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.
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. 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, making them the third-largest immigrant group in the second largest landmassed nation of the world.
Notable Filipino Canadians
Politicians
- Cris Aglugub - Manitoba NDP MLA, the Maples 1999-now
- Gene Lara - Community Activist
- Rey Pagtakhan - First Filipino-Canadian Member of Parliament
- 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)
Entertainers
Journalists
