Jamaican Canadian
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (256,915 0.8% of Canada's population (2011)) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Greater Toronto Area, Southern Ontario, Montreal, Quebec, Alberta | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity · Rastafari movement | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Black Canadians, Jamaican British, Jamaican Americans, Jamaicans of African ancestry, Chinese Jamaicans, Indo-Jamaicans, Germans in Jamaica, Jamaican Australians, Jamaican Nigerians |
Jamaican Canadians are Canadian citizens of Jamaican descent or Jamaican-born permanent residents of Canada. The population, according to Canada's 2011 Census, is 256,915. Jamaican Canadians comprise about 30% of the entire Black Canadian population.
Most Jamaicans who arrive in Canada settle in the census metropolitan areas of Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Hamilton. The total number of Jamaicans in Canada has increased dramatically since the 1960s, and the reasons for coming are also different. Currently, Jamaicans can be found in every major Canadian city and occupy a multitude of occupations. Before the 1960s there was a small amount of Jamaican immigrants in Canada!
The first Jamaicans who came to Canada were West Indian slaves imported into New France and Nova Scotia individually and in small numbers. In 1796, the Maroons of Jamaica entered Halifax and were the first large group to enter British North America (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2000). The name Maroons was used to describe slaves who ran away from their owners and created free communities away from the European settlements in Jamaica. A war between the Maroons and the British broke out on the island of Jamaica in 1795. The war ended when the British, realizing that they could not win, tricked the Maroons into laying down their arms and then carried them into exile in Nova Scotia (James & Walker, 1984).
Governor John Wentworth settled the Maroons who numbered over 500 on the outskirts of Halifax and offered the men jobs to fortify the Citadel. Standing proud and still holding on to the memory of being betrayed by the British, the Maroons mounted a strong resistance and refused to be compliant Nova Scotian settlers. After numerous appeals to London, the Maroons were allowed to return to Sierra Leone in West Africa in 1800. The “Maroon Bastion” stands on Citadel Hill as an example of their legacy and the sense of pride they contributed (James & Walker, 1984).
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