Egyptian Canadians

Egyptian Canadians (كنديين مصريين) are Canadian citizens of Egyptian descent, first-generation Egyptian immigrants, or descendants of Egyptians who emigrated to Canada. According to the 2011 Census there were 73,250 Canadian citizens who are from Egypt, having an increase compared to those in the 2006 Census.

Egyptian-Canadians are mainly either Christians or Muslims. Most Christians are Coptic Orthodox with small numbers of Coptic Catholic and Coptic Protestant. Muslims are mostly Sunni.

During the 1960s, 75% of Egyptian immigrants settled in Montreal. By 1991, 49% of Egyptian Canadians were in Quebec, whereas 41% were living in Ontario. By 2011, 54% of Egyptian Canadians were living in Ontario and 31% in Quebec. Most Egyptian Canadians are concentrated in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

Religion
Throughout the 1970s, immigrants from Egypt to Canada consisted of both Christians and Muslims, who mostly left due to poverty in their home country. Starting in 1985, the Canadian government encouraged investors to immigrate, which attracted wealthy Egyptians; these are described as "more conservative and less exposed to European influences than previous arrivals”.

A 1989 survey of Egyptian Canadians in Quebec found that 35% were Copts, 20% Catholics, and 19% Muslims, while 13% followed other faiths and 12% did not indicate any religion.

The 2011 Census found that 73,250 people reported "Egyptian" ancestry and 3,570 reported "Coptic" ancestry. It also found that 16,255 people reported Coptic Orthodox church as their religion.

Notable people

 * Sheref Sabawy – Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario, first elected of Egyptian origion
 * Athena Karkanis – film actor, voice actor
 * Maryse Andraos – writer
 * Manuel Tadros – singer, songwriter, actor, comedian and voice actor
 * Xavier Dolan – filmmaker, son of Manuel Tadros
 * Mohamed Fahmy – journalist, author
 * Jean Mohsen Fahmy – writer
 * Alex Erian – one of the two vocalists of Despised Icon
 * Mena Massoud – actor
 * Yasmine Mohammed – human rights activist, author
 * Ariel Helwani – sports journalist, born in Canada to an Egyptian Jewish father and Lebanese Jewish mother
 * Omar Marmoush – footballer, born in Egypt to Egyptian-Canadian parents and has dual Egyptian-Canadian citizenship
 * Noor Naga – writer
 * Adel Sedra – electrical engineer and University Professor
 * Marcus Youssef – playwright