Middle Eastern Canadians

Middle Eastern Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to the Middle East, which includes West Asia and North Africa.

Initial settlement
Individuals from the Middle East first arrived in Canada in 1882, when a group of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants settled in Montreal. Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine were ruled by the Ottoman Empire at that time. As a result, early Arabic immigrants from these countries were referred to as either Turks or Syrians by Canadian authorities.

20th century
During World War I, Middle Eastern Canadians of Turkish origin were placed in "enemy alien" internment camps.

The Middle Eastern Canadian population grew rapidly during the latter half of the 20th century; the 1979 Iranian Revolution resulted in a spike of immigration to Canada from the West Asian country.

21st century
The Syrian refugee crisis during the 2010s fueled further growth to the already existing Syrian population; increased immigration from the West Asian country resulted in Syria becoming the third highest source country of immigration to Canada adding 35,000 Syrians becoming permanent residents in 2016.

Language
The vast majority of Middle Eastern Canadians speak West Asian and North African languages as a mother tongue or second language. The top five Middle Eastern languages spoken in Canada include Arabic, Farsi, Armenian, Turkish, and Hebrew.

Religion
Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are the dominant religions among the middle eastern Canadian population.