Eritrean Canadians are a

hyphenated ethnicity A hyphenated ethnicity (or rarely hyphenated identity) is a reference to an ethnicity, pan-ethnicity, national origin, or national identity combined with the demonym of a country of citizenship-nationality, another national identity, or in some cas ...

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 ...

who are of full or partial Eritrean national origin, heritage and/or ancestry, Canadian citizens of Eritrean descent, or an

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

-born person who resides in

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 ...

. According to the 2021 Canadian census, 36,290 Canadians reported Eritrean ancestry.

History

Eritreans began to arrive in Canada as refugees from the

Eritrean War of Independence The Eritrean War of Independence was a war for independence which Eritrean independence fighters waged against successive Ethiopian governments from 1 September 1961 to 24 May 1991. Eritrea was an Italian colony from the 1880s until the d ...

in the late 1970s. After Eritrea gained independence in 1991, Eritreans continued to flee from

human rights violations Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...

committed by the Eritrean government.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Canadian Census, approximately 13,430 people reported Eritrean ancestry. This number increased to 25,255 by 2016 and further increased to 36,290 in 2021. However, accurate numbers of Eritrean refugees are difficult to estimate because many Eritreans who fled before Eritrea's independence had identified as or were considered

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

Geographic distribution

The following table lists Canadian provinces by their Eritrean population.

Toronto

The largest group of Eritreans in Canada are located in

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 ancho ...

. As of 2021, approximately 9,380 people of Eritrean descent live in the Toronto CMA. The Eritrean Canadian Community Centre and Eritrean Canadian Association of Ontario are located in Toronto.

Calgary

The second largest group of Eritreans in Canada are located in Calgary. As of 2021, approximately 5,395 people of Eritrean descent live in the Calgary CMA. The Eritrean Canadian Community Association of Calgary was founded in 1983.

Edmonton

As of 2021, approximately 4,605 people of Eritrean descent live in the Edmonton CMA.

Winnipeg

As of 2021, approximately 3,070 people of Eritrean descent live in the Winnipeg CMA.

Ottawa-Gatineau (National Capital Region)

As of 2021, approximately 2,095 people of Eritrean descent live in Ottawa, Ontario and 2,135 live in

Ottawa-Gatineau The National Capital Region (french: Région de la capitale nationale), also referred to as Canada's Capital Region and Ottawa–Gatineau (formerly ''Ottawa–Hull''), is an official federal designation for the Canadian capital of Ottawa, On ...

Notable people

* Shannon-Ogbani Abeda - Bobsledder, alpine skier. *

Simon Bairu Simon Bairu (born 8 August 1983) is a Canadian long-distance runner. Early life Bairu was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to an Ethiopian mother and an Eritrean father. He grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada where his family moved to when he w ...

- Retired long-distance runner. *

Grace Mahary Grace Mahary (born May 23, 1989) is a Canadians, Canadian model. Early life Mahary was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to Eritrean parents. When she was young she played basketball with her two older brothers at the Archbishop O'Leary Catholi ...

- Model. * Amanuel Melles - community organizer. *

SAFE A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...

- Rapper, singer, songwriter.

References

Eritrean diaspora Ethnic groups in Canada Eritrean expatriates in Canada Eritrean emigrants to Canada African Canadian {{Eritrea-stub