Croatian Canadians 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 ...

citizens who are of Croatian descent. The community exists in major cities including the Greater Toronto Area,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Ottawa,

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 ...

, Calgary,

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

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

Waterloo Region The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumfr ...

. Popular events celebrated in the Croatian-Canadian community include the Canadian-Croatian Folklore Festival (held in eastern and western Canada) and the

Croatian-North American Soccer Tournament The Croatian-North American Soccer Tournament is a soccer tournament established in 1964 featuring teams representing the Croatian Canadian and Croatian American communities. It is organized by the Croatian National Soccer Federation of Canada & t ...

Demographics

There were approximately 114,880

Canadians 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 ...

of Croatian ethnic origin as reported in the 2011 Census compiled by Statistics Canada, rising to 133,965 by the 2016 Census. Although predominantly found in Ontario, Croatian Canadians are present in most major Canadian cities throughout the country. The ten largest Croatian communities are found in the following cities: *

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 ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

,: 13,670 *

, Ontario: 10,110 * Mississauga, Ontario: 9,935 * Calgary,: 5,575 *

,: 4,175 * Oakville,: 4,045 *

,: 3,890 * Ottawa,: 3,540 *

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 I ...

,: 3,225 * Kitchener,: 3,000 The town with the largest percentage of people of Croatian ethnic origin is Kenaston,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

- 17.5% of its 285 inhabitants claim Croatian ethnic origin. Statistics Canada also designates

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 in the collection of its data. The ten Census Metropolitan Areas with the highest concentration of Croatian Canadians are: * Toronto CMA: 37,460 * Vancouver CMA: 15,670 * Hamilton CMA: 13,655 * Calgary CMA: 6,265 *

CMA: 5,265 *

CMA: 5,230 * Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo CMA: 4,920 * Ottawa CMA: 4,135 * Windsor CMA: 3,925 * Niagara CMA: 3,225

Religious affiliation

Most Croatian Canadians are

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

who follow the

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

of their ancestors in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. This is in line with the population in Croatia, which is also majority Catholic. A very small minority of Croatians are Byzantine Rite Roman Catholics. There is also a very small community of

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

who follow Islam, the descendants of those who converted after the 16th century, after the conquest of much of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

by the Ottomans. Communities of Protestants have historically been negligible in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Catholicism

In Canada, the first ethnic Croatian parish was established in Windsor in 1950. Soon, parishes were established in Toronto (1951), Hamilton (1958), Vancouver (1967), Winnipeg (1968). Today there are ethnic Croatian parishes and missions in seventeen cities in Canada. One of the most prominent Croatian Catholic parishes is the Queen of Peace Catholic Church in

Norval, Ontario Norval is an unincorporated community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada. Situated on the Credit River, it is located approximately west of Toronto and is part of the Regional Municipality of Halton. Norval is believed to take its na ...

. The establishment of the parish began in 1976 when community members, under the guidance of the Franciscan Friars, gathered for one evening to discuss the necessity and logistics of creating a place of gathering and cultural and faith building and preservation for the large Croatian immigrant population. In May 1977, 160 acres of property were purchased by the organizing committee with the specific dedication to Croatian Catholics. In the Norval Croatian Centre, as is in many other Croatian Catholic parishes, brochures, books, CDs and other forms of Croatian media are offered. The Croatian Catholic youth in particular have started and taken part in many faith developments of their own. The Croatian Catholic Youth Group (CCY) is a faith-based group that comes together by schedule to discuss Catholic subjects and strengthen their religious belief. In addition, Mladifest is an annual event started in 2013 by the Queen of Peace Parish and has each year attracted hundreds of young Catholic Croatian to further explore the intersection of their faith and culture. As the event continued to develop over the years, the rotation of it between host parishes started, with the 2013, 2014, and 2015 Mladifest being in Norval, 2016 in Sacred Heart, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2017 in Immaculate Heart of Mary, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2018 in Croatian Martys Church, Mississauga, Ontario, and 2019 in Saint Nicholas Tavelic, Montreal, Quebec. It is an event funded by each parishes' members donations and contributions to bake sales, banquets and other events held to amass funds.

Other Christian

While an overwhelming percentage of Croatians in Canada remain Roman Catholic, there are non-Catholic populations, including Protestants (most of whom have been in Canada for more than one generation) and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

(the majority of whom are of mixed ethnic background).

Islam

Previously unorganized Croats of the Muslim faith, with the arrival of eminent physician Asaf DurakovićPoskok.info
Fikret Artuković: Toronto slavi 35 godina hrvatske džamije (picture) founded the Croatian Islamic Centre on June 23, 1973 in

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

(75 Birmingham Street, Etobicoke, ON M8V 2C3), helped by the Croatian Catholic community.Vinko Grubisic: Croatians in Toronto, From: Polyphony Vol.6, 1984 pp. 88-91
An old Catholic school was bought for 75,000 CAD and readjusted into masjid. Since the old building was in bad condition, a new mosque was built on the site of the old one in 1983. Today, given changing political affiliations and political pressures from 1990's, and influx of non-Croat option of Bosnian Muslims, the center is now known as the Bosnian Islamic Centre. Despite that, today 4 out of 64 Canadian mosques have the attribute "Croatian". In Croatian Islamic Centre the children are taught the Croatian and Arabic languages, but there also Croatian Islamic newspapers, books, brochures, etc. Croatian Islamic Center called on Muslim governments, organisations, and individuals to press the Yugoslav regime, to end the persecution of Islam and to grant genuin equality of Muslims in Yugoslavia. The director of Centre Kerim Reis wanted that Belgrade releases the Muslim prisoners of conscience and to end to restrictions on the building of mosques. During Yugoslavia, this group often spoke accused Tito's Yugoslavia for practising discrimination both Muslim and Catholic Croats.Google Books
Paul R. Magocsi,Multicultural History Society of Ontario: Encyclopedia of Canada's peoples

Notable Croatian Canadians

Businesspeople

Robert Herjavec Robert Herjavec (; ; born September 14, 1962) is a Croatian-Canadian businessman, investor, and television personality. Herjavec founded BRAK Systems, a Canadian integrator of Internet security software, and sold it to AT&T Canada (now Allstrea ...

- CEO of the Herjavec Group, one Canada's most prominent technology companies * Tihomir Orešković - 11th

Prime Minister of Croatia , type = Head of Government , member_of = , reports_to = Croatian Parliament , appointer = Croatian Parliament , nominator = President of Croatia , termlength = At the pleasure of the parliamentary majority. Parliamentary elections must be h ...

Politicians

* Eve Adams - Liberal MP, Missisauga-Brampton South; born Eve Horvat to Hungarian-Croat parents *

Bob Bratina Robert Bratina (born 1944) is a Canadian politician and former broadcaster who was the 56th mayor of Hamilton from 2010 to 2014. Previously, he sat on the Hamilton City Council from 2004 until 2010. He went on to be the Liberal member of Par ...

- former Mayor of Hamilton, 2010–2014; Liberal MP, Hamilton East-Stoney Creek 2015–present *

Jan Brown Janet (Jan) Corinne Brown (born June 23, 1947 in Nanaimo, British Columbia) is a Canadian former politician. She was first elected as a Member of Parliament under the Reform Party of Canada ticket in the Alberta riding of Calgary Southeast in th ...

- former Reform/Independent MP Calgary Southeast, 1993-1997 *

Allan Kerpan Allan Edward Joseph Kerpan (born 1954) is a Canadian politician. He is the current interim deputy leader of the Maverick Party, a right-wing Western Canadian separatist party. Life and career Kerpan was born on 9 December 1954 in Kenaston, S ...

- Saskatchewan Party MLA, Carrot River Valley, 2003–present; former Reform MP, Moose Jaw-Lake Centre, 1993-2000 * Janko Peric - former Liberal MP, Cambridge, 1993-2004 * Peter Sekulic – former Alta Liberal MLA, Edmonton Manning, 1993-1997 *

Roseanne Skoke Roseanne Skoke (born September 11, 1954) was the Liberal MP for the riding of Central Nova from 1993 to 1997. Political career Central Nova had been considered a safe Progressive Conservative riding, but its popular MP, Elmer MacKay, did n ...

- former Liberal MP, Central Nova, 1993-1997 *

John Sola Domagoj Ivan "John" Šola (born April 15, 1944) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1995. Originally a Liberal, he was forced to leave his party over controversy ...

- former Liberal MPP, 1987–1995 * Dave Stupich - former NDP MP, Nanaimo-Cowichan 1988-1993; former B.C. NDP MLA, 1963-1969; 1972-1988 * Ruža Tomašić - police officer and politician, Member of the European Parliament * Berry Vrbanovic - mayor of Kitchener, 2014–present;

Kitchener City Council Kitchener City Council is the governing body for the city of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. The council consists of the Mayor of Kitchener and 10 ward councillors. 2006-2010 Council elected in the 2006 municipal election. 2010-2014 Council elect ...

lor, 1994-2014;

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

candidate for

Kitchener Centre Kitchener Centre (french: Kitchener-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. Geography The district includes the north-central and north-eastern parts o ...

in the 1999 Ontario Election. *

Lynne Yelich Lynne Yelich, (née Zdunich; born March 24, 1953) is a Canadian politician and was the Conservative MP for the former riding of Blackstrap and predecessor riding components, from 2000 to 2015. Life and career Yelich was born in Saskatoon, Sas ...

- Canadian Alliance/Conservative MP, Blackstrap, 2000–2015

Scientists

* Asaf Durakovic - physician and expert in nuclear medicine and depleted uranium; poet

Arts and entertainment

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

- singer *

Steve Bacic Steve Bacic ( ; hr, Bačić ) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing the characters Gaheris and Telemachus Rhade on the Sci-Fi series '' Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda''. After guest starring in seasons 1-3 as both characters, he joined the ...

- actor * Frank Cvitanovich - documentary filmmaker * Ivan Hrvatska - singer * Alicia Josipovic - actor * Stana Katic - actor *

Josip Novakovich Josip Novakovich (Croatian: ''Novaković'') is a Croatian Canadian writer. Early life and education Josip Novakovich was born in Yugoslavia (in 1956) and grew up in the central Croatian town of Daruvar. Novakovich studied medicine at the Univers ...

- writer * Daniella Pavičić - singer and songwriter * Teresa Toten - writer

Athletes

* Nikola Andrijević - soccer player * Sandra Bezić - figure skater * Val Bezić - figure skater * Željko Bilecki - soccer player *

Joseph Cattarinich Joseph Jean Étienne Stanislas Cattarinich (November 13, 1881 – December 7, 1938), was a Canadian professional Ice hockey player, and co-owner of horse racing tracks in Canada and the United States as well as a co-owner of the Montreal Canadien ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

player *

George Chuvalo George Louis Chuvalo, CM (born September 12, 1937 as Jure Čuvalo) is a Canadian former professional boxer who was a five-time Canadian heavyweight champion and two-time world heavyweight title challenger. He is known for having never been kno ...

- boxer * Nick Dasović - soccer player * Great Antonio - strength athlete *

Tony Hrkac Anthony John Hrkac (; born July 7, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player of Croatian and Ukrainian ancestry who played eighteen seasons of professional hockey. Playing career Collegiate Hrkac was drafted in the second round, ...

- hockey player *

Dejan Jakovic Dejan Jakovic ( sr-Cyrl, Дејан Јаковић, ; born 16 July 1985) is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a centre-back for the Serbian White Eagles. Internationally, he represented the Canada national team from 2008 to 2018. Early lif ...

- soccer player * Ante Jazić - soccer player * Dan Kordić - hockey player * John Kordić - hockey player *

Frank Mahovlich Francis William Mahovlich CM (born January 10, 1938) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and a former Liberal Senator in the Canadian Senate. He played on six Stanley Cup-winning teams and is an inductee of the Hockey Hall of Fa ...

- hockey player *

Peter Mahovlich Peter Joseph Mahovlich (born October 10, 1946) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive. Known in his playing years as "Little M", as his older brother Frank was the "Big M", Mahovlich played in the National Hockey ...

- hockey player *

Tony Mandarich Ante Josip "Tony" Mandarich (born September 23, 1966) is a Canadian former American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He was selected second overall by the Green Bay Packers in the 1989 ...

- NFL player * Phil Oresković - hockey player *

Matt Pavelich Matt Pavelich (born March 12, 1934) is a Canadian retired former National Hockey League ice-hockey linesman, the first to ever be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987. After his career as an NHL linesman, Pavelich served as Supervisor of ...

- hockey player *

George Pesut George Matthew Pesut (born June 17, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in 92 NHL games for the California Golden Seals over two seasons. He also played in 17 WHA games with the Calgary Cowboys during the 1976� ...

- hockey player * Brian Sakić - hockey player * Joe Sakić - hockey player * Cory Sarich - hockey player * Paul Spoljarić -

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player * Marc-Édouard Vlasić - hockey player * Bo Horvat - hockey player

Political activists

* Madeline-Ann Aksich * Gojko Šušak

Other

Mato Dukovac Mato Dukovac (23 September 1918 – 6 June 1990) was the leading Croatian fighter ace of World War II, credited with between 40 and 44 confirmed victories. He joined the Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia following the Axis invasion ...

- World War II fighter ace *

Zvonko Vranesic Zvonko Vranesic (born 4 October 1938) is a Croatian–Canadian International Master of chess, and an International Master of Correspondence Chess. He is an electrical engineer, a university professor, and a developer of computer chess software. ...

- Master of Chess * George "Stan Stasiak" Stipich - professional wrestler

References

External links

History of Croatian Canadians

Statistics Canada
{{Croatian diaspora *

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 ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Croatian

Demographics

Religious affiliation

Catholicism

Other Christian

Islam

Notable Croatian Canadians

Businesspeople

Politicians

Scientists

Arts and entertainment

Athletes

Political activists

Other

See also

References

External links