Romanian Canadians are

Canadian citizens Canadian nationality law details the conditions in which a person is a national of Canada. With few exceptions, almost all individuals born in the country are automatically citizens at birth. Foreign nationals may naturalize after living in C ...

of Romanian descent or Romania-born people who reside in Canada. According to the Canadian Census data of 2021, there are 215,885 Romanian-Canadians. Some sources estimates that this number might be as high as 400,000 Canadians who are fully or partially of Romanian ancestry.

History of Romanian migration in Canada

Before World War I

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...

moved to Canada in several periods. The first period was at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Romanians had discovered Canada towards the end of the 19th century, after Clifford Sifton – Minister of Home Affairs representing a Liberal government that had promised to populate the West – had visited Bukovina. From 1896 to 1900, a group of Romanians established themselves in

Assiniboia Assiniboia District refers to two historical districts of Canada's Northwest Territories. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation. Historical usage ''For more information on the history of the provisional districts, see also Distri ...

(now

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 ...

), at Clifford Sifton's advice. The first two Romanian families that migrated to Canada from the Bukovina village of Boian stopped in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

in 1898. Other 100 Bucovina families took their example and followed them and they gave the settlement the name of their home village. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, many Romanians from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire (

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, Bukovina,

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

, Crişana, and Maramureş) migrated to the

Prairie provinces The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

of Canada to work as

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

ers. The

Dominion Lands Act The ''Dominion Lands Act'' (long title: ''An Act Respecting the Public Lands of the Dominion'') was an 1872 Canadian law that aimed to encourage the settlement of the Canadian Prairies and to help prevent the area being claimed by the United Sta ...

encouraged homesteaders to come to the area. The migrants from the

Romanian Old Kingdom The Romanian Old Kingdom ( ro, Vechiul Regat or just ''Regat''; german: Regat or ) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia ...

were mostly

Romanian Jews The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after ...

. Many Romanians moved to Canada and the United States between 1895 and 1920. St Nicholas's Romanian Orthodox Church (established in 1902 in Regina) is the oldest

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...

parish in North America; St George's Cathedral (founded in 1914 though the present building dates from the early 1960s), is the episcopal seat of the Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Regina. Today, the Romanian school from Boian, Alberta is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

showcasing Romanian

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

, photos of the first Romanian settlers in the area and the typical Romanian farmer's life in rural Canada. During the interwar period the number of ethnic Romanians who migrated to Canada decreased as a consequence of the economic development in Romania, but the number of

who migrated to Canada increased, mostly after the rise of the Iron Guard. According to Canada 1911 Census, in Canada lived 15,000 Romanians and in 1941: 25,000.

After World War II

The second period was between 1945 and 1955, when Romanians moved after

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 ...

, during Communist Romania, at a time when Romania was in a difficult period in its history. In this period, 1,460,000 Romanian citizens left their country. Many of them were political refugees. Many of them left for Canada.

Post-communism

Another wave of Romanian emigration to Canada occurred after 1989 following the

Romanian Revolution of 1989 The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred i ...

, when people obtained the right to leave Romania subsequent to the fall of

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

in Central and Eastern Europe. The wave intensified after the

Mineriad The mineriads ( ro, mineriade) were a series of protests and often violent altercations by Jiu Valley miners in Bucharest during the 1990s, particularly 1990–91. The term "mineriad" is also used to refer to the most significant and violent of ...

of 13–15 June 1990. After 1998, for the fourth time, a large number of Romanians were leaving Europe to come to Canada. In 2001, there were 131,830 Canadian residents who identified themselves of Romanian origin, of which 53,320 were single-origin Romanians and 78,505 were of mixed Romanian and other origins. The largest concentrations of Romanian-Canadians are in the Greater Toronto Area (approx. 75,000) and in the

Greater Montreal Area Greater Montreal (french: Grand Montréal) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with ...

(approx. 40,000). According to the Canada 2001 Census, the number of people of Romanian mother tongue in Canada was 50,895 and 61,330 Canadians claimed to speak Romanian. The number of people born in Romania was 61,330 and 2,380 were born in

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...

. According to the 2016 Census, there were 238,050 Canadian residents who identified themselves of Romanian origin, of which 96,910 were single-origin Romanians and 141,145 were of mixed Romanian and other origins. Almost 100,000 Romanian Canadians live in

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 ...

. According to the 2021 Census, there were 215,885 Canadian residents declaring themselves of Romanian origin; Romanian was the mother tongue of 93,160 of Canadian residents. There were 86,770 Canadian residents who were born in Romania. Immigration from Romania reached a high in the early 2000s. Figures from

Citizenship and Immigration Canada Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC; french: Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada)Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program since 2015; the legal title is Departm ...

show that the annual number of new permanent residents from Romania increased from an average of over 3,700 per year in the late 1990s to an average of over 5,500 per year since 2001, peaking in 2004 at 5,658. After 2004, the immigration from Romania constantly decreased. Map of North America highlighting OCA Romanian Episcopate

Map of North America highlighting OCA Romanian Episcopate

Source
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
/small>, 2014:, 2015: ''Facts and Figures 2016'':

Community life and associations

A few parishes and non-profit organizations deal with a series of community related issues. These include the "Buna Vestire" Parish

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 ...

, the Romanian Association of Canada, the Federation of Romanian Associations of Canada, Women's Society, and Constantin Brancoveanu Society. In 1914-18 was built the "Buna Vestire" Church (Annunciation Church) (

Cernăuți Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the up ...

Metropolitan seat), the oldest Romanian Orthodox Church in

. Among the Buna Vestire Church priests were Jida, Glicherie Moraru (1930–1938), Constantin Juga (1938–1950), Petre Popescu (June 10, 1951 – 2003), and Nicolae Stoleru, Tofan In 1939, on Iberville Street, in

, was built "Casa Romana", where was set up a Romanian school. In 1957, was set up the Romanian Cultural Association of

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

. Cuvântul românesc is the newspaper of the association. "The Week of the Romanians" continues the tradition of almost 40 years of the "Romanian Field Week" at

. Through the years, the place has combined cultural tributes to Romania with

anticommunist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

manifestations from Romanians in North America. The Romanian Field covers in a natural environment near Hamilton. The place features the Nae Ionescu Cultural Center, the St. Mary Chapel, sports fields, a pool, as well as a couple of bungalows and accommodation for mobile homes. The place for the St. Mary Chapel was chosen by

Valerian Trifa Valerian Trifa (; secular name Viorel Donise Trifa ; June 28, 1914 – January 28, 1987) was a Romanian Orthodox cleric and fascist political activist, who served as archbishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church in America and Canada. For part of hi ...

. The Writers' Alley (Rotonda) includes busts (sculptor Nicăpetre (1936–2008) of

Nae Ionescu Nae Ionescu (, born Nicolae C. Ionescu; – 15 March 1940) was a Romanian philosopher, logician, mathematician, professor, and journalist. Near the end of his career, he became known for his antisemitism and devotion to far right politics, in t ...

, Vasile Posteucă, George Donev, Aron Cotruş, Vintilă Horia,

Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religiou ...

and Mihai Eminescu. Another recreational and Romanian cultural facility in Canada is the Camp at Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. Although not quite completed, the camp was blessed and opened for use by Archbishop

in the summer of 1971. On July 24, 1998, the Romanian community of Boian, Alberta celebrated its centenary. Besides religious services, there was a cultural program and demonstrations of the early life of the Romanians in Canada. The Romanian Orthodox parish in Boian has a Romanian ethnic museum housed on its premises. The museum and St. Mary Orthodox Church was proclaimed historical site by the authorities. Association of Romanian Writers in Canada was incorporated in 2001. Association of Romanian Engineers in Canada was founded in 2003.

Timeline

*1896-1900 – A group of Romanians established themselves to the

, at Clifford Sifton's advice. *1898 – The first two Romanian families that migrated to Canada from the Bukovina village of Boian stopped in

. They gave the settlement the name Boian, Alberta. *1939 – On Iberville Street, in

, was built "Casa Romana", where was set up a Romanian school. *1952 – The Romanian Association of Canada (A.R.C.) founded in Montreal by Gheorghe Loghiade ( -1986), Gheorghe Stanciu, Petre Sultana, Miron Georgescu, Nichita Tomescu, Florin Marghescu, Ion Ţăranu (1921–2009), Alexandru Fonta (1922–2004) and Mihai Pop. The association was incorporated in 1953. *1965 – The Romanian Association of Canada launches fund raising events in order to build the Romanian Orthodox Church "Buna Vestire", situated on Cristoph Colomb Street in

. *1970 – launches fund raising events to help flood victims in Romania. *1970 – Alexandru Fonta (1922–2004), Vasile Posteucă (1912–1972) and Jean Ţăranu (1921–2009) donate a piece of land known today as "The Romanian Camp" in Val-David, Quebec. In 1980 in Val-David are inaugurated two Romanian landmarks, the Predeal-Trudeau Street and the Romanians Bridge. *1971 – A.R.C. launches the first Romanian Radio Show called "Ora de radio". Since 1999 the show airs with a different name, under the supervision of the Federation of Romanian Associations of Canada (F.A.R.). *1973 – A.R.C. participates at The Folk Festival in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec, taking 1st place in the competition. *1974 – A.R.C. joins other Romanian community associations to form the Federation of Romanian Associations of Canada (F.A.R.). *1981 – Together with other organizations - Buna Vestire Parish, Women's Society, Constantin Brancoveanu Society, Romanian Radio Show and F.A.R. Canada - A.R.C. launches a series of fundraising events to build The Romanian Cultural Center. F.A.R. obtains a grant of $100.000 from the

Quebec Government Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...

for the construction of the center. The money were given to F.A.R. in the name of the Romanian Community of Montreal and all its members. *1988 – A.R.C. creates the first Romanian TV Show called "Tele-Roumanie". *1997 - new lyrics for the Canadian song "Maple Leaf Forever" by the Romanian Canadian Vladimir Radian: "CBC Radio's Metro Morning show in Toronto ran a contest to find new lyrics for the song in 1997. The contest was won by Romanian immigrant, mathematician, and now a songwriter, actor and poet, Vladimir Radian, who moved to Canada in the 1980s. This version received its first full orchestral treatment on June 27, 1997, at a concert by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra." *2000 – A.R.C. resigns from F.A.R. Canada after illegal elections are held by this Association on October 5, 1999. *2001 – A.R.C. and Nova.TR (The Young Romanians Association) launch a pilot project to help new immigrants upon their arrival. The project helped about 40 families of newcomers, offering them a low cost housing for a period of two weeks. The project came to an end a year later, due to lack of funds. In 2002, A.R.C. accepts the assimilation request of Nova.TR *2001 – In March, the first issue of the Romanian newspaper Pagini Romanesti (Romanian Pages) at Montréal. The newspaper was printed after the closing of an older magazine, Luceafarul. Pagini Romanesti is still printed being today the oldest newspaper of the Romanian community in Québec. *2003 – A.R.C. celebrates 50 years of existence with a series of cultural and social events. *2003 – On June 11, 2006, a bust of Mihai Eminescu was unveiled at Saint George Church,

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

Canada–Romania relations

Clifford Sifton visited Bukovina in 1895. From 1912 to 1913

Robert W. Service Robert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958) was a British-Canadian poet and writer, often called "the Bard of the Yukon". The middle name 'William' was in honour of a rich uncle. When that uncle neglected to provide for hi ...

was a

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

for the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' during the Balkan Wars. Joseph W. Boyle served the king and queen of Romania during the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, helping to protect the country from the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

and to operate Romania's railroads. He was awarded the special title of "Saviour of Romania" for these and many other deeds. He remained a close friend, and was at one time a possible lover of the Romanian Queen, British-born

Marie of Edinburgh Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last Queen of Romania as the wife of King Ferdinand I. Marie was born into the British royal family. Her parents were Prince Alfred, ...

. The formal Canadian-Romanian relations were established on August 16, 1919, when the General Consulate of Romania was established in

by Vasile Stoica. Canadian general, diplomat and peacekeeper

John de Chastelain Alfred John Gardyne Drummond de Chastelain (born 30 July 1937) is a British-Canadian retired army officer and diplomat. De Chastelain was born in Romania to Scottish and American parents and was educated in England and Scotland before his famil ...

was born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

to a Scottish father and an American mother. Bilateral relations at embassy level were initiated on April 3, 1967. Canada commissioned its first resident ambassador in Romania in December 1967. The Embassy of Romania in Ottawa was opened in 1970. In 1991, the Consulate General of Romania was established in Toronto, while the consulate general in Montreal resumed its initial functions. In 2011, a consulate general was established in Vancouver. The Ambassador of Romania in Ottawa, Maria Ligor presented her credentials on June 10, 2013, to David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, at Rideau Hall, in Ottawa. The Ambassador of Canada in Bucharest, Joanne Lemay, presented her credentials on November 13, 2013. Romania has an honorary consulate general in Moncton, and an honorary consulate in Quebec City.

Gallery

Image:First Romanian Orthodox Church in North America, Regina, 1904.jpg, Romanians in front of the Romanian Orthodox Church of Regina, the first Romanian church in North America (1904) Image:Romania, Ottawa2.JPG, Embassy of Romania in Ottawa Image:St. George Church, Romanian.JPG, St. George's Romanian Orthodox Church in Toronto Image:Romania.750pix.JPG, Toronto Romanian Festival Image:Mihai Eminescu Montreal.jpg,

Statue of Mihai Eminescu, Montreal The Mihai Eminescu Statue (french: Hommage à Mihai Eminescu, poète roumain) is a monument in the Plateau-Mont-Royal area of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Overview The monument to Mihai Eminescu by Vasile Gorduz was unveiled on September 19, 2004 ...

Image:Musée Pointe-à-Callière.JPG, Dan Hanganu's Éperon building,

Pointe-à-Callière Museum Pointe-à-Callière Museum (french: Musée Pointe-à-Callière) is a museum of archaeology and history in Old Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1992 as part of celebrations to mark Montreal's 350th birthday. The museum has collections of ...

Romanian Canadians by Canadian province or territory (
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
)