There is a significant community of Canadians in India, consisting largely but not exclusively of Canadians of Indian descent.

Migration history

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Canadian Forces were involved in the war in the Far East. By the end of 1942, there were at least 1,100 Canadians in India and Ceylon although the exact number was not known as there was no coordinating Canadian authority. In 1943-44, the British Fourteenth Army turned the tide in northern

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and eastern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in a series of hard-fought battles, and many individual Canadians fought with the British army and air force during these operations.

Post-Independence

In recent years, India has witnessed a serious return migration with the return of more than 100,000 people of Indian descent from across the world to India to become part of the booming Indian economy. The Indian government is targeting young Indian professionals across the globe because they are "professionally adept" and can straddle the two economies better. The Indian government encourages the second and the third generation of Indo-Canadians to come to India "voluntarily". To encourage the youth and young professionals, the Indian government has put in place several programs like "Know India" for them to experience the country. During the 1996-2006 period, less than one percent of Indian immigrants to Canada left Canada, one of the lowest rates of any group in Canada. This is primarily because many Indian extended families are now located more in Canada than India, reducing the need to move back to take care of elders, etc. As well, economic prospects were, until quite recently, much better in Canada. In addition to immigrants and expatriates, more and more Canadian companies are now eyeing the mounting investment opportunities in India. From eight percent in 2005, the percentage of Canadian companies showing interest in India has gone up to more than 13 percent in 2010. As of January 2011, there are around 250 small and big Canadian companies operating in India.The Times of India - Canadian companies to make India their base
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Notable people

Neeru Bajwa Neeru Bajwa (born 26 August 1975) is a Canadian actress, director and producer who has mainly worked in Punjabi and Hindi films. She started her career in 1998 with Dev Anand's Bollywood film '' Main Solah Baras Ki'' and then moved on to work ...

- actress *

Rubina Bajwa Rubina Bajwa is a Canadian actress and sister of Neeru Bajwa who works in Punjabi films. She started her career in 2017 in her sisters film '' Sargi,'' for which she was awarded the Debut Female Actress Award in 2018 during the PTC Punjabi Fil ...

- actress *

Ruby Bhatia Ruby Bhatia (born November 1, 1973) is a Canadian actress, VJ, and television show host. Early life and background Bhatia was born to Canada-based Harbans and Premlata Bhatia. But she was adopted at the age of 3 years by her aunt and uncle, Prem ...

- actress *

Nora Fatehi Nora Fatehi (born 6 February 1992) is a Canadian actress, model, dancer, singer, and producer who is predominantly known for her work in the Indian film industry. She has appeared in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films. She made her debut ...

- actress *

Jonita Gandhi Jonita Gandhi is a Canadian playback singer of Indian descent. She has recorded songs predominantly in Hindi and Tamil languages with few in Punjabi, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam languages. Some of her most ac ...

- singer *

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

- Bollywood actor *

Natalie Di Luccio Natalie Di Luccio (born 29 June 1989) is an Italian-Canadian classical-crossover singer from Toronto, Ontario. She is often referred to as "Bollywood's Soprano" because of her unique renditions of Indian classics. Her career began in 2010 whe ...

- singer *

Sunny Leone Karenjit Kaur Vohra (born May 13, 1981), known by her stage name Sunny Leone (), is a Canadian-American model and actress in the American and Indian film industries. She is a former pornographic actress. She was born in Canada to an Indian S ...

- Canadian born former pornographic actress and Bollywood actress * Tony Menezes - Canadian professional soccer player * Rishi Prabhakar - Spiritual Leader *

Lisa Ray Lisa Rani Ray (born 4 April 1972) is a Canadian actress and model who has also worked internationally. Ray began her modelling career in India in the early 1990s, appearing for leading Indian brands like Bombay Dyeing and Lakmé. She made her ...

- actress *

Kamal Sidhu Kamal Sidhu (born February 24, 1968) is a Canadian model, VJ, TV anchor and actress. She won the Miss India–Canada title in 1991, she has a successful career as presenter and show host. Early life Sidhu was born in an Indian Sikh family who ...

- model and actress * Shweta Subram - singer *

Shashaa Tirupati Shashaa Kiran Tirupati (born 21 December 1989) is a Canadian playback singer, songwriter, and music producer of Indian descent. Popularly known as "The Humma Girl", in 2018, she won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer, as wel ...

- singer * Vandana Vishwas - singer * William James Wanless - Canadian born surgeon, humanitarian and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

missionary * Vanessa Webb - Canadian former professional tennis player * Robert J. Zydenbos - Dutch-Canadian scholar who has doctorate degrees in Indian philosophy and Dravidian studies

In film

* ''

Asa Nu Maan Watna Da ''Asa Nu Maan Watna Da'' is a Punjabi movie directed by Manmohan Singh released in 2004 and starring Harbhajan Mann. Plot Calgary-based businessman Kanwaljit Singh Dhillon sends money home to his brother, Deep, to invest in some property. Now ...

'' - a Punjabi film based on a Canadian PIO family returning and settling in India. * ''

Jee Aayan Nu ''Jee Ayan Nu'' ( en, Welcome) is a Punjabi drama film, released on 8 November 2002. It stars Harbhajan Mann in the lead role with Priya Gill. It was directed by Manmohan Singh. It is one of the first most successful movie in Punjabi cinema, ...

References

{{Canadians abroad

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

Canadian expatriates in India Canadian people of Indian descent

Migration history

World War II

Post-Independence

Notable people

In film

See also

References