian Armenians speak
neither English nor French.
Most Armenian-speakers in Canada speak
Western Armenian
Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly based ...
, while a minority speaks
Eastern Armenian
Eastern Armenian ( ''arevelahayeren'') is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Western Armenian. The two standards form a pluricentric language.
Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia, Artsakh, Russia, as we ...
.
Armenian schools
The first Armenian school in Canada was established in
St. Catharines in 1919. The first day government-sponsored Armenian schools were established in the 1970s. The first school Armén-Québec Alex Manoogian School in Montreal in 1970. As of 2003, six Armenian schools operated in Canada. They include five elementary schools (three in Montreal, two in Toronto) one high school in Montreal (
École Arménienne Sourp Hagop), and one high school in Toronto (
A.R.S. Armenian School).
Religion
![Saint Mary Armenian Church in Toronto, Canada](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Saint_Mary_Armenian_Church_in_Toronto%2C_Canada.jpg)
Most Armenian Canadians belong to the
Armenian Apostolic Church
, native_name_lang = hy
, icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg
, icon_width = 100px
, icon_alt =
, image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, a ...
.
Its parishes are affiliated with either the
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin ( hy, Մայր Աթոռ Սուրբ Էջմիածին, translit=Mayr At’oř Surb Ēĵmiatsin), known in Armenian as simply the Mother See (Մայր Աթոռ, ''Mayr At’oř''), is the governing body of the Armen ...
(under the Armenian Diocese of Canada) or the
Holy See of Cilicia
The Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia ( hy, Կաթողիկոսութիւն Հայոց Մեծի Տանն Կիլիկիոյ) is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church. Since 1930, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilic ...
(Armenian Prelacy of Canada). The Armenian Diocese of Canada was established in 1983 during the reign of Catholios
Vazgen I
Vazgen I also Vazken I of Bucharest, (), born Levon Garabed Baljian ( hy, Լևոն Կարապետ Աբրահամի Պալճյան; September 20, 1908 – August 18, 1994) was the Catholicos of All Armenians between 1955 and 1994, for a total of 39 ...
. It broke off from the New York City-based Eastern Diocese of America. The
Armenian Prelacy of Canada was founded in 2002, breaking off from the Armenian Prelacy of Eastern America, which in turn had split from the Armenian Prelacy of America, originally established in 1958, during the height of the Etchmiadzin-Cilicia tensions. The Armenian Diocese and Prelacy have 20 churches in total. Ontario contains half (10), followed by Quebec (4), British Columbia (2), Alberta (2), Manitoba (1) and
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
(1). The Etchmiadzin-affiliated Armenian Diocese of Canada has 12 churches, while the Cilicia-affiliated Prelacy has 8. The cathedrals of both are located in Montreal.
A minority of Armenian Canadians are Protestant and Catholic. The
Armenian Catholic Church
, native_name_lang = hy
, image = St Elie - St Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg
, imagewidth = 260px
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminat ...
has two churches: Notre Dame de Nareg in
Saint-Laurent (Montreal, 1983) and St. Gregory the Illuminator in Toronto (1993).
The two churches operate under the
.
Up to 10,000 Catholic Armenians reside in Canada, with the largest community in Montreal.
There are four Armenian Protestant churches in Canada, two in Montreal and one in Toronto and
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
. One in Montreal and the church in Toronto are affiliated with the
Armenian Evangelical Church
The Armenian Evangelical Church ( hy, Հայաստանեայց Աւետարանական Եկեղեցի) was established on July 1, 1846, by thirty-seven men and three women in Constantinople.
History
In the 19th century there was an intellectua ...
, while the other two are affiliated with the
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...
, but are "autonomous and have services in the Armenian vernacular language."
Organizations
A number of Armenian organizations have branches in Canada, including the non-partisan and secular
Armenian General Benevolent Union
The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU, Eastern Armenian: Հայկական Բարեգործական Ընդհանուր Միություն, ՀԲԸՄ, ''Haykakan Baregortsakan Endhanur Miutyun'', or hyw, Հայ Բարեգործական Ընդ ...
(AGBU), which has two chapters in Montreal (founded in 1957) and Toronto. Other Armenian organizations with established presence in Canada are the
Armenian Relief Society
The Armenian Relief Society (ARS) ( hy, italic=yes, Հայ Օգնութեան Միութիւն, Հ.Օ.Մ. H.O.M.), is an independent, nonsectarian, philanthropic society serving the humanitarian, social and educational needs of Armenians and non- ...
with ten chapters, the
Hamazkayin
Hamazkayin (), short for Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society, is a major cultural organization of the Armenian Diaspora, with a presence in every significant Armenian community worldwide. In addition to organizing cultural events ...
Armenian Educational and Cultural Society (two chapters, 5 units), and Homenetmen (six chapters and units).
Armenia Fund
Armenia Fund (full name Hayastan All Armenian Fund, hy, Հայաստան համահայկական հիմնադրամ) was established in 1994 in Los Angeles, California. Armenia Fund, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-governmental, non-politica ...
also has two branches (in Montreal and Toronto).
The
Zoryan Institute
The Zoryan Institute is a non-profit organization and registered charity in the United States and Canada that promotes the study and recognition of the Armenian genocide as well as other genocides throughout history. Historian Dominik J. Schalle ...
of Canada, a center for contemporary Armenian research and documentation, was established in 1984.
The three traditional parties of the
Armenian diaspora
The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...
are present in Canada. The nationalist
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenian ...
(ARF, Dashnaktsutiun) is by far the largest and most influential with nine chapters.
Its active circles include the young wing (
Armenian Youth Federation
The Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) ( hy, Հայ Երիտասարդական Դաշնակցութիւն) is the youth organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. Founded in 1933, the AYF became a global Armenian organization and stands ...
, AYF) and the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC), established in 1965 with the mission to advance the "concerns of the Armenian Canadian community on a broad range of issues", including fostering "public awareness in support of a
free, united and independent Armenia." The current spokesperson of the ARF Bureau, Hagop Der-Khatchatourian, is from Montreal. The conservative
Ramgavar
The Armenian Democratic Liberal Party ( hy, Ռամկավար Ազատական Կուսակցութիւն), the Ramgavar Party, (known before 1921 as the Armenakan party) ( hy, Արմենական Կուսակցութիւն), also known by its Ar ...
and social democratic
Hunchak
The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP) ( hy, Սոցիալ Դեմոկրատ Հնչակյան Կուսակցություն; ՍԴՀԿ, translit=Sots’ial Demokrat Hnch’akyan Kusakts’ut’yun), is the oldest continuously-operating Armenian ...
parties have branches in Montreal and Toronto.
Armenian genocide recognition and commemoration
![Armenian Genocide Memorial Montreal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Armenian_Genocide_Memorial_Montreal.jpg)
In 1996 and 2002 Canadian Prime Minister
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.
Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...
released statements on the "Armenian tragedy of 1915" and the "calamity suffered by the Armenian community."
In 2002 the
Senate of Canada
The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The Senate is modelled after the B ...
passed a resolution (39–1) sponsored by
Shirley Maheu
Shirley Maheu (October 7, 1931 – February 1, 2006) was a Canadian politician.
A resident of Saint-Laurent, Quebec since 1965, where she operated a successful insurance brokerage firm in partnership with her husband Renė Maheu, Senator M ...
that called upon the Government of Canada to "recognize the genocide of the Armenians and to condemn any attempt to deny or distort a historical truth as being anything less than genocide, a
crime against humanity
Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the c ...
, and to designate April 24th of every year hereafter throughout Canada as a day of remembrance of the 1.5 million Armenians who fell victim to the first genocide of the twentieth century."
However, it was not until April 21, 2004, when Canada officially
recognized the Armenian genocide. On that day the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
adopted a "strongly worded"
resolution which stated: "That this House acknowledges the Armenian genocide of 1915 and condemns this act as a crime against humanity." It passed with 153 votes in favor, 68 against. The motion was opposed by the
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
of Prime Minister
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006.
The son o ...
, who was absent during the vote,
however, most Liberal backbenchers voted in favor of the
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...
motion, while cabinet members rejected it.
Since 2006, Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
released annual statements explicitly referring to the Armenian genocide. The tradition has been continued by his successor,
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
.
On April 24, 2015, on the
100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, the House of Commons of Canada unanimously passed a resolution that designated the month of April as Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month and April 24 as
Armenian Genocide Memorial Day
Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day ( hy, Մեծ Եղեռնի զոհերի հիշատակի օր ''Mets Yegherrni zoheri hishataki or'') or Armenian Genocide Memorial Day is a public holiday in Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh and is observed ...
. The parliament also reaffirmed its support for the Armenian genocide recognition resolution adopted on April 21, 2004.
According to the
Armenian National Institute
The Armenian National Institute (ANI) is a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to the research of Armenian genocide. It was founded in 1997 by the Armenian Assembly of America to bring more awareness to the Armenian genocide. The abbrev ...
there are six
Armenian genocide memorials
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
in Canada, including two in Toronto, one in Montreal,
St. Catharines,
Markham Markham may refer to:
It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873.
Biology
* Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia
* ...
, and
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
.
Prominent Armenian Canadians
![Khoudgarian natalia 20081120 olympiade dresden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Khoudgarian_natalia_20081120_olympiade_dresden.jpg)
Armenian Canadians have risen to prominence in many fields.
Politics
Two Armenian Canadians have been
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
: Syria-born
Sarkis Assadourian
Sarkis Assadourian (born January 25, 1948) is a Canadian politician from the Liberal Party of Canada. He became the first Armenian-Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons, with great support of the Armenian community of Toronto.
Backgr ...
in 1993–2004 and
André Arthur
André Arthur (December 21, 1943 – May 8, 2022) was a Canadian radio host and politician. He was the independent Member of Parliament for the riding of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier from 2006 to 2011. He is known for his outspoken style and anti-s ...
in 2006–2011.
Raymond Setlakwe
Raymond C. Setlakwe, (3 July 1928 – 14 October 2021) was a Canadian entrepreneur, lawyer and Senate of Canada, senator.
Biography
Born in Thetford Mines, Quebec, of Armenian descent, Setlakwe graduated from Bishop's College School and receive ...
was
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
in 2000–2003. Egypt-born
Ann Cavoukian
Ann Cavoukian (born October 7, 1952) is the former Information and Privacy Commissioner for the Canadian province of Ontario. Her concept of privacy by design, which takes privacy into account throughout the system engineering process, was expand ...
was
Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC; french: Commissaire à l’information et à la protection de la vie privée de l'Ontario) was established as an officer of the Legislature by Ontario's ''Freedom of Information and Protect ...
for three terms in 1997–2014.
Aris Babikian
Aris Babikian (Armenian: Արիս Պապիկեան) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election. He represents the riding of Scarborough—Agincourt as a member of the Progress ...
was elected to the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...
in 2018. The
Montreal City Council
The Montreal City Council (french: Conseil municipal de Montréal) is the governing body in the mayor–council government in the city of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the ...
has had several Armenian members: Aleppo-born
Noushig Eloyan
Noushig Eloyan is a Canadian politician, who served on the Montreal City Council from 1994 to 2009 and ran for the Canadian Parliament for the electoral riding of Ahuntsic in the May 2, 2011 elections as a member of the federal Liberal Party of ...
in 1994–2009; Lebanese-born
Harout Chitilian
Harout Chitilian (Armenian: Հարութ Շիթիլեան) (born in 1980 in Beirut, Lebanon) is a former city councillor from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, former chairman of the council, he held the position of vice president of the executive comm ...
in 2009–2017; Lebanese-born
Hasmig Belleli (Vasilian),
Jack Chadirdjian in 1994–1998,
Mary Deros
Mary Deros is a municipal politician in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She has represented Parc-Extension on Montreal city council since 1998.
Deros serves on the Montreal executive committee in Michael Applebaum's administration with responsibili ...
(since 1998).
Arts
Ottoman-born
Yousuf Karsh
Yousuf Karsh, FRPS (December 23, 1908 – July 13, 2002) was a Canadian-Armenian photographer known for his portraits of notable individuals. He has been described as one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20th century.
An Armenian ...
, who was based in Ottawa, is considered the leading portrait photographer of the 20th century. Egypt-born film director
Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan (; hy, Աթոմ Եղոյեան, translit=Atom Yeghoyan; born July 19, 1960) is a Canadian filmmaker. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. Egoyan m ...
has been described as "the most accomplished Canadian director of his generation." His wife
Arsinée Khanjian is a Beirut-born actress.
Raffi
Raffi Cavoukian, ( hy, Րաֆֆի, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is a Canadian singer-lyricist and author of Armenian descent born in Egypt, best known for his children's music. He developed his career as a " ...
(Cavoukian), a singer known for his
children's music
Children's music or kids' music is music composed and performed for children. In European-influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has hi ...
, was called "by far the most popular artist in the burgeoning children's music market" in 1988.
Andrea Martin
Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...
, born to Armenian parents in the US, is a celebrity comedian and actress.
Peter Oundjian
Peter Oundjian (born 21 December 1955) is a Canadian-American violinist and conductor.
Early life
Born in Toronto, Ontario, as the youngest of five children from an Armenian father and English mother, Oundjian also claims Scottish ancestry throug ...
was the music director of the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...
in 2004–2018. Egypt-born
Raffi Armenian
Raffi Armenian, (born June 4, 1942) is a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and teacher. He directed the Kitchener–Waterloo Symphony orchestra for many years. Since 1999 he has been the director of Orchestral Studies at the University of T ...
was the director of the
Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal
The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (CMQM) is a music conservatory located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In addition to the Montreal region, the school takes in students from nearby cities, including Granby, Joliette, St-Jean, S ...
between 2008 and 2011. Lebanese-born operatic soprano
Isabel Bayrakdarian
Isabel Bayrakdarian ( arm, Իզապէլ Պայրագտարեան; born February 1, 1974) is a Lebanese-born Canadian operatic soprano of Armenian descent who now resides and works in the United States.
Early life
Born in Zahlé, Lebanon, into an ...
has earned acclaim for her Mozart roles. Syrian-born
Hrag Vartanian
Hrag Vartanian ( hy, Հրակ Վարդանեան)(born ) is an Armenian-American arts writer, art critic, and art curator. He is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of the arts online magazine, '' Hyperallergic''.
Life and work
Vartanian was born ...
is the co-founder and editor of ''
Hyperallergic
''Hyperallergic'' is an online arts magazine, based in Brooklyn, New York. Founded by the art critic Hrag Vartanian and his husband Veken Gueyikian in October 2009, the site describes itself as a "forum for serious, playful, and radical thinking ...
'', an online arts magazine.
Academia
Ottoman-born medical scientist
John Basmajian was Head of the Department of Anatomy at
Queen's University. His work in
electromyography
Electromyography (EMG) is a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. EMG is performed using an instrument called an electromyograph to produce a record called an electromyogram. An electromyog ...
"resulted in significant progress in rehabilitative science." Istanbul-born
Agop Jack Hacikyan Agop Jack Hacikyan (25 November 1931 – 3 July 2015) was a Canadian university Emeritus Professor of Literary Studies, historian, academic and writer. He was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1931. He is the author of over 30 books on literature and ling ...
and Beirut-born
Razmik Panossian
Razmik Panossian ( hy, Ռազմիկ Փանոսեան, born 1964) is a Canadian-Armenian historian and political scientist.
Career
An ethnic Armenian, Panossian was born in Beirut, Lebanon and raised in Canada in a family "engaged with rmenianco ...
are known for their work in
Armenian studies
Armenian studies or Armenology ( hy, հայագիտություն, ) is a field of humanities covering Armenian history, language and culture. The emergence of modern Armenian studies is associated with the foundation of the Catholic Mechitarist o ...
.
Armine Yalnizyan is a prominent progressive economist.
Other
Ottoman-born
Aris Alexanian was one of Canada's leading rug importers between 1920s and 1960s. Bulgarian-born
Alice Panikian
Alice Panikian ( hy, Ալիսա Փանիկյան; bg, Алис Паникян) (born May 23, 1985) is a Bulgarian-Canadian journalist, TV host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Canada 2006 and Miss Reinado Inte ...
was crowned
Miss Universe Canada
The Miss Universe Canada or "The Beauties of Canada" is a national beauty pageant in Canada, which sends its winners to the Miss Universe pageant.
The Beauties of Canada Organization gained the exclusive rights to send a Canadian representativ ...
in 2006 and was in top 10 of
Miss Universe 2006
Miss Universe 2006 was the 55th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States on July 23, 2006.
At the end of the event, Natalie Glebova of Canada crowned Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico as Miss ...
. Russian-born
Natalia Khoudgarian is a four-time
Canadian Women's Chess Champion (2006, 2007, 2011, 2012).
Anita Sarkeesian
Anita Sarkeesian ( ; born 1983) is a Canadian-American feminist media critic and public speaker. She is the founder of ''Feminist Frequency'', a website that hosts videos and commentary analyzing portrayals of women in popular culture. She has ...
, a feminist media critic, was at the center of the
Gamergate controversy
Gamergate or GamerGate (GG) was a loosely organized misogynistic online harassment campaign and a right-wing backlash against feminism, diversity, and progressivism in video game culture. It was conducted using the hashtag "#Gamergate" pri ...
.
See also
*
Armenia–Canada relations
*
List of Armenian Canadians
This is a list of notable Canadians of Armenian descent.
Academics
*Adam Morton – philosopher
Arts and media
*bbno$ pronounced "baby no money" born Alexander Leon Gumuchian – Canadian rapper, singer-songwriter of Armenian descent
*Da ...
*
Middle Eastern Canadians
Middle Eastern Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to the Middle East, which includes Western Asia and North Africa.
History
Initial settlement
Individuals from the Middle East first arrived in Canada ...
*
West Asian Canadians
West Asian Canadians, officially known as West Central Asian and Middle Eastern Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to West Asia and Central Asia. The term West Asian Canadian is a subgroup of Asian Canadian ...
*
Armenian diaspora
The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...
*
Armenian Americans
Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians in ...
*
Armenians in France
Armenians in France ( hy, ֆրանսահայեր, translit=Fransahayer; french: Arméniens de France) are French citizens of Armenian ancestry. The French Armenian community is, by far, the largest in the European Union and the third largest in t ...
References
;Notes
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
Further reading
*Chichekian, G., "Linguistic Assimilation and Cultural Completeness of Armenian Communities in Canada", ''
The Armenian Review
''The Armenian Review'' is an academic journal that has been published in Watertown, Massachusetts since 1948. It publishes articles on topics related to Armenia and Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group ...
'', 40 (3/159), 1987
*Kaprielian I., "Reconstituting an Armenian Settlement in Canada", ''
The Armenian Review
''The Armenian Review'' is an academic journal that has been published in Watertown, Massachusetts since 1948. It publishes articles on topics related to Armenia and Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group ...
'', 44 (1/173), 1991
{{Armenian diaspora
*
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
Asian Canadian
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
West Asian Canadians