Syrian Canadians

Syrian Canadians refers to Canadians who can trace their ancestry back to Syria. According to the 2011 Census there were 40,840 Canadians who claimed Syrian ancestry, an increase compared to the 2006 Census.

Migration and settlement

The immigration of Syrians to Canada began towards the end of the 19th century, with the first known Syrian immigrant, Ibrahim Abu Nadir, arriving in 1882. This immigration can be divided into two distinct phases, the first one ranging from 1885 to about 1908, when the Order-in-Council P.C. 926 was passed, which restricted the immigration of Asians, including Syrians, and imposed a $200 landing fee upon them. This, along with the First World War and later the Depression, significantly decreased the volume of Syrian immigration.

Over ninety percent of the early newcomers were Christian. Classifying these immigrants was a cause of confusion for the Canadian authorities, as Syria at the time was part of the Ottoman Empire, and also because Lebanon was still part of Syria. Early on, all arrivals from the region were labeled as Turks, until in 1911 immigrants from the Ottoman province of Syria were classified as Syrians, and later in 1955, under separate categories for Lebanese and Syrian. These early immigrants were often illiterate or semi-literate, even in Arabic. However, the immigrants who arrived in the latter part of the twentieth century were generally well educated.