page_title: South Asian Canadians
section_title: Population
hierarchical_section_title: South Asian Canadians / Demography / Population
caption_attribution_description: English: Public square in front of the Rose Theatre in Brampton, Ontario
context_page_description: South Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to South Asia, which includes the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives. The term South Asian Canadian is a subgroup of Asian Canadian and, according to Statistics Canada, can further be divided by nationality, such as Indian Canadian, Bangladeshi Canadian and Pakistani Canadian. South Asians are the second largest pan-ethnic group in Canada after European-Canadians.
  As of 2016, 1,963,330 Canadians had South Asian geographical origins, constituting 5.6% of the Canadian population and 32% of Canada's Asian Canadian population. This makes them the largest visible minority group in Canada comprising 25.6% of the visible minority population, followed by East Asian and Black Canadians respectively. The largest communities from South Asia are found in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Metropolitan areas with large communities from South Asia include Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Montréal.
context_section_description: The first confirmed reports on the Canadians from India were in 1908 which put the East-Indian Canadian population at 5,209. The overwhelming majority of whom were Sikh, male, and settled in British Columbia. However, as a result of laws which restricted the immigration the community had declined to only 1,300 by the mid 1920s. By 1961, right before racial restriction were respectfully removed from Canada's immigration policy, Canadians from South Asian countries rose to 6,774.  With racial quotas being removed (invitations extended) during the 1960s the number of Canadians from South Asia created the diverse population we see into the present day.
  According to the 2016 National Household Survey 1,963,330 Canadians had South Asian origins and 1,924,635 other Canadians were classified as belonging to the visible minority group, generally termed, South Asian. The growth of the population is attributed to sustained invitations of immigration from South Asian nations. According to a 2011 study conducted by Statistics Canada Canadians from South Asia will grow to between 3.2 and 4.1 million by 2036 or 8.7% to 9.1% of the Canadian population overall.
  Ontario and British Columbia have the largest population of Canadians from South Asia with Alberta and Quebec being home to significant communities as well. Metropolitan areas with large communities include the Toronto (973,225), Vancouver (291,005), Calgary (122,900), Edmonton (91,420), Montréal (85,925), Ottawa (39,980) and Winnipeg (38,100).
  Municipalities with large communities include Brampton, Ontario (44.3%), Surrey, British Columbia (32.8%), Abbotsford, British Columbia (25.5%), Mississauga, Ontario (23.2%), Milton, Ontario (21.0%), Ajax, Ontario (20.9%) and Delta, British Columbia (20.3%). From 2001 to 2006 Milton, Ontario saw the greatest increase in its population growing by 1378.6% with many other towns seeing their population double or triple.
  Canadian provinces and territories by their ethnic South Asian population in 2011 and 2016:
  Canadian metropolitan areas with large populations of Canadians from South Asia:
caption: Brampton, Ontario is home to the highest percentage of Canadians from South Asia with 261,705 or 44.3% of the population.
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