By Mark Pfeifer

Recently released data from the 1996 census of the Canadian population clearly show a significant increase in the Vietnamese ethnic origin population within several cities and across the entire nation. The figures were collected by Statistics Canada and include those individuals who claimed a Vietnamese ethnicity either as their sole reply or as part of a multiple response to the ethnic origin question on the census survey form. The census numbers are estimates based upon a questionnaire given to 20% of the entire Canadian population.

Statistics Canada estimates the number of persons of Vietnamese ethnic origin residing in Canada expanded from 94,250 in 1991 to 136,810 in 1996. This represented an increase of 45% in the population in just five years. Several notable trends are evident in the government-collected data. According to the figures, most of the expansion in the population has occurred in just a few provinces. The 1996 census data show over 95% of the Vietnamese population lived in just four of the nation’s ten provinces – Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta. The government’s estimates indicate the number of persons of Vietnamese ethnic origin counted in Ontario increased a remarkable 60% in the five-year period – from around 38,000 to about 62,000. In British Columbia, Statistics Canada tallied almost 22,000 Vietnamese in 1996, an increase of nearly 70% from the 12,500 estimated to live in the western-most province a half-decade earlier. Smaller, but notable increases were also observed in the Vietnamese ethnic origin populations of Quebec and Alberta. In 1996, according to the government estimates, very small Vietnamese populations resided in the Prairie Provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island) as well as the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

Among metropolitan areas, the Statistics Canada figures indicate the most notable growth in Vietnamese ethnic origin individuals occurred in several Ontario cities, as well as British Columbia and Alberta urban centres. Slower growth was apparent in Quebec, and in Manitoba, the Vietnamese population actually declined, according to the government data. Statistics Canada estimates the Vietnamese population living in the Toronto metropolitan area increased from 24,550 to 41,740 from 1991 to 1996 – an increase of about 70% in just five years. Significant growth in Vietnamese ethnic origin individuals was also observed in Ottawa-Hull, Kitchener, Hamilton, London, Windsor, St. Catherine’s-Niagara, and Oshawa. In Vancouver, British Columbia, the government counted almost 17,000 Vietnamese in 1996, compared to just over 10,000 five years earlier. In addition, a notable increase in the population was registered in Victoria. In Alberta, according to the census estimates, the Vietnamese ethnic origin population grew by about 40% in Calgary and nearly 15% in Edmonton in the same five-year period.

Within the province of Quebec, the census figures indicate Montreal maintained its position as the second largest Vietnamese community in the nation, after Toronto. Statistics Canada counted about 30% more Vietnamese living in Montreal in 1996 compared to 1991. While a small increase in population was also registered in the provincial capital of Quebec City, decreases in the number of Vietnamese residents were observed in other Quebec urban centres including Sherbrooke and Trois-Riveres. In Manitoba, the number of Vietnamese counted in the Winnipeg metropolitan area actually declined about 20% over the five-year period. However, in the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan, the small Vietnamese communities in Regina and Saskatoon expanded in size, according to the government figures. Finally, in Atlantic Canada, tiny Vietnamese populations registered small increases in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Saint John, New Brunswick. The somewhat larger Vietnamese community in Halifax, Nova Scotia exhibited a notable decrease in population.

It should be pointed out that the government’s census estimates must be assessed with caution. The 1996 Statistics Canada figures likely represent a significant undercount of the overall Vietnamese population. The government probably missed many individuals possessing a Vietnamese ethnic origin when it conducted its census survey. While the number of Vietnamese living in Canada has without a doubt shown an impressive increase it seems very unlikely that the Vietnamese population has expanded to such an extent in several Canadian cities and across the country as a whole in the 1991-1996 time period. After the early 1990s, the number of Vietnamese admitted to Canada as refugees slowed to a trickle. Much of the increase in population which has occurred in the past half-decade has been the result of already established Vietnamese sponsoring family members to join them in Canada. Vietnamese populations have also expanded in certain regions (especially Southern Ontario and coastal British Columbia), due to the movement of Vietnamese to these areas from other parts of the country.

It seems plausible to suggest that the strong growth in persons of Vietnamese ethnic origin apparent in the 1996 census figures is the consequence of several factors. These include the impressive number of family sponsorships, secondary migration to certain urban centres, and the significant rate of natural increase (births far exceeding deaths) among the overall Vietnamese population. However, the rather remarkable population expansion indicated in the data could very well be related to the probability that government census officials missed far fewer Vietnamese in 1996 compared to 1991. As the population becomes more established in Canada, Vietnamese individuals are more likely to be aware of the census and capable of understanding and filling out the census survey due to an improved knowledge of English.