Filipino Canadian

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Filipino Canadians are Canadian citizens or immigrants who are of Filipino ancestry and can trace their roots back to the Philippines. They are typically of South-East Asian Malay descent, with various admixtures of Chinese, Spanish, Negrito, Arab, Indian, and Polynesian bloodlines. Filipino-Canadians are also a subgroup of the Overseas Filipinos.

Canada only had a small population of Filipinos until the late 20th century. To date, there are currently between 300,000 to 350,000 Filipino Canadians and immigrants in Canada, most of them living in urbanized areas. This number is growing yearly due to Canada's more liberal immigration laws to compensate for their low population growth. Filipino-Canadians are the third largest Asian-Canadian group in the nation after the Chinese and Indian communities.

The Filipino-Canadian constituency has been unexpectedly overtaken by the Filipino population enumerated in Italy. Neighboring country, the United States, has a Filipino community that is fifteen times larger even with its more rigid and strict immigration policies. Henceforth, Canada receives an average of 10,000 Filipino nationals annually, making them the third-largest immigrant group in the second largest landmassed nation of the world. Assuming this annual growth, the population is expected to hit 500,000 by 2010.

1 Filipino Canadian Communities
- 1.1 Toronto
2 Notable Filipino Canadians
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Filipino Canadian Communities

[edit] Toronto

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is home to the largest Filipino community in Canada. About half of all Filipinos in Canada live in the GTA numbering close to 200,000. Of those 200,000, 86,460 live within the City of Toronto, making them the fourth largest visible minority behind the Chinese, Indian and Black communities. Tagalog is the 7th most spoken language in the city. Although there is no permanent "Filipino neighbourhood" there are large population of Filipinos in the Bathurst and Wilson, Jameson and St. Jamestown neighbourhoods. There are smaller Filipino populations in the neighbourhoods of Flemingdon Park, Thorncliffe Park and various neighbourhoods in Scarborough. There is also some significant Filipino populations along Steeles Avenue.

There are many religious, town and sport associations in Toronto as well as numerous community newspapers. The Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC) is one organization that organizes various events for the Filipino community, including the Mabuhay Philippines! Toronto Summer Festival, held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

[edit] Notable Filipino Canadians

[edit] Politicians

Cris Aglugub - Manitoba NDP MLA, the Maples 1999-now
Gene Lara - Community Activist
Rey Pagtakhan - First Filipino-Canadian Member of Parliament (1988-2004), First Filipino-Canadian Cabinet Minister (2001-2004)
Conrad Santos - First Filipino Canadian elected in Canada in 1981 (to the Manitoba Legislature), and First Filipino Canadian to run for the leadership of A political party (Manitoba NDP, 1989)
Mike Pagtakhan - Winnipeg City Councillor, Point-Douglas Ward (2002-present)

[edit] Entertainers

Emm Gryner - Singer-songwriter of mixed Filipino ancestry
Hazel Lorraine - Actress and model who appeared in several movies and Canadian TV shows.
Cassie Steele - Actress on Degrassi: The Next Generation
Lexa Doig - Actress on Stargate SG-1 and Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda
Earl Pereira - Wide Mouth Mason bassist
Philip Guerrero - Known as "PJ Phil" on YTV's The Zone as a host in the mid-1990's
Ma-Anne Dionisio - Theatre actress, best known for her role as Kim in the Canadian Premiere production of Miss Saigon and as Eponine in the US National Tour of Les Miserables
Mikey Bustos - Canadian Idol finalist, singer
Leilene Ondrade - Actress/Model
Ron Josol - Comedian
Alex Steele - Actress
Elena Juatco - Canadian Idol Finalist, wild card

[edit] Journalists

Hazel Mae - former Rogers Sportsnet anchor
Pauline Chan - Anchor CFTO Toronto news
Marivel Taruc - Anchor CBC News Morning
Rosalinda Natividad-Cantiveros - Long time resident of Winnipeg and Editor-in-Chief of the Filipino Journal - Winnipeg's longest running Filipino-ethnic newspaper.
Sharon Navarro - Anchor

[edit] Writers

C. E. Gatchalian - playwright, poet, fictionist

[edit] Sports

Alex Pagulayan - 2004 World Pool Champion
Edwin Montal - Pool Player
Jonathan de Guzmán - midfielder for Feyenoord Rotterdam
Julian de Guzmán - professional soccer player

[edit] Other

Dr. Romulo Magsino - Former Dean of the Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba. Now a Dean Emeritus.
Virginia Guiang - Long-time community volunteer, inducted to the Order of Manitoba in 2004, current Executive Director - Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba.
Nelia Laroza - First Canadian nurse to die from SARS on June 29, 2003 - North York General Hospital
Nerissa Garcia - Former Director of the Magdaragat Philippine Folk Dancers, native of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Also known as Goldie Garcia.
Melanio Catre - founder and former President of National Congress of Filipino Canadian Associations
Nellie Vandt - Enrepreneur, producer of several filipino concerts such as Diva2Diva