Moroccan 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 Moroccan descent, as well as people from the state of Morocco who are ethno-linguistic and religious minorities. According to the 2021 Census, there were 98,980 Canadians who claimed full or partial Moroccan ancestry, an increase compared to the 2006 Census.

History

Moroccans Moroccans () are the Moroccan nationality law, citizens and nationals of the Morocco, Kingdom of Morocco. The country's population is predominantly composed of Arabs and Berbers (Amazigh). The term also applies more broadly to any people who ...

began arriving in Canada in the mid-1960s in search of employment and a new life. Between 1962 and 1993, 40,000 settled in Canada. The next wave came in the late 1990s. Moroccan immigrants settled mainly in the province of Quebec, but there are also communities in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Winnipeg. At the

2001 Canadian Census The 2001 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This w ...

, there were 21,355 Canadians who indicated Moroccan descent, with over 16,000, about 75% of the total population, residing in Montreal.Powell, John. ''Encyclopedia of North American Immigration'' (Facts on File library of American history).

Infobase Publishing Infobase is an American publisher of databases, reference book titles and textbooks geared towards the North American library, secondary school, and university-level curriculum markets. Infobase operates a number of prominent imprints, including ...

. January 1, 2009. , 9781438110127. p
195

Demography

Religion

The majority of Moroccan Canadians are Muslims and a large minority are Jews. Jews constitute between 27% and 45% of Moroccan Canadians.

Notable people

* Aldo Bensadoun, is a Canadian businessman, investor and philanthropist. He is the founder and executive chairman of the

Aldo Group The Aldo Group, branded and stylised as ALDO, is a Canadian multinational corporation, multinational retailer specializing in shoes and accessories. Established in 1972 in Montreal, Quebec, the company was founded by Aldo Bensadoun. Its corpor ...

, a worldwide retail shoe company. *

Gad Elmaleh Gad Elmaleh (, Latn, ar, Gād el-Māleḥ; born 19 April 1971) is a Moroccan-Canadian stand-up comedian and actor. Best known in the French-speaking world, he has notably achieved fame in France, Morocco, and the United States. He has starre ...

, is a Moroccan Canadian stand-up comedian actor and artist. * Fatima Houda-Pepin is a Canadian

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, ...

politician and a former member of the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

, Canada. * La Zarra, singer * Hicham Bennir is a Canadian and Moroccan film director, cinematographer, editor, producer, writer and photographer. He was the winner of the world photo contest in 2009 and 2010. * Rachid Badouri, comedian. *

Yassine Bounou Yassine Bounou (, ; born 5 April 1991), also known as Bono, is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal and the Morocco national team. Bono began his youth career in Morocco, playing for W ...

, Moroccan footballer. * Soufiane Chakkouche, writer and journalist *

Emmanuelle Chriqui Emmanuelle Sophie Anne Chriqui ( ; born 10 December 1975) is a Canadian actress. She is known for playing Sloan McQuewick on HBO's '' Entourage'' (2004–11), Claire Bonner in '' Snow Day'' (2000), Dalia in ''You Don't Mess with the Zohan'' (200 ...

, actress (''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'', ''

You Don't Mess with the Zohan ''You Don't Mess with the Zohan'' is a 2008 American Satire (film and television), satirical Action comedy, action comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and written by Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, and Judd Apatow. Sandler also stars, alongside Joh ...

''). *

A-Trak Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known professionally as A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highl ...

, is a Canadian DJ, turntablist, record producer. * Nadia Essadiqi, actress and singer. *

Adam Lamhamedi Adam Lamhamedi (born 22 April 1995 in Quebec City, Quebec) is a Moroccan-Canadian alpine skier who has competed since 2010 on the FIS circuit. Lamhamedi was born in Canada, and competed for Morocco at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. E ...

, Moroccan Canadian alpine skier; competed for Morocco at the 2014 Winter Olympics. * Vaï, Moroccan-French Canadian rapper. *

Nora Fatehi Nora Fatehi (born 6 February 1992) is a Canadian dancer and actress based in India. She has appeared in Hindi cinema, Hindi, Telugu cinema, Telugu and Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. Fatehi made her acting debut with the Hindi film ''Roar: ...

, Bollywood actress and dancer. * Imane Anys, better known as Pokimane, is a

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

streamer and

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

. *

Faouzia Faouzia Ouihya (, ; born 5 July 2000), known mononymously as Faouzia, is a Moroccan-Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Born in Casablanca, Morocco, she moved with her family to Canada at a young age. During that time she learned how to pl ...

, Moroccan Canadian singer. *

Hicham Nostik Hicham Nostik (Arabic: هشام نوستيك, also known as Kafer Maghribi كافر مغربي) born in 1976 in Taza, Morocco, is a Moroccan writer, podcaster and YouTuber, living in Canada, most known for his outspoken stance against Islam and re ...

, Moroccan writer, YouTuber and podcaster.

Notes

References

External links

Moroccan In CanadaMoroccan Community In Vancouver
* Moroccan emigrants to Canada Arab diaspora in North America African diaspora in Canada {{Canada-culture-stub