Shia Islam in Canada is a part of the global Shia community that continues to bond with Shias elsewhere. Shia Muslims have been a featuring segment of the Canadian Muslim society that became more conspicuous from the 1970s and onwards.

Community

The Shia Muslim community (jamaat) manifests itself in two main forms in

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 ...

. One is through the

Twelver Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...

(Ithnaasheri) rite and the other is through the

Ismaili Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...

(Sevener) rite. However, due to the lack of census questions that go into specific details in Canada, it remains unknown which community is larger between the two. However, both have established community centres encompassing spiritual congregational halls and attached leisure centres. The Shia Ithnaasheris have Masjids (Mosques) and the Shia Ismailis have Jamatkhanas in the country. The two most prominent Ismaili centre is the

Ismaili Centre, Toronto The Ismaili Centre, Toronto is a congregation place (Jama'at Khana) and community centre in Toronto, Ontario, CA Canada, the sixth such Ismaili Centres in the world. Situated in a park that it shares with the Aga Khan Museum adjacent to the D ...

(ICT) at the Charbagh Gardens and Ismaili Centre, Burnaby (ICV), while the most prominent

Ithna Ashari Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shia Islam, Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver ...

centre is the Jaffari Community Centre (JCC) in Vaughan, Ontario.

Population

The Shiite population in Canada is estimated to be approximately 300,000 people. The arrival of Shiite Muslims in this country is because of the migration of Shiites from countries such as Iran/Pakistan/Lebanon, and other countries that have settled there, and most of the mentioned population lives in cities such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Adherents

Reza Hosseini Nassab Seyed Reza Hosseini Nassab (Persian: سيد رضا حسيني نسب) (born 1960) is an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja, currently residing in Canada. He was the President and Imam of the Islamic Centre in Hamburg, Germany, and since 2003 he has ser ...

is a Canadian Grand Ayatollah of the Twelver rite.

Anisa Mehdi Anisa Marie Mehdi is an Iraqi-Canadian film director and journalist. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1978 and obtained her master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. She worked as an associate producer at CBS News in New Yor ...

, a film director and journalist, who although a Shia, reports on her faith from a Pan-Islamic viewpoint.The Oxford Handbook of American Islam - Page 469, Jane I. Smith - 2014

Some Notable Canadian Shia Muslims

Amir Attaran Amir Attaran ( fa, امیر عطاران) is an American and Canadian professor in both the Faculty of Law and the School of Epidemiology, Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Early life and education Attaran was bor ...

- lawyer, immunologist and law professor *

Maziar Bahari Maziar Bahari ( fa, مازیار بهاری; born May 25, 1967) is an Iranian-Canadian journalist, filmmaker and human rights activist. He was a reporter for ''Newsweek'' from 1998 to 2011. Bahari was incarcerated by the Iranian government from Ju ...

- journalist, filmmaker and human rights activist *

Farid Haerinejad Farid Haerinejad (Persian: فرید حائری‌نژاد) is a documentary maker and blogger. He formerly worked with CBC and is now the editor-in-chief of Persian-language Radio Zamaneh in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Life and education Farid Haer ...

- documentary maker and blogger *

Salma Lakhani Salma Lakhani (born 1951 or 1952) is the 19th lieutenant governor of Alberta. Her appointment as lieutenant governor became effective upon the swearing of the oath of allegiance and oath of office on August 26, 2020. She is the viceregal repre ...

Lieutenant Governor of Alberta The lieutenant governor of Alberta () is the viceregal representative in Alberta of the . The lieutenant governor is appointed in the same manner as the other provincial viceroys in Canada and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the m ...

Mobina Jaffer Mobina S. B. Jaffer (born August 20, 1949) is a Canadian Senator representing British Columbia. Early life and career Born to a Pakistani family living in Africa, Jaffer was educated in England and Canada. She earned a law degree from the Unive ...

- lawyer, British Columbia senator *

Rahim Jaffer Rahim Nizar Jaffer ( ur, رحيم جعفر; born December 15, 1971) is a former Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2008, representing the Alberta riding of Edmonton—Strathcona as a member of the Con ...

- former Alberta Member of Parliament *

Amir Khadir Amir Khadir ( fa, امیر خدیر; born June 12, 1961) is a Canadian politician in the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA), Canada for the electoral district of Mercier, and the first male spokesperson for Québec solidaire, a sovereigntist and ...

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

member and former

Québec Solidaire Québec solidaire (QS; ) is a democratic socialist and sovereigntist political party in Quebec, Canada. The party and media outlets in Canada usually use the name "Québec solidaire" in both French and English, but the party's name is sometimes ...

co-spokesperson *

Hassan Khosrowshahi Hassan Khosrowshahi ( fa, حسن خسروشاهی) , is an Iranian-Canadian business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He founded Future Shop, a Canadian consumer electronics chain store that was acquired by Best Buy in 2001 for c.$580 millio ...

- founder of electronics retailer

Future Shop Future Shop was a Canadian electronics store chain. It was established in 1982 by Hassan Khosrowshahi. By 1990, the chain had become the country's largest retailer of computer and consumer electronics. In January 2013, the company operated 139 l ...

Rizwan Manji Rizwan Manji (born October 17, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is known best for his portrayals of Ray Butani on ''Schitt's Creek'', Tick Pickwick on '' The Magicians'', Rajiv Gidwani in the NBC Universal TV series '' Outsourced'', and Jamil in th ...

- television and film actor *

- Emmy Award-winning film director and journalist *

- Grand Ayatollah *

Naheed Nenshi Naheed Kurban Nenshi (born February 2, 1972) is a Canadian politician who was the 36th mayor of Calgary, Alberta. He was elected in the 2010 municipal election with 39% of the vote, and is the first Muslim mayor of a large North American city. ...

- non-profit sector consultant, mayor of

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 ...

Yasmin Ratansi Yasmin Ratansi (born January 4, 1951) is a Canadian politician who represented the Toronto area riding of Don Valley East in the House of Commons from 2004 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2021. She was elected as a Liberal in the 2004 federal ele ...

- accountant, MP; first Muslim woman elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

Omar Sachedina Omar Sachedina (born August 21, 1982) is a Canadian television journalist and anchor for Bell Media. He is the chief news anchor and senior editor for CTV's national evening newscast ''CTV National News'' since September 5, 2022. Previously, Sac ...

- television journalist and newsreader *

Aliza Vellani Aliza Vellani (born October 30, 1991) is a Canadian television actress based in British Columbia. Vellani is most recently known for her role as Rani Singh in the Netflix series, Sweet Tooth. Her other credits include Layla Siddiqui on CBC's ser ...

- television actress (

Little Mosque on the Prairie ''Little Mosque on the Prairie'' is a Television in Canada, Canadian television sitcom created by Zarqa Nawaz and produced by WestWind Pictures, originally broadcast from 2007 to 2012 on CBC Television, CBC. Filmed in Toronto, Ontario, and Indian ...

) *

Ali Velshi Ali Velshi (born October 29, 1968 or 1969) is a Canadian television journalist, a senior economic and business correspondent for NBC News since October 2016. He was also substitute anchor for '' Top Story with Tom Llamas'' on NBC News Now at we ...

- television journalist now working in the US *

Alykhan Velshi Alykhan Velshi (born 6 February 1984) is a lawyer, policy analyst, and ministerial assistant. He has worked at the predominantly neoconservative American Enterprise Institute and was manager of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democraci ...

- lawyer and former political advisor to

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, ...

Murad Velshi Murad Velshi (born April 4, 1935) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1990. He represented the riding of Don Mills in Toronto. Background Velshi was born and ra ...

- former member of the

Ontario Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Member of Provincial ...

, father of Ali Velshi *

Rana Bokhari Rana Bokhari (born October 23, 1977) was the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party from 2013 until 2016 in Manitoba, Canada. Background Bokhari was born on a farm near Anola, Manitoba. As a student she attended the University of Manitoba where she ...

- Lawyer, Former Leader of Manitoba Liberal Party, Anti-Racism Activist.

Community

Population

Adherents

Some Notable Canadian Shia Muslims

See also

References

External links