Buddhism in Canada
Buddhism is one of the smaller minority religions in Canada. The 2021 Canadian census recorded 356,975 Buddhists, representing 1% of Canada's population, the same percentage reported in the 2001 census.[1]
History
[edit]Buddhism has been practised in Canada for more than a century. Buddhism arrived in Canada with the arrival of Chinese labourers in the territories during the 19th century.[2] Modern Buddhism in Canada traces to Japanese immigration during the late 19th century.[2] The first Japanese Buddhist temple in Canada was built at the Ishikawa Hotel in Vancouver in 1905.[3] Over time, the Japanese Jōdo Shinshū branch of Buddhism established the largest Buddhist organization in Canada.[2] In the 1971 Canadian census, nearly two-thirds of Buddhists in Canada were of Japanese ethnicity.[4]
A substantial expansion of Buddhism in Canada began in the 1970s. Changes in Canadian immigration and refugee policies corresponded to increasing communities from South, Southeast, and East Asian nations with Buddhist traditions. The 2001 Canadian census reported that 54.5% of Buddhists in Canada were of Chinese origin, and 33.5% were of Southeast Asian origin, while the percentage of Japanese Buddhists had declined to 4.5% of the total.[4] In addition, the popularity of the 14th Dalai Lama, the third person ever to be granted honorary Canadian citizenship in 2006,[5] increased the Canadian public's exposure to and interest in Buddhism, particularly Tibetan Buddhism.[6][7]
In 2012, there were 489 Buddhist organizations in Canada,[8] including temples, centres, associations, retreats, charities and businesses. All lineages (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, and newer Navayana schools) are represented. The following universities in Canada have incorporated Buddhist studies either as a sub-discipline of religious studies, or as a subsidiary to Asian studies: the University of Toronto has two professors specialized in Buddhism,[9] and the University of Calgary also maintains two professorships related to Buddhism.[10] Smaller universities in Canada will typically have just one professor assigned to Buddhism (sometimes the same professor responsible for all Asian Religions) as, e.g., at the University of Lethbridge.[11]
Many immigrant and refugee populations continue to maintain their traditions in Canada, building places of worship in both urban and rural areas, including the Sinhalese Mahavihara (1978) in Toronto,[12] the Cambodian Khmer Pagoda of Canada (1980) in Montreal, the Vietnamese Đại Tòng Lâm Monastery (1988) in Harrington, Quebec, the Lao and Thai Theravada Wat Buddhadhamma (1992) in Regina, Saskatchewan,[13][14] and the Chinese Wutai Shan Buddhist Garden (2019) in Cavan Monaghan, Ontario.[15] In the 2021 Canadian census, over 90% of Buddhists reported being part of a visible minority, with Chinese (37%), Vietnamese (26%), Cambodian (5.5%), and Sri Lankan/Sinhalese (5.3%) being the most common ethnic origins.[16]
Small numbers of Canadians of non-Asian ancestry have also been converting to Buddhism.[17] Many non-Asian Canadians, such as Namgyal Rinpoche, Glenn H. Mullin, and Richard Barron, have embraced Buddhism in various traditions and some have become leaders in their respective sanghas. The book Choosing Buddhism[18] by the cultural anthropologist Mauro Peressini provides a survey of the history of Buddhism in Canada and documents the conversion to Buddhism of eight notable contemporary Canadian Buddhists including Ajahn Viradhammo, Jim Bedard, Albert Low, Taigen Henderson, Zengetsu Myōkyo, Louis Cormier, Kelsang Drenpa and Tsultrim Palmo.
Demographics
[edit]| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 10,407 | — |
| 1911 | 10,012 | −3.8% |
| 1921 | 11,281 | +12.7% |
| 1931 | 15,784 | +39.9% |
| 1941 | 15,635 | −0.9% |
| 1951 | 8,184 | −47.7% |
| 1961 | 11,611 | +41.9% |
| 1971 | 16,175 | +39.3% |
| 1981 | 51,955 | +221.2% |
| 1991 | 163,415 | +214.5% |
| 2001 | 300,345 | +83.8% |
| 2011 | 366,830 | +22.1% |
| 2021 | 356,975 | −2.7% |
| Sources: Beyer,[4] 2011[19] and 2021[16] Censuses |
| Province or territory | Buddhist population | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021[20] | 2011[21] | ||
 Ontario
|
164,210 | 163,750 | +0.3% |
 British Columbia
|
83,860 | 90,620 | −7.5% |
 Quebec
|
48,370 | 52,385 | −7.7% |
 Alberta
|
42,830 | 44,410 | −3.6% |
 Manitoba
|
7,440 | 6,770 | +9.9% |
 Saskatchewan
|
4,415 | 4,265 | +3.5% |
 Nova Scotia
|
2,955 | 2,205 | +34.0% |
 New Brunswick
|
1,115 | 975 | +14.4% |
 Prince Edward Island
|
755 | 560 | +34.8% |
 Newfoundland and Labrador
|
490 | 400 | +22.5% |
 Yukon
|
260 | 295 | −11.9% |
 Northwest Territories
|
250 | 170 | +47.1% |
 Nunavut
|
20 | 20 | 0.0% |
 Canada
|
356,975 | 366,830 | −2.7% |
| Province or territory | Buddhist[20] |
|---|---|
| British Columbia
|
1.68% |
| Ontario
|
1.15% |
| Alberta
|
1.00% |
| Yukon
|
0.65% |
| Northwest Territories
|
0.61% |
| Quebec
|
0.57% |
| Manitoba
|
0.55% |
| Prince Edward Island
|
0.49% |
| Saskatchewan
|
0.39% |
| Nova Scotia
|
0.30% |
| New Brunswick
|
0.14% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador
|
0.10% |
| Nunavut
|
0.05% |
| Canada
|
0.97% |
Prison population
[edit]Public Safety Canada's 2023 statistics indicated that 1.9% of offenders in federal (CSC) facilities are Buddhists.[22]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Canadian census: A rich portrait of the country's religious and ethnocultural diversity". Statistics Canada. October 26, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Buddhism" Archived 2018-04-12 at the Wayback Machine. The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ^ "A Journalist's Guide to Buddhism" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-14. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
- ^ a b c Beyer, Peter (2006). "Buddhism in Canada: A Statistical Overview from Canadian Censuses, 1981-2001" (PDF). Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies (2): 83–102. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
- ^ "Who are the honorary Canadians?". CBC. October 10, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
- ^ Scrivener, Leslie (May 8, 2004). "'Ordinary as daylight'; The Dalai Lama is revered as a successor to Gandhi, or dismissed as a hot tub" guru of a disillusioned generation Thousands turned out daily during his Toronto visit to hear his message of peace, serenity and hope, writes Leslie Scrivener". Toronto Star. Toronto. p. E04 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Bramadat, Paul; Seljak, David (2009). Religion and Ethnicity in Canada. University of Toronto Press. p. 83. ISBN 9781442610187.
- ^ Negru, John H. (2013). Highlights from the Survey of Canadian Buddhist Organizations Archived 2017-05-11 at the Wayback Machine, Journal of Global Buddhism 14, 1-18
- ^ (1) Prof. Frances Garret & (2) Prof. Christoph Emmrich. http://www.religion.utoronto.ca/people/faculty/frances-garrett/ Archived 2012-11-03 at the Wayback Machine & "Emmrich, Christoph | Department of Historical Studies". Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ "| Faculty of Arts | University of Calgary". Archived from the original on 2012-11-24. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ "Campus Directory: John Harding". Archived from the original on 2013-01-07. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ "Toronto Mahavihara". Retrieved September 24, 2025.
- ^ Yuan, Ren. "Wat Buddhadhamma". The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
- ^ Anderson, Leona; Hillis, Bryan; Sanche, Margaret. "Religion". The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
- ^ Shiu, Henry C. H.; Scott, Jamie S. (2021). "Building Buddhism in Canada: From the Ishikawa Hotel to the Four Great Sacred Buddhist Mountains Project". Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada. 46 (2): 38–59. doi:10.7202/1088488ar. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
- ^ a b "Religion by ethnic or cultural origins: Canada, provinces and territories and census metropolitan areas with parts". Statistics Canada. May 10, 2023. Table 98-10-0341-01. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
- ^ John S. Harding, Victor Sogen Hori and Alexander Soucy (2010). Wild Geese: Buddhism in Canada. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-3666-1.
- ^ Mauro Peressini (2016). Choosing Buddhism: The Life Stories of Eight Canadians. Ottawa University Press; 1st edition. ISBN 978-0-776-62333-7. Archived from the original on 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ "Religions in Canada—Census 2011". Statistics Canada/Statistique Canada. 8 May 2013. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Religion by gender and age: Canada, provinces and territories". Statistics Canada. June 21, 2023. Table: 98-10-0353-01. doi:10.25318/9810035301-eng. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
- ^ "Religion (108), Immigrant Status and Period of Immigration (11), Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2011 National Household Survey". Statistics Canada. January 23, 2019. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 99-010-X2011032. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
- ^ "CSC offender population by religion". 2023 Corrections and Conditional Release Statistical Overview. Public Safety Canada. July 2025. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
Further reading
[edit]- Harding, John, Victor Sogen Hori and Alexander Soucy, Eds. Wild Geese: Buddhism in Canada (2010)
- Harding, John, Victor Sogen Hori and Alexander Soucy, Eds. Flowers on the Rock: Local and Global Buddhisms in Canada (2014)
- Matthews, Bruce, Ed. Buddhism in Canada (2006)
- McLellan, Janet Many Petals of the Lotus: Five Asian Buddhist Communities in Toronto (1999)
- Mauro Peressini (2016). Choosing Buddhism: The Life Stories of Eight Canadians. Ottawa University Press; 1st edition. ISBN 978-0-776-62333-7.
External links
[edit]
- Sumeru Canadian Buddhist news blog and publisher
- Buddhist Education Foundation for Canada
- Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies
