Sri Lankan Canadians refers to people from Sri Lanka who have arrived and settled in Canada. Among these immigrants include members from the Tamil, Sinhalese, Moor, Malay and Burgher ethnicities. As of 2006 there are 103,625 Sri Lankans in Canada.
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Demographics
Sri Lankan Canadians are concentrated in the cities of Toronto and Montreal. According to the 2001 census, there are 62,000 Canadians who claim Sri Lankan ancestry, but only 10,000 claimed to be of Sinhalese ancestry. The number may not be an actual representation because many Tamil Canadians from Sri Lanka classify themselves as Tamil rather than Sri Lankan.
Population settlement
The Sri Lankan Canadian Population according to Statistics Canada in the 2006 census in the 10 Canadian Provinces and 3 territories:
Dual Citizenship
Some Sri Lankan Canadians are holding the citizenship of both countries, Canada and Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government encourage Sri Lankan expatriates to obtain the citizenship of their country of birth at a fee and to return to Sri Lanka at a future date. There is a drive to attract the educated Sri Lankan immigrants in Canada for new opportunities arising in the government sector of Sri Lanka (such as universities, research institutes etc.), which may sometime require the applicants to be Sri Lankan citizens.
Since almost all the Sri Lankans who immigrated to Canada under skilled migration schemes have received their higher education free, there is a moral tendency among them to obtain dual citizenship in addition to the fact that they left behind relatives and accrued wealth.{Ref:to be added}
Ontario
Sri Lankan Organizations and Associations in Canada and their role: There is a considerable number of Sri Lankan associations in Canada. The main objectives of these associations are to help the immigrants, continue their Sri Lankan traditions and to help Sri Lanka. Some of these associations are ethnic based but majority of the cities have associations which cater to all people having a link with Sri Lanka regardless of their ethnic or political orientation (E.g. [Tamil Cultural Aassociation of Waterloo region [community organisation for Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Brantford]).
List of Sri Lankan organizations and associations in Ontario:
News Papers catering Sri Lankan Canadians A number of newspapers are printed in Ontario to cater the Sri Lankan diaspora. They are printed in English, Tamil and Sinhalese languages and distributed free. These news papers mainly tell the stories from Sri Lanka (current and old) and talks about the achievements of Canadian Sri Lankans. Sometimes, they get in to small discussions on Sri Lankan politics as well as give some general information and tips necessary to help immigrants survive in Canada. These newspapers can be picked up at some grocery stores where they sell Sri Lankan food, places of religious worship, etc.
List of Sri Lankan news papers available in Ontario.
Manitoba
Nova Scotia
Saskatchewan
Notable Sri Lankan Canadians
Famous Sri Lankan Canadians include author Michael Ondaatje and his financier brother Christopher Ondaatje; Principal Research scientist at the National Research Council of Canada Chandre Dharma-wardana ; Buddhist leader, scholar, poet, novelist Suwanda H J Sugunasiri,Academic Engineer Indira Samarasekera, musician Nirmala Basnayake, formerly of the band controller.controller; news anchor Anne-Marie Mediwake; anchor novelist Shyam Selvadurai; cricketers Sanjayan Thuraisingam, film Actor, producer and multiple Guinness World Record-holder Suresh Joachim; and Pubudu Dassanayake.Writer and Social worker Aloy Stephen Perera, Writer and Librarian Dr. Swarna Chandrasekera, Buddhist priest and Urban Monk Dr. Bhante Saranapala, Researcher and professor Dr. Wasantha Rupasinghe, Professor and writer Dr. Sarath Chandrasekere, Engineer Daya Chandraratne, Engineer and Retired Civil Servant Dr. P K Abeytunge.