By Mark Edward Pfeifer
Ó Copyright by Mark Edward Pfeifer (1999)

Abstract/Acknowledgements/Table of Contents - [ Chapters - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 ] -  Appendices - References Cited

In this chapter, the demographic and socioeconomic distribution of the Vietnamese populations across nine metropolitan areas (Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Kitchener, Hamilton, and London) is compared to that enumerated in Toronto, the province of Ontario, and the nation as a whole. The data utilized in this chapter was obtained as a specially tabulated target group profile from Statistics Canada of those persons claiming a Vietnamese ethnic origin as a single response on the 1991 census form. It should be noted from the outset that there are some possible problems which may be associated with this data. The census tabulations supposedly represent a 20% sample of the entire Vietnamese population. However, as noted in Chapter Two, it is likely that census takers missed a sizable proportion of the actual Vietnamese population for various reasons including the language barrier, a lack of familiarity among many Vietnamese concerning the census, and a desire among some Vietnamese to not reveal personal and family information on the census form. One would expect fairly recently arrived Vietnamese to be particularly underrepresented in the census enumeration. In some of the cities discussed in the chapter (especially Kitchener, London, and Hamilton), Vietnamese who had come to Canada just a few years prior to 1991 constituted quite substantial proportions of the population. Making generalizations about the Vietnamese populations in Kitchener, London, and Hamilton may also be especially problematic due to the small sizes of the Vietnamese sample tallied in these three cities. Due to the limitations associated with the data, care is taken throughout the chapter to stress the demographic and socioeconomic patterns observed may only be said to represent those of the enumerated sample of the population within each geographic area.

The 1991 census figures indicate a strong gender imbalance favouring males within the Toronto Vietnamese population. Among the enumerated Vietnamese in Canada as a whole, Ontario, and nine other CMAs with significant numbers of Vietnamese, males were also in the majority (Table 1). The male proportion of the population ranged from about 52% in Montreal to over 55% in Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Calgary. The male majority among the Vietnamese population in Toronto and across Canada reflects the fact that young men were disproportionately represented in the refugee flow which escaped from Vietnam in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s (Rutledge, 1992; Haines, 1996).

In all of the CMAs (Tables 2 and 3), both Vietnamese males and females were overrepresented in the 0-14 and 25-44 age categories. In every CMA but one, the proportion of the male and female population within the 25-44 bracket was greater than 40% of the total enumerated Vietnamese population. The percentage of both genders in this category was higher in Toronto compared to any of the other metropolitan areas. Vietnamese men and women were underrepresented in the 45-64 and 65 and over age groups in Canada as a whole, Ontario, and across the nine other metropolitan areas. Notable, though, were the greater proportions enumerated within these latter two age categories among both genders in the Montreal CMA.

Sources: Statistics Canada, Customized Tabulation of 1991 data.

Males, %

Source: Statistics Canada, Customized Tabulation of 1991 data.

Females, %

Source: Statistics Canada, Customized Tabulation of 1991 data.

Comparing the enumerated Vietnamese populations in Canada, Ontario, and the nine CMAs, the most notable pattern was one of overrepresentation in the four or more children category (Table 4). Indeed, Toronto was the only CMA in which women with four or more children constituted less than 20% of the total for ever-married females 15 years and over. In Canada as a whole, almost 25% of Vietnamese women in this group had four or more children in 1991. A somewhat larger percentage of Vietnamese women in Toronto had no children compared to the population in many of the other metropolitan areas, as well as Ontario, and Canada as a whole. In terms of birth rates, for Vietnamese women 15 years and over, the Toronto CMA average of 2363 children per 1000 women was lower that observed in most of the other cities (Table 5). The Canadian average was 2670 children born per 1000 Vietnamese women in this category. For ever-married Vietnamese women 15-44 years old, the Toronto average was 1686 children born per 1000 women. Among the other CMAs, only Montreal possessed a lower average. As for single Vietnamese women 15 years and over, the Toronto birth rate was 194 children born per 1000 women. Interestingly, this figure was much higher than that found among Vietnamese women in Montreal and Ottawa where the birth rate for single women was just 95 and 110 respectively. The Toronto birth rate was also higher than the figure for the entire population of Vietnamese single women enumerated across Canada. However, birth rates among single Vietnamese females 15 years and over were higher in London, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Edmonton in comparison to the Toronto cohort.

Number of Children Born to Ever-Married Women, 15 Years and Over, %

Source: Statistics Canada, Customized Tabulation of 1991 data.

Children Ever-Born Per 1000 Women

Source: Statistics Canada, Customized Tabulation of 1991 data.

Among the Vietnamese populations in Canada as a whole, Ontario, and the 9 other CMAs, very similar proportions exhibited immigrant, non-immigrant, and non-permanent resident status in comparison to the Toronto population (Table 6). Interesting trends may be noted, however in terms of citizenship status. The proportion of the enumerated Vietnamese with Canadian citizenship in 1991 was notably lower in the Toronto metropolitan area compared to the populations tabulated in Ottawa and especially Montreal. The Toronto citizenship figure of just over 60% was greater than that exhibited among the Vietnamese population in several CMAs including Winnipeg, Kitchener, London, and Hamilton. In the three latter cities, only slightly more than half of the enumerated Vietnamese population possessed Canadian citizenship in 1991, reflecting the less established character of the population in these urban centres.

Comparing the enumerated Vietnamese population in Toronto to that in Canada as a whole as well as Ontario and the nine metropolitan areas, some notable patterns were evident (Table 7). Of particular interest were the rather distinctive characteristics of the Montreal population in terms of time of arrival. Though their proportions were very small, noticeably larger numbers of Montreal Vietnamese arrived in the city prior to 1961 and between 1961 and 1970. More than 40% of the Vietnamese tabulated in Montreal came to Canada in the 1971-1980 period. Only about 55% of Montreal’s Vietnamese arrived between 1981 and 1991. This proportion was far lower than that exhibited by the Vietnamese population in any other CMA, Ontario, or Canada as a whole. The census

%

Source: Statistics Canada, Customized Tabulation of 1991 data.

By Period of Arrival, %

Source: Statistics Canada, Customized Tabulation of 1991 data

figures also show that Montreal apparently had the largest Vietnamese population of any Canadian city up until sometime in the early 1980s. After 1981, migration of Vietnamese newcomers to Toronto far surpassed Montreal’s intake. The patterns in the census data reflect the fact that up until the 1980s, Montreal possessed the largest and best established Vietnamese community of any city in Canada. In the 1950s and particularly in the 1960s and early 1970s, sizable numbers of Vietnamese came from both North and South Vietnam to study French in Quebec universities. In part as a result of the ongoing war in their home country, many of these visa students stayed in Canada after graduating, often finding work in the professions in which they were trained. Given the fact that Montreal was the only city in Canada with a Vietnamese aggregation of any significance in the mid-1970s, it is not surprising that the initial waves of Vietnamese refugees who arrived in Canada after the fall of Saigon favoured Montreal as a site of resettlement (Dorais et al., 1987; Lavoie, 1989). After the early 1980s, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and several cities in Southern Ontario attracted a greater share of Vietnamese newcomers. The internal political situation in Quebec (including a referendum in 1980) and widespread perceptions that greater socioeconomic opportunities existed outside the province were key factors in the decreasing share of Vietnamese coming to Montreal after this time period (Lam, 1996).

Another pattern which may be observed in the census figures is the notable recency of arrival of the enumerated Vietnamese populations residing in the Winnipeg CMA, as well as three Southern Ontario cities. 80% or more of the Vietnamese populations tabulated in Winnipeg, Kitchener, Hamilton, and London came to Canada after 1981. In the Kitchener and Hamilton metropolitan areas, the proportion of the population which arrived in Canada after 1988 exceeded 40%. The census figures for Kitchener and Hamilton are supported by the comments of research informants involved in the refugee resettlement of Vietnamese refugees in these two cities. According to these informants, a disproportionate number of refugees arriving in the late 1980s and early 1990s were resettled in Kitchener and Hamilton through the efforts of voluntary groups including mainstream and Vietnamese ethnic churches. Many of these latter arrivals were North Vietnamese who had spent years in refugee camps located in Southeast Asia before being resettled in Canada.

Comparing the enumerated Vietnamese population across Canada, Ontario and the ten metropolitan areas, the expected linguistic differences were apparent among the Vietnamese aggregate in Montreal (Table 8). In the Montreal CMA, just over 30% of the counted Vietnamese possessed knowledge of French only and just under 50% claimed to have knowledge of both official languages. Just over 10% of the Vietnamese tabulated in Montreal knew neither French nor English, representing the lowest proportion of all of the CMAs on this variable with the exception of Ottawa. The Montreal figure may reflect the fact that the Vietnamese population in this city has on average resided in Canada a bit longer than its counterparts in other metropolitan areas. In addition, the enumerated populations in Montreal and Ottawa are somewhat more educated and better represented in the professions. The Vietnamese residing in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Hamilton, and London display somewhat larger proportions with knowledge of neither French nor English in comparison to the populations enumerated in Toronto and Canada as a whole. Conversely, the figures for these CMAs may in part reflect the notable recency of arrival of the Vietnamese aggregates in these metropolitan areas. Not surprisingly, scholars in both the United States and Canada have found English language ability among Vietnamese to be related to length of residence.

Knowledge of Languages, %

Source: Statistics Canada, Customized Tabulation of 1991 data.

In terms of knowledge of the Chinese language, the Vietnamese populations in four cities stand out. In Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver 10% or more of persons claiming a Vietnamese ethnic origin possessed knowledge of Chinese. As few ethnic Vietnamese are fluent in Chinese, it is likely that disproportionate shares of the Vietnam-born population in these metropolitan areas are of ethnic Chinese ancestry. The numbers associated with this particular variable suggest that a small but not insignificant number of Chinese-Vietnamese residing in these cities claimed a Vietnamese ethnic origin when responding to the census.

Comparing the Toronto Vietnamese population to those in Canada as a whole, Ontario and the nine CMAs also reveals some notable patterns in terms of education attainment (Table 9). In terms of the percentage of the 15 and over population in the two categories of less than grade 9 and grades 9-13 with or without a secondary certificate achieved, the Toronto level of about 70% paralleled the majority of the CMAs. The Toronto enumerated population as well as that residing in the other of the CMAs was much better represented in these categories associated with a lesser level of formal education achievement compared to the Montreal and Ottawa aggregates. Conversely, slightly more than half of the populations in these latter two urban centres had attended university with or without or earning a degree or certificate.

Population 15 Years and Over,

Highest Level of Schooling Achieved, %¹