Hinduism In Canada
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Hindus in Canada generally come from one of three groups. The first is primarily made up of Indian immigrants who began arriving in British Columbia about 100 years ago and continue to immigrate today (Hindus from all over India immigrate to Canada today, but the largest Indian subgroups are the Gujaratis and Punjabis). The second major group of Hindus immigrated from Sri Lanka, going back to the 1940s, when a few hundred Sri Lankan Tamils migrated to Canada. The 1983 communal riots in Sri Lanka precipitated the mass exodus of Tamils with over 500,000 finding refuge in countries such as Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, France and Switzerland from then Sri Lankan Tamils have been immigrating to Canada in particular around Toronto and Greater Toronto Area. A third group is made up of Canadian converts to the various sects of Hinduism through the efforts of the Hare Krishna movement, the Gurus during the last 50 years, and other organizations.
According to the 2001 Census of Canada, there were 297,200 practitioners of Hinduism. However, the non-profit organization Association for Canadian Studies estimates the Hindu population grew to 372,500 by 2006, or just under 1.2% of the population of Canada. The vast majority of Hindus reside in Ontario (primarily in Toronto, Scarborough, Brampton, Hamilton, Windsor & Ottawa), Quebec (primarily around the Montreal area) & British Columbia, (primarily around the Vancouver area). Have significant populations.
Read more about Hinduism In Canada: Hindu Population, Early Hindus, Hindu Converts, Later Immigrant Hindus, Temple Societies, Organizations
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