Iraqi Canadians are

Canadians Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

of full or partial

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i descent, as well as people from the state of Iraq who are ethno-linguistic and religious minorities. According to the 2011 Census there were 49,680 Canadians of Iraqi ancestry, an increase compared to the 2006 Census.

History

Emigration from Iraq to Canada has increased dramatically due to political and economic situations in

. The Iraq-Iran War resulted in many immigrants. With the destroyed Iraqi economy and the oppression of the 13-year

economic sanctions Economic sanctions or embargoes are Commerce, commercial and Finance, financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Economic sanctions are a form of Coercion (international relations), coercion tha ...

against Iraq that followed the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

of 1990–91, there was all the more reason to emigrate. From 1945 until 1975, fewer than 200 Iraqis arrived in Canada. Emigration substantially increased in 1979, the year

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

became president of Iraq. Between 1975 and 1992, 6,472 Iraqis arrived in Canada, establishing about 3.5 percent of all Arab immigrants in Canada. About 65 percent of Iraqis settled in the province of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, particularly in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, and in the province of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, particularly in

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 cit ...

on shores of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Many Iraqis also live in the province of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, particularly in the Canadian capital city of

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Windsor and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, the most populated city in Canada. The 1991 Canadian census recorded 4,790 Iraqis; 3,525 of wholly Iraqi ancestry, and 1,265 of partial Iraqi ancestry. Iraqi immigrants through the period of 1981-1992 settled principally in a few cities in Canada: British Columbia (362), Alberta (268), Quebec (203), Ontario (176), and Manitoba (152).

Demography

Religion

Geographical distribution

Employment

The main causes for the immigration of Iraqis were due to the Gulf War and the situation in Iraq which drove them out of their homeland. In Canada, Iraqi immigrants seem to face three unexplainable problems, the first being unable to find jobs where they can apply their professional expertise. The second is discrimination, with a possibility that some employers associate them with the regime that they fled. The third is their lack of Canadian experience. Despite a high level of education and professional experience, 54 percent of 892 immigrants were unemployed. Of the 407 with jobs, 40 percent had professional positions; 24 percent, lower white-collar; 30 percent,

blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labor or skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, warehousing, mining, carpentry, electrical work, custodia ...

; 3 percent, service; and 3 percent, not stated.

Community life

The patterns of formal association among Iraqis are new and voluntary, as revealed most notably in the Iraqi Community Center based in Cote Des Neiges, Montreal. The center helps Iraqis adapt to Canada and develop ties with general society, and disseminates information about the ethnocultural heritage of Iraqi Canadians. Gender equity is the norm; the president of the Iraqi Canadian Society is a woman.

Culture

Despite differences in dialect, many Iraqi Canadians see themselves as Arabs, Mandaeans, Assyrians or Chaldeans. Almost all Iraqi Arab immigrants wish to maintain the Arabic language in both oral and written forms. Because young children and Canadian-born ones cannot easily learn reading and writing skills, more emphasis is put on teaching oral skills. Many Canadian-born can understand spoken Arabic without being able to speak it. Gender equity, which has expanded in Iraq itself, is encouraged in Canada. Marriage for both males and females remains principally endogamous. There are a sizable number of Iraqi Christians in Canada. Christian denominations include

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, is an Eastern Christianity, Eastern Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian denomin ...

Chaldean Catholic Church The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church (''sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is ...

, and

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...

. The remaining 40 percent are Muslims, the majority being

Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

. There are also small numbers of

Mandaeans Mandaeans (Mandaic language, Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ) ( ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and ...

and

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, numbering in the hundreds or thousands.

Notable Iraqi Canadians

* Nhoopeh al-Areebi, professional wrestler (half Iraqi) * Fajer Al-Kaisi, Iraqi-born Canadian actor and comedian from Montreal * Joe Balass, filmmaker * Farouk Kaspaules, Iraqi-born Canadian artist * Naïm Kattan, author, novelist and critic * Anisa Mehdi, Emmy Award-winning film director, journalist and director of '' Inside Mecca'' *

Duraid Munajim Duraid Munajim is a Toronto-based film director and a freelance cinematographer. Career Munajim is an Iraqi-Persian born in Kuwait in 1972, to an Iraqi Arab father and Iranian Persian mother. Duraid was 17 years of age when his family immigrate ...

, filmmaker and freelance cinematographer * Leilah Nadir, writer * Narcy, rapper * Farah Nosh, photojournalist * Muayyed Nureddin, geologistIraqi released from Syrian jail
/ref> * Awatef Rasheed, women's rights activist, Femmy Award winner in Canada *

Anita Sarkeesian Anita Sarkeesian ( ; born 1983) is a Canadian-American feminist media critic. She is the founder of ''#Feminist Frequency, Feminist Frequency'', a website that hosts videos and commentary analyzing portrayals of women in popular culture. Her v ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

media critic Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

and public speaker. Her parents are Armenians from Iraq who emigrated to Canada in the 1970s * Isho Shiba, Iraqi-Assyrian born in Iraq, and a five-time Canadian national boxing champion *

Isa Hasan al-Yasiri Isa Hasan al-Yasiri (; born 1942) is an Iraqi-Canadian poet. He was born in a village in southern Iraq, located near the town of Al-Kumait in the Maysan Governorate. He completed his primary education between the village school and Al-Kumait scho ...

, poet * Bahaa Abdul Hadi, founder of

Qi Card The Qi Card (), also known as International Smart Card ISC, is an Iraqi debit card and is the national credit card of Iraq. It is pronounced as 'key', and it is the reversed form of IQ, the ISO 3166 code for Iraq. It has about 3,000 employees, as ...

Notes

References

{{Portal bar, Iraq, Canada