Iranians in Canada: A Statistical Analysis

This paper presents a statistical analysis on the demographic, social educational and occupational issues of the Iranian-Canadian community. The main sources of data for the paper are the Government of Canada’s 2001 census statistics and an online webbased survey conducted by the author from the Iranian-Canadian community. Other sources were the author’s personal experiences and findings during his study and life in Canada during the last four years and also information provided by his friends and colleagues. Demographic features of the Iranian-Canadians such as population, gender, immigration status and period, age groups, marital status and marriage are investigated and compared to other typical Canadians. Other topics such as education, employment factors, income levels, ties with the home country (Iran), interest in and preservation of the home culture, identity in Canada, following issues related to Iran are also addressed. We also give a short discussion on the intra-social relations in the Iranian community in Canada. A brief overview on some of the related works, done specifically on the Iranians living in Canada, is also presented. The author hopes this analysis dispels the illusion held by Iranians prior to their immigration to foreign countries and Canada in particular. He further hopes that the analysis helps the decision makers and also Iranians associations, groups and societies both in Iran and in Canada to better analyze and solve the social, cultural, and psychological issues of the Iranian-Canadian community. 1 The author’s biography can be found in the last page of the paper. ©2005 Vahid Garousi, Iranians in Canada: A Statistical Analysis 2 of 26 Table of