Latin American Canadians (; ; ), are

Canadians Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

who are descendants of people from countries of

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. 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 The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...

and share similarities in morphology and

syntax In linguistics, syntax ( ) is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituenc ...

with French. Latin American Canadians have made distinguished contributions to Canada in all major fields, including

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

, the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

and

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

, and

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

. 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 Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

having the largest concentration (including the suburbs of

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

and

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

), as well as other cities such as

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Leamington,

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and Kitchener- Waterloo. Quebec has the second-largest Latin American population with

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

having the largest concentration. Latin American Canadians make up one of the major groups designated as a visible minority according to

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

. 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

The majority of Latin American Canadians are recent immigrants who arrived in the late 20th century from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

with smaller communities from

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, 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 Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

in their native countries, as in the case of

ans escaping from

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

's rule,

Salvadorans Salvadorans (), also known as Salvadorians, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly in the United States, with smalle ...

fleeing from the

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War () was a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador, backed by the United States, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of left-wing guer ...

, Peruvians escaping from the Internal conflict in Peru,

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

opposed to the regimes of

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until Rafael Trujillo#Assassination, ...

and Joaquin Balaguer,

Mexicans Mexicans () are the citizens and nationals of the Mexico, United Mexican States. The Mexican people have varied origins with the most spoken language being Spanish language, Spanish, but many also speak languages from 68 different Languages o ...

escaping from the

Mexican Drug War The Mexican drug war is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing Asymmetric warfare, asymmetric armed conflict between the Federal government of Mexico, Mexican government and various Drug cartel#Mexico, drug trafficking syndicates. When the ...

, and

Colombians Colombians () are people identified with the country of Colombia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Colombians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their bein ...

from the violence in their country.

Demographics

As of the

2021 Canadian Census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

, the largest Latin American communities are in the

census metropolitan area The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of stat ...

s of

(396,459; 3.5%),

(287,856; 3.2%),

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 cit ...

(151,500; 2.0%),

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

(134,395; 2.3%),

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

(121,960; 1.6%),

(90,620; 1.4%), and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

(30,605; 1.9%). The fastest growing are in the provinces of

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

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 ...

, and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Latin American population of Canada by census year

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

Immigration

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

Source:

Canada 2021 Census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

National average: 1.6%

Alberta

* Brooks () *

() *

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

() *

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

()

British Columbia

* Greater Vancouver A () *

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

() *

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

() *

() * Port Moody () *

Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with an estimated population of 174,248 in 2024, and one of th ...

()

Manitoba

* Brandon ()

Ontario

* Leamington () * Abitibi () *

Bradford West Gwillimbury Bradford West Gwillimbury is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, in Simcoe County in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area on the Holland River. West Gwillimbury takes its name from the family of Elizabeth Simcoe, née ''Gwillim''. The forme ...

() *

() * Kitchener () *

() * Grand Valley () * Pic River () *

Vaughan Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...

() * Milton () * Innisfil () *

() * Newbury () * St. Catharines () * New Tecumseth () *

() *

() * Oakville () *

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

() * Waterloo () * Burlington () *

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

() * Caledon ()

Quebec

* Sainte-Justine () * Brossard () * Courcelles-Saint-Évariste () *

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...

() *

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

() *

Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans (, ) is a municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. It is part of the L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality, on the southeastern side of Île d'Orléans. Prior to April 5, 2003, it ...

() * La Guadeloupe () * Saint-Didace () * Saint-René () * Dorval () * Lyster () * Laval () * Candiac () * Saint-Constant () * Plessisville () * Châteauguay () * Grand-Saint-Esprit () *

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe ( , ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie regi ...

() * Saint-Lambert () * Montréal-Est () * Delson () *

Vaudreuil-Dorion Vaudreuil-Dorion () is a suburb of Greater Montreal, in the Montérégie region of southwestern Quebec, Canada. The result of the merger of two towns, Vaudreuil and Dorion, it is located in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality. ...

() * Sainte-Catherine () * Saint-Gédéon-de-Beauce () * Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur () * Très-Saint-Sacrement () * L'Île-Perrot () * Saint-Édouard-de-Lotbinière () *

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

() * Deux-Montagnes () *Boucherville () *La Prairie, Quebec, La Prairie () *Bois-des-Filion () *Repentigny, Quebec, Repentigny () *Terrebonne, Quebec, Terrebonne () *Pointe-Claire () *Saint-Amable () *Charlemagne, Quebec, Charlemagne () *Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly () *Sherbrooke () *Saint-Rémi, Quebec, Saint-Rémi () *Gatineau () *Saint-Alexis-de-Matapédia, Quebec, Saint-Alexis-de-Matapédia () *Boisbriand () *Rosemère () *Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu () *Marieville () *Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue () *Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac () *Beaconsfield, Quebec, Beaconsfield () *Saint-Basile-le-Grand () *Noyan, Quebec, Noyan () *Ham-Nord () *Louiseville () *Blainville, Quebec, Blainville () *Dollard-des-Ormeaux () *Joliette () *Mount Royal, Quebec, Mont-Royal () *Lorraine, Quebec, Lorraine () *Les Cèdres, Quebec, Les Cèdres () *Montreal West, Quebec, Montréal-Ouest () *Léry, Quebec, Léry () *Saint-Polycarpe, Quebec, Saint-Polycarpe () *Mascouche () *Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville () *Saint-Philippe, Quebec, Saint-Philippe () *Saint-Isidore, Montérégie, Quebec, Saint-Isidore ()

List of notable Latin American Canadians

Music

*Eva Avila, pop music, pop singer and 2006 ''Canadian Idol'' winner *Boogat, rapper *Fito Blanko, tropical/urban singer-songwriter, born in Panama *Vcha, Camila, member of American girl group, Vcha *Patricia Cano, singer *Marco Castillo, singer-songwriter *José Miguel Contreras, rock music, rock musician and lead vocalist of By Divine Right *Criollo (band), Criollo, hip hop music, hip-hop group *Beto Cuevas, rock musician and former lead vocalist of La Ley (band), 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 *Rascalz, DJ Kemo, producer and DJ for hip-hop group Rascalz *Tom Landa, Mexican-born folk-rock musician *Oscar Lopez (guitarist), Oscar Lopez, flamenco musician, born in Chile *Lindi Ortega, singer-songwriter *John Paul Ospina, singer *Lido Pimienta, singer-songwriter *Adonis Puentes, singer-songwriter *Alex Cuba, Alexis Puentes, musician known by the stage name Alex Cuba *Quilla (musician), Quilla, singer-songwriter *Jessie Reyez, singer-songwriter *Alejandra Ribera, singer-songwriter *Smiley (rapper), Smiley, rapper *Isabella Lovestory, singer-songwriter

Writers

*Rodrigo Bascuñán, author and journalist, born in Chile *Caroline Dawson (writer), Caroline Dawson, born in Chile *Nicholas Dawson (writer), 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), David Alvarez, actor *Ariane Castellanos, actress *Joana Ceddia, YouTube Personality, born in

*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 *Michael Mando, film and television actor (of Mexican people, Mexican descent). *Flora Martínez, actress, part-

n 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 (director), German Gutierrez, cinematographer and documentary filmmaker *Federico Hidalgo, filmmaker and film professor. *Pedro Ruiz (filmmaker), Pedro Ruiz, documentary filmmaker

Politics

*Paulina Ayala, former Member of Parliament, MP for Honoré-Mercier (electoral district), Honoré-Mercier (New Democratic Party of Canada, 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

*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

*Sergio Marchi (politician), Sergio Marchi, former Member of Parliament, MP (Liberal Party of Canada), born in Argentina *Ricardo Miranda, Canadian politician, elected in the Alberta general election, 2015 to the Legislative Assembly of

, representing the electoral district of Calgary-Cross, born in Nicaragua *Osvaldo Nunez, former Member of Parliament, 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 (Canadian politician), Pablo Rodríguez, Member of Parliament, MP for Honoré-Mercier (electoral district), 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.

Sport

Visual Art

*Gustavo Chams, visual artist

References

{{Latin American diaspora Latin American diaspora in Canada, Ethnic groups in Canada

History

Demographics

Latin American population of Canada by census year

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

Immigration

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

Alberta

British Columbia

Manitoba

Ontario

Quebec

List of notable Latin American Canadians

Music

Writers

Diplomacy / International Relations

Entertainment

Photography

Politics

Science and technology

Sport

Visual Art

See also

References