Vietnamese Canadians
Vietnamese Canadians are a significant community in Canada, primarily formed in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Following the fall of Saigon in 1975, a large influx of Vietnamese refugees sought refuge in Canada, with approximately 65,000 arriving during that year alone. Prior to this, the Vietnamese population in Canada was relatively small, concentrated mostly in cities like Montreal and Toronto. The community grew rapidly in the late 1970s and early 1980s, partly due to the Canadian government's refugee policies that facilitated resettlement and family reunification, despite facing some societal opposition.
Culturally, Vietnamese Canadians maintain strong family ties and adhere to traditional values influenced by Confucianism, which emphasizes respect for elders and familial duties. Many families practice a blend of religions, including Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, alongside ancestor worship, which strengthens their cultural identity. In daily life, members of the community often work hard to support their families, with many second-generation Vietnamese Canadians benefiting from the educational and professional opportunities available in Canada. The community remains closely connected to its roots, frequently engaging with Vietnamese media and cultural practices, thereby preserving its ethnic identity within the broader Canadian landscape.
Vietnamese Canadians
SIGNIFICANCE: Vietnamese immigrants to Canada have managed to preserve their own ethnic character through various waves of immigration and without becoming an economic, social, or cultural burden to their host country.
The fall of the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon into North Vietnamese Communist hands on April 30, 1975, forced more than two million Vietnamese nationals out of their home country. At first, the number of departures from South Vietnam was low because the Vietnamese people were attempting to adapt to a new regime that proclaimed a gradual transition to socialism. However, once heavy taxes were imposed on peasants and private businesses were abolished (with factories and firms nationalized), there was widespread economic and social discontent. An estimated 800,000 left Vietnam in 1975, heading for Australasia, North America, and Western Europe. Nearly 200,000 arrived in Canada, boosting the Vietnamese population. Before 1975, only a few thousand Vietnamese individuals lived in Canada, with the largest numbers in Montreal (800-1,000) and Toronto (500). Most refugees settled in Quebec, partly because many of them felt closer to the French than to the English because of the French colonization of Vietnam in the 1940s. In Montreal alone, approximately 4,000 Vietnamese formed a nucleus within a small area of the city.
Between 1976 and 1980, after war with Cambodia and China, Vietnam’s social life became extremely militarized, prompting a further mass exodus. About 580,000 people left their homeland and about 150,000 others, desperate to escape oppression, became “boat people,” taking to the sea in small vessels, often drowning or being murdered by pirates. Survivors were herded into transit camps in Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, or the Philippines, where they waited for an opportunity to go to a welcoming host country. Canadian refugee policy made it possible to offer humanitarian relief, despite some racist opposition, and this was subsequently expanded into a family reunification and sponsorship program, leading to identifiable Vietnamese communities across the country.
In the early 2020s, these communities remained, with over 275,000 individuals of Vietnamese origin living in Canada, primarily in Ontario, Québec, Alberta, and British Columbia. Vietnamese Canadians work in many industries, contributing to Canada’s economy. Many work in manufacturing, scientific and technical occupations, or own small businesses like convenience stores. Thanh Hai Ngo was the first Vietnamese Canadian to serve as a Canadian Senator. From 2012 to 2022, he was the senator of Ontario.
Social, Cultural, and Religious Life
Most Vietnamese refugees who came to Canada worked hard, often at two or three jobs. Less well-educated people usually found work as laborers, but many men and the younger women became university students and professionals. Many older married women did not work outside the home but took care of all the household chores and duties. The second generation of Vietnamese Canadians, born in the new homeland and the beneficiaries of their parents’ hard work, were generally less disciplined, and their elders feared that North American values and habits would negatively influence them.
Vietnamese value the family highly and have a strong code of behavior that decrees respect for elders, including older siblings. Marriage does not exempt an individual from filial duties; traditionally, a young couple must live with the husband’s parents and grandparents before setting up their own household. This patrilineal extended-family system fosters mutual help. Such a system is grounded in a Confucian tradition where relations between a ruler and his people are analogous to those linking the husband with his wife and children. It is common practice for exiled or expatriate Vietnamese to send money to relatives and keep in continuous contact with them through the mail.
This inward-looking lifestyle (directed toward the family and other Vietnamese in the community) contributes to the preservation of ethnic identity. Even as far as cultural consumption is concerned, Vietnamese tend to read Vietnamese magazines and newspapers published in Canada, the United States, and other countries to which they dispersed. Many read magazines that are organs of official organizations, such as the Canadian Vietnamese Foundation and the General Union of Vietnamese in Canada. Books, magazines, newspapers, and taped music and shows are generally produced by their own people.
The three main religions are Confucianism, Taoism, and Mahāyāna Buddhism, although there are some cases of religious syncretism, as when a Catholic married to a Buddhist addresses prayers to both Buddhist deities and Christian saints. Moreover, many families practice ancestor worship, although they consider this less a religion and more a way to consolidate the family. The dead (exiled from the earth) share their exile with their progeny, maintaining a close union with the living.
Bibliography
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