Tag Archives: Visible Minorities

Community

Ethnic diversity increasing in Greater Victoria, but still lags behind the rest of BC (incl. Cortes, Quadra and Campbell River stats)

Editor’s Note: The ethnic minorities in our area are far less numerous than the than provincial average cited below (34.4%). According to the 2021 census, only 2,120 of the 37,505 tabulated Campbell River residents (5.65%) are members of a visible minority. The most numerous being: South Asian -535, Filipino -410, Southeast Asian -260, Black -205, Korean -130, Japanese -110, Latin American -125, and Arab -15. On Cortes Island only 35 of the 1,055 tabulated residents (3.32%) are members of a visible minority. The most numerous being Filipino -10 and Southeast Asian -10. In Area C, 65 out of 2,675 tabulated residents (2.4%) were members of a visible minority. The most numerous being: Chinese -20, Japanese -20, Filipino -10 and South Asian -10. (All census numbers appear to be rounded off at the nearest multiple of 5.)

By  Diary Marif, New Canadian Media, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Greater Victoria is experiencing a demographic shift as more visible minorities choose to settle on Vancouver Island, according to the latest federal statistics.

Continue reading Ethnic diversity increasing in Greater Victoria, but still lags behind the rest of BC (incl. Cortes, Quadra and Campbell River stats) →
Education, Military

Canada’s military widens doors to attract permanent residents

By Fabian Dawson, New Canadian Media, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Remembrance Day in the Mbaho household will be extra special this year as the Surrey family salutes the past while heralding a new era for the Canadian Armed Forces.

“We are very honoured and excited,” said Capt. William Mbaho, whose 12-year-old daughter Isabelle, an air cadet, has been selected to lay a wreath to honour Canada’s fallen at the cenotaph in Fort Langley Nov. 11.

“Growing up in Uganda we were never far away from the military and after coming to Canada in 1992 my mind has never been far away from the military. To see Canada now planning to open its doors wider to new immigrants is very rewarding and we get to celebrate it in a very special way this Remembrance Day.”

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Housing

Demographics of the ‘Unsheltered’ and ‘At Risk’ on Cortes and Quadra Islands

There were at least 159 Cortes Island residents living in ‘unsheltered’ or ‘at risk’ conditions when they responded to the housing needs survey last spring. There was a smaller response on Quadra and the Outer Islands, so only 69 were identified. These are both low numbers. At one point during our interview Emma Wallace, who oversaw this project, suggested the actual number for Cortes might be 10% higher. So I guesstimate about 175 people in a population of about 1,100 are in unstable housing situations. (I do not believe there is enough data to make a serious guesstimate in Area C.)  

Wallace is employed by the Rural Development Network, which was commissioned to do this study by the Campbell River & District Coalition to End Homelessness and the Urban Indigenous Housing and Wellness Coalition. In today’s program she gives a demographic sketch of the unsheltered and at risk population.

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Politics

Election 2021: The new Canadian vote

Editor’s note: As will quickly become apparent, this story was originally published before the election.

By Fabian Dawson, New Canadian Media, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Truck driver, Jaspreet Singh, plans to vote for the first time in this federal election after arriving in Canada about six years ago.

In his riding of Surrey-Newton, home to about 60,000 people where more than 60 per cent are South Asian New Canadians, all five candidates vying for the seat have South Asian heritage.

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Health

COVID 19 deaths could be twice as high as reported

By Moira Wyton, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The number of Canadians who died of COVID-19 could be twice as high as reported, according to a new preliminary report.

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