Cape Verdeans in Canada are

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 ...

residents whose ancestry originated in Cape Verde. Cape Verdean immigration to

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 ...

began in the late 19th century with just a few people. Prior to independence in 1975, Cape Verdean immigrants were registered as Portuguese immigrants from the

overseas province Overseas province ( pt, província ultramarina) was a designation used by Portugal for its overseas possessions, located outside Europe. History In the early the 19th century, Portuguese overseas territories were referred to as "overseas domini ...

Portuguese Cape Verde Cape Verde was a colony of the Portuguese Empire from the initial settlement of the Cape Verde Islands in 1462 until the independence of Cape Verde in 1975. History 15th century The islands of Cape Verde was discovered in 1444 by Dom Prin ...

. The first Cape Verdean immigrants arrived aboard ships which would pick up passengers in Cape Verde. Cape Verdean immigration grew noticeably in the 1960s as Cape Verde suffered drought, famine, economic decline, poverty, and conscription.

According to Canadian census data of 1991, only 55 people of Cape Verdean birth were then living in Canada. This figure seems to be low since Cape Verdeans are known to reside in several major Canadian cities, including
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 anch ...
,
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, and
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 ...
. In Toronto alone their number is estimated to be at least 300 (including those born in Canada), a number that is likely to increase in the incoming years.

Université de Montréal professor, Deirdre Meintel, estimates the number to be closer to 500. She attributes this to various factors including immigrants from

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and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

who are of Cape Verdean descent. Additionally, some Cape Verdeans may have identified as

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Black Canadians Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though ...

, making an accurate number difficult to obtain. Unofficial estimates by Cape Verdean community leaders and officials put the population at 4,000. 1995 Cape Verdean Diaspora Population Estimates
The population has become large enough to create a Caboverdeano Clube in Toronto and support Cape Verdean restaurants. The immigrants typically come from the islands of

Brava Brava or La Brava may refer to: Geography *Brava, Cape Verde, a volcanic island *Brava, Costa Rica, an island of Costa Rica (Isla Brava) *Costa Brava, a coastal area Mediterranean of northeast Spain * Barawa, a town in Somalia commonly known as ' ...

, Fogo, Maio, and

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

. Deirdre predicts that with time the Cape Verdean-Canadian population will continue to grow.

References

{{Black Canadians Ethnic groups in Canada African Canadian History of immigration to Canada Cape Verdean diaspora Canada–Cape Verde relations

See also

References