Sri Lankan Canadians refers to people from Sri Lanka who have arrived and settled 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 ...

. Among these immigrants include members from the

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Moor Moor or Moors may refer to: Nature and ecology * Moorland, a habitat characterized by low-growing vegetation and acidic soils. Ethnic and religious groups * Moors, Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta during ...

, Malay and

Burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

ethnicities. According to the 2021 census there are 136,240 Sri Lankan-born persons in Canada.

Demographics

Sri Lankan Canadians are concentrated in the cities of

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 ...

( Malvern) and

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 ...

. According to the 2001 census, there are 62,000 Canadians who claim Sri Lankan ancestry, but only 10,000 claimed to be of

ancestry. The number may not be an actual representation because many

Tamil Canadians Tamil Canadians, or Canadian Tamils, are Canadians of Tamil ethno-linguistic origin. Much of Canada's Tamil diaspora from India and Sri Lanka then majority consist of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who sought to flee the ethnic tensions during the Sr ...

from Sri Lanka classify themselves as

rather than Sri Lankan.

Population settlement

The Sri Lankan Canadian Population according to Statistics Canada in the 2006 census in the 10 Canadian Provinces and 3 territories:

Dual citizenship

Some Sri Lankan Canadians hold citizenship in both Canada and Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government encourage Sri Lankan expatriates to obtain the citizenship of their country of birth at a fee and to return to Sri Lanka at a future date. There is a drive to attract the educated Sri Lankan immigrants in Canada for new opportunities arising in the government sector of Sri Lanka (such as universities, research institutes etc.), which may sometime require the applicants to be Sri Lankan citizens.

Community

Ontario

Sri Lankan Organizations and Associations in Canada and their role: There is a considerable number of Sri Lankan associations in Canada. The main objectives of these associations are to help the immigrants, continue their Sri Lankan traditions and to help Sri Lanka. Some of these associations are ethnic based but majority of the cities have associations which cater to all people having a link with Sri Lanka regardless of their ethnic or political orientation (E.g. amil Cultural Association of Waterloo region [community organisation for Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Brantford. List of Sri Lankan organizations and associations in Ontario: * Sri Lankan Seniors Support Centre of Ottawa [SLSSCO] Not for Profit Corporation * Canada Sri Lanka Muslim Association [Founded 1994, Oldest Sri Lankan Muslim Association in Canada]
Sri Lanka Canada Association of Ottawa
* Sri Lanka Malay Association of Toronto (SLAMAT) * Ambalangoda Association,
Sri Lanka Association of Cambridge, Guelph, Kitchener, and Waterloo

Alumni Association of University of Peradeniya Canada - Ottawa Chapter
* Sri Lanka Canada Association Of Brampton
Alumni Association of University of Peradeniya - Greater Toronto Area and Suburbs

University of Colombo Alumni Association of Canada

Waterloo Wellington Buddhist Cultural Association (WWBCA)

University of Kelaniya Alumni Association of Canada
* NDT Canada Association- University of Moratuwa (Est 2008 ) * Canadian Sri Lankan Centre for Social Harmony News Papers catering Sri Lankan Canadians A number of newspapers are printed in Ontario to cater the Sri Lankan diaspora. They are printed in English, Tamil and Sinhalese languages and distributed free. These news papers mainly tell the stories from Sri Lanka (current and old) and talks about the achievements of Canadian Sri Lankans. Sometimes, they get into small discussions on Sri Lankan politics as well as give some general information and tips necessary to help immigrants survive in Canada. These newspapers can be picked up at some grocery stores where they sell Sri Lankan food, places of religious worship, etc. List of Sri Lankan news papers available in Ontario.
The Times of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Reporter

Analai Express

Yathra

Dasatha

Canada Mirror

Manitoba

;Organizations
Sri Lankan Association of Manitoba (SLAM)Manitoba Buddhist Vihara and Cultural Association (MBVCA)
* Ottawa Theravada Buddhist Vihara and Cultural Center (OTBVCC) located at 2878, Navan Road, Orleans, Ottawa, ON K1C7G4 CANADA

Nova Scotia

;Organizations
Sri Lanka Canada Association of Atlantic Region (SLCAAR)

Saskatchewan

;Organizations *Saskatoon Sri Lankan Community

Notable Sri Lankan Canadians

Famous Sri Lankan Canadians include

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...

and his financier brother

Christopher Ondaatje Sir Philip Christopher Ondaatje, OC, CBE, FRSL (; born 22 February 1933) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian–English businessman, philanthropist, adventurer, writer and bob-sledding Olympian for Canada. Ondaatje is the older brother of the author Mic ...

; Principal Research scientist at the National Research Council of Canada Chandre Dharma-wardana; Academic Engineer

Indira Samarasekera Indira Vasanti Samarasekera (née Arulpragasam; April 11, 1952) is the former president and former vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta. She has been a member of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, which advises on ...

, musician

Nirmala Basnayake controller.controller was a Canadian indie rock band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consisted of vocalist Nirmala Basnayake, guitarists Colwyn Llewellyn-Thomas and Scott Kaija, bassist Ronnie Morris and drummer Jeff Scheven. The band took its n ...

, formerly of the band

controller.controller controller.controller was a Canadian indie rock band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consisted of vocalist Nirmala Basnayake, guitarists Colwyn Llewellyn-Thomas and Scott Kaija, bassist Ronnie Morris and drummer Jeff Scheven. The band took its n ...

; news anchor

Anne-Marie Mediwake Anne Marie Abeyesinghe Mediwake is a Canadian television news anchor. Formerly co-anchor of Global Toronto's 6 p.m. ''News Hour'', she was hired in September 2009 by the CBC News Network. In October 2010, she became co-anchor of CBC News Toront ...

; anchor novelist

Shyam Selvadurai Shyam Selvadurai (born 12 February 1965) is a Sri Lankan Canadian novelist. He is most noted for his 1994 novel '' Funny Boy'', which won the Books in Canada First Novel Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction.Paul Chafe"Shyam Selvad ...

; cricketers

Sanjayan Thuraisingam Sanjayan Thuraisingam (born 11 September 1969) is a Tamil Canadian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast bowling, fast medium bowler. Thuraisingam was Canada's top wicket-taker at the 2001 ICC Trophy and his 5 wickets f ...

, film Actor, producer and multiple Guinness World Record-holder

Suresh Joachim Suresh Joachim Arulanantham (born August 17, 1968) is a Canadian film actor, producer, and multiple-Guinness World Record holder who has broken more than 60 world records. World records Farthest distance run, whilst carrying a 4.5 kg bric ...

; and Pubudu Dassanayake.

References

External links

Canadian Tamil Business Directory

Global Sri Lankan Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sri Lankan Ethnic groups in Canada Asian Canadian Sri Lankan diaspora South Asian Canadian