Afghan Canadians are Canadians with ancestry from Afghanistan. They form the second largest Afghan community in North America after Afghan Americans. Their ethnic origin may come from any of the ethnic groups of Afghanistan, which include Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazara, Turkmen, etc. In the Canada 2016 Census about 83,995 Canadians were from Afghanistan.
History The first known Afghan immigrant to Canada was Zaman Khan (Pashto/Dari:زمان خان)who was naturalised in Montreal, QC on 27 January 1931.
Demography Population
Religion + Afghan Canadian demography by religionReligious group2021 Islam 89,485 Irreligion 5,400 Christianity 1,035 Hinduism 465 Sikhism 235 Judaism 40 Buddhism 10 Indigenous spirituality 10 Other 135 Total Afghan Canadian population 96,810
Geographical distribution By Canadian province or territory (2016) Province Population Percentage Source 54,535 0.4% 10,940 0.1% 8,545 0.2% 7,890 0.2% 1,015 0.1% 780 0.1% 230 0.0% 25 0.0% 10 0.0% 10 0.0% 10 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 83,995 0.24%
Media The diaspora also have media outlets for the Afghan community, including private TV channels such as Watan E Maa, AfghanJavan TV and Afghan Nobel TV.
Notable individuals Kawa Ada – actor and playwright Brishkay Ahmed - documentary filmmaker Fardaws Aimaq – basketball player Layla Alizada – actress Alexander Farah – filmmaker Hangama – singer Donnie Keshawarz – actor Sadi Jalali – soccer player Nasser Jamal – football player Mozhdah Jamalzadah – singer Maryam Monsef – member of Parliament for Peterborough-Kawartha; first Afghan-Canadian elected to Canada's House of Commons, former Minister of Status of Women Farkhunda Muhtaj – soccer player Ariel Nasr – documentary filmmaker"Halifax-born producer gets Oscar nod for short film". CBC News Nova Scotia, January 10, 2013. Salar Pashtoonyar - filmmaker Nelofer Pazira – filmmaker and author Parween Pazhwak – Persian artist and poet Patmeena Sabit – writer Humira Saqib – Journalist Massih Wassey – soccer player Hamid Zaher – writer and gay rights activist
See also
Afghan diaspora West Asian Canadians Pashtun diaspora Hazara diaspora List of Afghans Killing of Nooran Rezayi
Notes
References
External links Rebuilding Afghanistan