Albanian History in Canada
The first individuals of Albanian origin arrived in Canada at the end of the nineteenth century to flee poor economic conditions and religious persecution in their home nation, and to avoid serving in the Albanian military (Austin, 1999).
Until World War II, Albanian migration to Canada continued. After the war and the coming to power of the Communist governments in both Yugoslavia and Albania, many people reported being forced to flee out of fear of death or imprisonment in Albania. However, the numbers of people coming to Canada at this time were very small (Austin, 1999).
In 1989, Albania’s Communist government lost control over migration and thousands of Albanians left the country, in many cases, a result of worsening economic conditions. However, in 1992, Albania’s Communist government fell from power and few of the refugees that escaped to Canada were able to claim political persecution; many were deported (Austin, 1999).
According to the 2001 Census, there are 14,935 Albanians of single (eighty-two percent; 82.4%) and multiple (eighteen percent; 17.6%) origin combined in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2001).
References:
Austin, R. (1999). Albanians. Encyclopedia of Canada’s Peoples. Toronto: Multicultural History Society of Ontario. Available: http://multiculturalcanada.ca
Ethnic Origin, Sex and Single and Multiple Responses for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories (2001 Census – Canada). Available: http://www.statcan.gc.ca
