In 2001, individuals of Jamaican ethnicity made up the fourth largest non-European ethnic group in the country (after the Chinese, East Indian, and Filipino populations) (Statistics Canada, 2007). Ontario was the home of choice for 85% of those counted — 71% choosing to reside in Toronto (Statistics Canada, 2007).
Language
English is the mother tongue for the majority of Jamaican Canadians. Noted in the 2001 Census, 99% of the Jamaican community in Canada expressed fluent English at home, 98% reported speaking regular English in their place of work. The other 1-2% reported speaking French. Both official languages were noted as the common form of dialogue for Jamaican Canadian residents (Statistics Canada, 2007).
Age demographics
The Jamaican community in Canada is relatively young in comparison to other ethnic groups. For instance, Canadians of Jamaican origin are less likely than the general population to be nearing the age of retirement (Statistics Canada, 2007). In 2001, just 6% of the Jamaican population of Canada was counted in the senior age bracket, compared to 12% of all Canadians (Statistics Canada, 2007).
Family life
Jamaican Canadian immigrants are more likely than the general population of Canadians to be single parents (Statistics Canada, 2007). Counted in 2001, 16% of Jamaican individuals 15 years and over were single parents (the majority being women), compared to just 6% of adults in the overall population (Statistics Canada, 2007). Twenty-five percent of all Jamaican Canadian women reported being lone parents (Statistics Canada, 2007).
Religion
More than half (52%) of all Jamaicans living in Canada reported having religious affiliation to a mainline Protestant denomination in 2001 (Statistics Canada, 2007). Eighteen percent reported being Catholic, and 12% stated belonging to another Christian denomination. Sixteen percent declared no religious affiliation (Statistics Canada, 2007).
Rastafarianism is also worth mentioning as a religious movement within the Jamaican culture.
Originating in the slum ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica in the 1930’s, Rastafarianism embraces Afrocentric social and political understandings and ambitions, and charts an alternative way of living for African people.
The Rastafarian religion is a messianic following of Haile Selassie (King of Ethiopia) or emperor Ras Tafari – believed to be the god of the blacks (Labelle et al., 2009). Followers believe that Haile Selassie will return to Earth to redeem and save the Blacks who were forced into slavery and/or exile during colonial times.
Education
Overall, Jamaican-born Canadians are less likely than the overall population to have a university education. Just 10% of Jamaican-born individuals had a bachelor, or post-graduate degree in 2001, compared to 15% of the general Canadian population (Statistics Canada, 2007). Thirty-three percent of Jamaican men, and 26% of Jamaican women had not completed high school during that same census count (Statistics Canada, 2007).
Of those Jamaican Canadians that do have a postsecondary education, they are more likely to have training in the social sciences and business administration, rather than more technical fields, such as, engineering or the applied sciences (Statistics Canada, 2007).
Employment
Jamaican Canadians have a higher rate of employment than the general population of Canadians. Sixty-eight percent of Jamaicans 15 years and over were employed in 2001, in comparison to 62% of Canadians overall (Statistics Canada, 2007).
Jamaicans are most likely to be employed within the health-related field and manufacturing sector. They are less likely to find employment in professional industries, management and the natural and applied sciences. They are also less likely than the general population to be self-employed (Statistics Canada, 2007).
However, Jamaican-origin Canadians are also more likely to have lower incomes than the average for Canadians. The average salary for Jamaican Canadians in 2001 was $26,400, about $3,500 less than the Canadian average (Statistics Canada, 2007).
Twenty-six percent of people within the Jamaican community had incomes below the Statistics Canada Low-income Cut-off (in 2000) (Statistics Canada, 2007).
Discrimination
The discrimination experienced by Jamaican immigrants during Canada’s early history continues to exist in Canada today.
Fifty-one percent of Jamaican immigrants in Canada reported experiencing unfair treatment based on their race, ethnicity, religion, language or accent during the past five years (Statistics Canada, 2007). Sixty-nine percent noted that the discrimination had occurred within the workplace or during the time of job application (Statistics Canada, 2007).
However, regardless of such treatment, 81% of Jamaican Canadians reported in 2002, that they felt a “strong sense of belonging” to Canada (Statistics Canada, 2007).
References:
Eaton, G. (1999). Jamaicans. Encyclopedia of Canada’s Peoples. Toronto: Multicultural History Society of Ontario. Available: http://multiculturalcanada.ca/
Labelle, M. Larose, S. & Piche, V. (2009) West Indians. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation of Canada.
Statistics Canada. (2007). Profiles of Ethnic Communities in Canada. The Jamaican Community in Canada. 2001. Statistics Canada Catalogue number 89-621-XIE. Ottawa. August 2007. Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division. 2001 Census.
Walker, James W. The West Indians in Canada. Ottawa: Canadian Historical Association, Canada’s Ethnic Groups Series, No. 6, 1984.
