Laotian Canadians

Laotian Canadians(Lao:ຄົນລາວແຄນາດາ), areCanadiancitizens ofLaotianorigin or descent. In the2016 Census, 24,580 people indicated Laotian ancestry.Bilateral relations betweenCanadaandLaoswere established in 1954 with the formalization of the independence of theKingdom of Laosfrom France. In August 2015, Canada's first resident diplomat opened the Office of the Embassy of Canada in Vientiane, Laos.
The term Laotian is wide, as it either refers to the people born in Laos and its many ethnicities [49 recognized by Laos] (theHmong peopleper example) or, the real term for the majorityLao Loum(constituting 69% of the country) that is simply Lao. The “S” inLaosis actually silent, it was added as the plural of Lao during the French unification of the many Lao states in 1947 to form theKingdom of Laos(unified from theKingdom of Luang Phrabang, theKingdom of Vientiane, theKingdom of Champassakand the principality ofMuan Phuang. All were previously ruled bySiam, and before that were part of the first Lao Kingdom ofLan Xang.)
Today, many Lao Canadians (likeLao AmericansandLaotians in France) claim royal ancestry of the main dynasty ofKhun Losuch as theHouse of Champassakin these former states.
Lao people have similar food, culture and language to the Thai ofThailand. Across Canada, restaurants serving Thai food are usually owned by Lao people or the ethnicIsan people. (See the famousGreen papaya salad)
Most Lao still refer to themselves as Tai (not to be confused with Thai from Thailand), but from the large sub-group of theTai people. A distinct Lao identity first appeared during the major loss of theKhorat plateauin 1778 when the Rattanakosin Kingdom (Siam) took overVientianeand theLao rebellion (1826–1828)against Siamese rule. After the failed independence attempt, Rama III implemented forced tattooing to identify the ethnic Lao population and accelerated huge population transfer into what is today Thailand. It would be officially proclaimed during French colonial rule when all states were unified in 1904, thus distinguishing them fromThaisofThailand.
Most Lao speakFrenchbecause they were once under theFrench protectorate of Laos. But many also speak English as well as Spanish (often recent immigrants from Posadas inMisiones,Argentina. SeeAsian Argentines)
The French spoken in Laos (Also called the Lao créole) is based on standard Parisian French but has some minor differences in vocabulary as in other French dialects of Asia. Today, the French spoken in Laos is slightly different from French learned during the colonial period, giving them a little hard time translating in the homeland.
Many Lao can also speak and understandThai,Northern Thai language,Phuan languageandIsan. Other dialects related to the Kra-dai languages are also understood, such asTai Dam languagein Viet Nam,Shanin Myanmar,AhominAssam, India,MeiteiinManipur,India, andChittagong,Bangladeshas well asDaiof theXishuangbanna Dai Autonomous PrefectureinChina.
There are also notable communities ofLaotian Chinesethat speak theteochew dialectand Lao with Thai-Persian heritage clustered around Canadian cities.(See theIranians in Thailand) These groups came as a result of theLaotian civil warfleeing the communist takeover.
TheLaotian Civil War, also infamously known as theSecret Warby the CIA, sparked the emigration of thousands of Lao. It was a brutal war between the CommunistPathet Laoand theRoyal Lao Army. From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. dropped more than two million tons of ordnance on Laos during 580,000 bombing missions—equal to a planeload of bombs every eight minutes, 24-hours a day, for nine years – making Laos the most heavily bombed country per capita in history.
Mass migration from Laos to Cambodia peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s, consisting of both government-sponsored and privately sponsored refugees from camps in Thailand, where they had fled to due to theLaotian Civil Warand the final victory of thePathet Lao.Between the 1970s and early 1980s many Canadian families, especially in Quebec, sponsored many Lao. But by the 1990s, most refugees in the camps were instead repatriated to Laos. Canada took in 12,793 Laotian refugees.
The Lao community is well assimilated to Canadian culture especially in the province of Quebec. This resulted in many mixed couples having children of mixed heritage.
Most migrants consisted of young families; there were few elderly among them. A significant proportion were drawn from among thecommunity of ethnic Chinese in Laos.
Most of the communities are settled in and more often outside of big Canadians cities such asBurnabyandSurreyinBritish Columbia,Kitchener, Ontario, where 995 Laotian Canadians live (0.004% of its population),MarkhamandCalgary. In Quebec, most live inSaint-Michel (Montreal).
Laotian migrants in Canada mostly followTheravada Buddhismwith a mixture of animism also known asTai folk religion, thoughMahayana Buddhistsare also found among those ofLaotian Chineseethnicity.
In 1990,British Columbiahad no Laotian Buddhist temple; the nearest was aLaotian Americantemple inSeattle.Within Canada, Laotian Buddhist temples have been opened inSainte-Julienne,Montreal, Quebec,Toronto, Ontario, andWinnipeg, Manitoba.
There are perhaps 500 Christians, most of whom converted while living in refugee camps. Christianity is spreading within the community.Recent immigrants fromPosadas,Argentinaof Lao descent mostly followsRoman Catholicism.
There is a growing community of Lao Muslims living in Canada. They are mostlySunniandIbadi. Many of whom were born in Laos and are of Indonesian, Thai, Katang (see theKatang people) and Malaysian descent.