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Italian Canadians

Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience

Historical photo showing the inside of an Italian family's grocery store in Montreal's Little Italy from around 1910.

Italian Canadians or Italo-Canadians are people in Canada who have full or partial Italian ancestry, either through their ancestors who migrated from Italy or through being born in Italy themselves. According to the 2021 Census of Canada, about 1,546,390 Canadians, or 4.3% of the population, claim Italian heritage. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Canada, living mostly in big cities.

Italian immigration to Canada began in the mid-19th century, with a large wave happening in the early 20th century. Many came from rural areas of southern Italy and settled in cities like Toronto and Montreal. After World War II, another big wave of Italian immigrants arrived, with many working in construction. Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia was a key port where many Italians arrived.

Today, Italian Canadian culture remains strong, especially through family ties. In 2010, Ontario declared June as Italian Heritage Month, and in 2017, all of Canada joined in celebrating this heritage during June.

History

Italian immigrants lay cobblestones on King Street in Toronto, 1903

The first person to reach the coast of North America was a traveler from Venice named John Cabot. He landed in Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, in 1497. After Italy became a united country, many Italians began to leave their homeland to live in other parts of the world. By the late 1800s, some Italians started coming to Canada. At that time, Canada had only just started counting people in what we call a census, and in 1871, only about 1,000 Italians lived in Canada.

In the early 1900s, more Italians came to Canada, especially from the south of Italy. Many settled in cities like Toronto and Montreal, where they formed communities known as Little Italy. These immigrants often took jobs building railroads or working in mines.

A grocery store owned by an Italian family in Little Italy, Montreal, 1910

During World War II, some Italian Canadians faced unfair treatment because people were worried they might support the enemy. Luckily, most Italian Canadians were loyal to Canada.

After World War II, many more Italians came to Canada looking for better lives. They often settled in big cities and worked in jobs like construction or opened small businesses. Over time, their children went to school and found better jobs, helping the community grow and thrive.

Today, Italian Canadians make up a big part of Canada’s cultural diversity, and June is celebrated as Italian Heritage Month to honor their contributions.

Demographics

Ethnicity

In 2021, about 1,546,390 people in Canada said they had Italian ancestry. This is about 4.3% of all Canadians. Most of these people live in Ontario, with over 900,000, and more than 300,000 live in Quebec. Together, these two places make up almost 80% of all Italian Canadians in the country.

Language and immigration

Main article: Italian language in Canada

Out of the 1,546,390 Italian Canadians in 2021, about 204,070 were born in Italy. Around 319,505 people said Italian was their first language they learned as a child. The use of the Italian language has gone down since the year 2001.

Religion

Income

Canadians of Italian ethnicity
YearPopulation (single and multiple
ethnic origin responses)		% of total ethnic
population		Population (single ethnic
origin responses)		Population (multiple ethnic
origin responses)		Total % change
18711,0350.03%N/AN/AN/A
18811,8490.04%N/AN/A+78.6%
190110,8340.2%N/AN/A+485.9%
191145,4110.6%N/AN/A+319.2%
192166,7690.8%N/AN/A+47.0%
193198,1730.9%N/AN/A+47.0%
1941112,6251.0%N/AN/A+14.7%
1951152,2451.1%N/AN/A+35.2%
1961459,3512.5%N/AN/A+201.7%
1971730,8203.4%N/AN/A+59.1%
1981747,9703.1%N/AN/A+2.3%
19911,147,7804.1%750,055397,725+53.5%
19961,207,4754.2%729,455478,025+5.2%
20011,270,3704.3%726,275544,090+5.2%
20061,445,3354.6%741,045704,285+13.8%
20111,488,4254.5%700,845787,580+3.0%
20161,587,9704.6%695,420892,550+6.7%
20211,546,3904.3%671,510874,880−2.6%
Canadians of Italian ethnicity by province and territory (1991–2006)
Province/territoryPopulation (1991)% of total ethnic population (1991)Population (1996)% of total ethnic population (1996)Population (2001)% of total ethnic population (2001)Population (2006)% of total ethnic population (2006)
Ontario701,4307.0%743,4257.0%781,3456.9%867,9807.2%
Quebec226,6453.3%244,7403.5%249,2053.5%299,6554.0%
British Columbia111,9903.4%117,8953.2%126,4203.3%143,1603.5%
Alberta61,2452.4%58,1402.2%67,6552.3%82,0152.5%
Manitoba17,9001.6%17,2051.6%18,5501.7%21,4051.9%
Nova Scotia11,9151.3%11,2001.2%11,2401.3%13,5051.5%
Saskatchewan8,2900.8%7,1450.7%7,5650.8%7,9700.8%
New Brunswick4,9950.7%4,6450.6%5,6100.8%5,9000.8%
Newfoundland and Labrador1,7400.3%1,5050.3%1,1800.2%1,3750.3%
Prince Edward Island6650.5%5150.4%6050.4%1,0050.7%
Yukon4401.6%5451.8%5001.8%6202.0%
Northwest Territories5100.9%5250.8%4001.1%6101.5%
NunavutN/AN/AN/AN/A950.4%1250.4%
Canadians of Italian ethnicity by province and territory (2011–2021)
Province/territoryPopulation (2011)% of total ethnic population (2011)Population (2016)% of total ethnic population (2016)Population (2021)% of total ethnic population (2021)
Ontario883,9907.0%931,8057.0%905,1056.5%
Quebec307,8104.0%326,7004.1%316,3203.8%
British Columbia150,6603.5%166,0903.6%162,4853.3%
Alberta88,7052.5%101,2602.5%98,7302.4%
Manitoba21,9601.9%23,2051.9%22,8351.8%
Nova Scotia14,3051.6%15,6251.7%16,5751.7%
Saskatchewan9,5301.0%11,3101.1%10,8301.0%
New Brunswick7,1951.0%7,4601.0%8,2501.1%
Newfoundland and Labrador1,8250.4%1,7100.3%2,2900.5%
Prince Edward Island9550.7%1,2000.9%1,6551.1%
Yukon7252.2%9152.6%7101.8%
Northwest Territories5451.3%5051.2%4451.1%
Nunavut2150.7%1750.5%1600.4%
Canadians of Italian ethnicity (greater than 10,000) by metropolitan area and census agglomeration (1991–2006)
Metropolitan areaPopulation (1991)% of total ethnic population (1991)Population (1996)% of total ethnic population (1996)Population (2001)% of total ethnic population (2001)Population (2006)% of total ethnic population (2006)
Toronto CMA387,65510.1%414,3109.8%429,3809.2%466,1559.2%
Montreal CMA163,8309.2%220,9356.7%224,4606.6%260,3457.3%
Greater Vancouver58,4653.8%64,2853.5%69,0003.5%76,3453.6%
Hamilton CMA51,32011.4%62,03510.0%67,68510.3%72,44010.6%
Niagara Region43,04010.9%44,51511.0%44,64512.0%48,85012.7%
National Capital Region30,2654.5%34,3503.4%37,4353.6%45,0054.0%
Greater Calgary22,8103.2%23,8852.9%29,1203.1%33,6453.1%
Windsor20,32010.6%29,27010.6%30,68010.1%33,72510.5%
Greater Edmonton17,7802.9%20,0202.3%22,3852.4%28,8052.8%
Greater Winnipeg14,4602.3%15,2452.3%16,1052.4%18,5802.7%
Sault Ste. Marie16,93020.8%16,48020.0%16,31521.0%17,72022.4%
Thunder Bay14,26512.5%15,09512.1%15,39512.8%17,29014.3%
London13,4554.4%15,5704.0%17,2904.1%20,3804.5%
Greater Sudbury12,2107.6%11,9907.5%12,0307.8%13,4158.6%
Oshawa CMAN/AN/A11,6754.4%13,9904.8%18,2255.6%
GuelphN/AN/AN/AN/A11,1359.6%12,1109.6%
Kitchener-Cambridge-WaterlooN/AN/A10,2402.5%11,3652.8%13,6753.1%
BarrieN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A10,3305.9%
Canadians of Italian ethnicity (greater than 10,000) by metropolitan area and census agglomeration (2011–2021)
Metropolitan areaPopulation (2011)% of total ethnic population (2011)Population (2016)% of total ethnic population (2016)Population (2021)% of total ethnic population (2021)
Toronto CMA475,0908.6%484,3608.3%444,7557.2%
Montreal CMA263,5657.0%279,7957.0%267,2406.3%
Greater Vancouver82,4353.6%87,8753.6%83,2003.2%
Hamilton CMA75,90010.7%79,72510.8%80,16510.4%
Niagara Region48,53012.6%49,34512.4%50,21011.8%
National Capital Region47,9754.0%53,8254.1%55,9453.8%
Greater Calgary36,8753.1%42,9403.1%41,6202.8%
Windsor30,8809.8%33,17510.2%37,6659.1%
Greater Edmonton29,5802.6%33,8002.6%32,2352.3%
Oshawa CMA20,2655.8%22,8706.1%22,7455.5%
London20,2104.3%22,6254.6%22,7554.3%
Greater Winnipeg18,4052.6%19,4352.6%19,0602.3%
Sault Ste. Marie16,00520.4%16,02520.9%14,94519.8%
Thunder Bay15,57513.1%16,61014.0%16,61513.7%
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo14,8603.2%18,6503.6%19,4753.4%
Greater Sudbury13,1158.3%13,5008.3%12,9357.7%
Guelph12,9159.3%14,4309.6%14,0758.6%
Barrie11,4156.2%14,4607.4%16,1907.7%
Victoria10,5353.1%11,6653.3%12,7503.3%
Italian mother tongue speakers in Canada
YearPopulation% of non-official language mother
tongue speakers in Canada		% of all language mother tongue
speakers in Canada		% of Italian Canadians
1991449,66012.7%1.7%39.2%
1996484,50010.5%1.7%40.1%
2001469,4859.0%1.6%37.0%
2006455,0407.4%1.5%31.5%
2011407,4856.2%1.2%27.4%
2016375,6455.1%1.1%23.7%
2021319,5054.1%0.9%20.7%
Italian immigrant population to Canada
PeriodPopulation% of total
Canadian immigration
1901–191058,1043.5%
1911–192062,6633.7%
1921–193026,1832.1%
1931–19403,8982.4%
1941–195020,6824.2%
1951–1960250,81215.9%
1961–1970190,76013.5%
1971–197837,0873.1%
Italian immigrant population in Canada
YearPopulation% of immigrants
in Canada		% of Canadian
population
1986366,8209.4%1.5%
1991351,6158.1%1.3%
1996332,1106.7%1.2%
2001315,4555.8%1.1%
2006296,8504.8%0.9%
2011260,2503.6%0.8%
2016236,6353.1%0.7%
2021204,0702.4%0.6%
Religious affiliation of Italian Canadians
Religious group20012021
Population% of Italian Canadians% of Canadian populationPopulation% of Italian Canadians% of Canadian population
Christianity1,152,98590.8%5.3%1,099,49071.1%5.7%
Islam1,5600.1%0.3%3,7150.2%0.2%
Irreligion109,5158.6%2.2%427,34027.6%3.4%
Judaism2,9350.2%0.9%5,4800.4%1.6%
Buddhism1,0650.08%0.4%1,6400.1%0.5%
Hinduism4000.03%0.1%3950.03%0.05%
Indigenous spirituality6000.05%2.0%5450.04%0.7%
Sikhism1300.01%0.05%3650.02%0.05%
Other1,1750.09%3.4%7,4300.5%3.2%
Christian denominations of Italian Canadians
Christian denomination20012021
Population% of Italian Canadians% of Canadian populationPopulation% of Italian Canadians% of Canadian population
Catholic1,015,72588.1%7.9%945,99586.0%8.7%
Orthodox5,7200.5%1.2%10,8801.0%1.8%
Protestant113,4559.8%1.3%76,0906.9%1.7%
Other Christian18,0851.6%2.3%66,5256.1%2.4%
Income of Italian Canadians
YearMedian personal income% change% of Canadian median income
1996$19,961N/A+5.7%
2016$36,452+82.6%+6.6%

Italian Canadian culture, media and education

Main article: Italian language in Canada § Italian culture in Canada

Italian Canadians have made many contributions to movies, TV, and books in Canada. Some famous Italian-Canadian films include Almost America, Caffè Italia, Montréal, and Mambo Italiano. On television, shows like Ciao Bella and Fugget About It have shown Italian-Canadian life. In books, the novels of Nino Ricci, such as his award-winning Lives of the Saints, are well loved and give readers a look at Italian-Canadian culture.

Notable Italian Canadians

Main article: List of Italian Canadians

Many people in Canada have Italian roots and have done great things in different areas. Some of these individuals are well-known for their achievements in sports, arts, and other fields. Canada is proud to have many talented people from Italian backgrounds who have contributed to the country's culture and success.

Italian districts in Canada

Italian communities have built special areas in many Canadian cities. These places keep Italian traditions alive and are great for learning about Italian culture.

Alberta

Greater Montreal area

Ottawa

Nova Scotia

Hamilton, Ontario

Greater Toronto Area

Windsor, Ontario

British Columbia

Manitoba

Images

Map showing where Italian Canadians live across Canada based on the 2021 census.
A vintage neon sign for an Italian restaurant in Montreal, featuring a chef holding a bowl of spaghetti.

Related articles

Toronto
Montreal
World War II
Canada
Italy
Southern Italy

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Italian Canadians, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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