Filippino Community

Quebec had a very small population of Filippinos until the late 20th century, but there are currently around 30, 000 Filipino Quebecers, most of them living in Montreal.

The number of Filipipnos is growing constantly due to Canada's liberal immigration laws to compensate for the low population growth. The first Filipinos came to Quebec during the 1960ies.

They were professionals, nurses, technicians, office workers, architects. Many people came to work in the garment industry and in sales, though.

Since 1982, Canada saw an influx of Filippino contract workers, who came as live-in caregivers. Many of them later became landed immigrants under the Live-In Caregiver Program. Till now, there is a solid flow of Filipinos entering Quebec. More and more Filipinos came to join their relatives under the family reunification program.

They settled in Montreal, where jobs were prospering. Actually, in Quebec, over 60% of the Filipinos reside in Cote-des-Neiges borough of Montreal City and around Decarie Highway. This area is known for its high concentration of new immigrants and, unfortunately for its levels of poverty. In fact, Montreal is the fifth largest Filippino community in Canada.

There are many Filippino establishments and professional offices in the city. The Filipino Association of Montreal and Suburbs is an advocacy group for Filippino Canadians in Quebec. Note than unlike many other communities from Asian countries, most of Filippino Canadians are fluent in French.

Finally, let’s say that the majority of Filipino-Canadians living in Quebec are women who make up about 55% of the population.

By the way, the Philippines islands were named after King Philip II of Spain, but the Philippino language of Tagalog does not have the letter F. In using English, we are transliterating the sound. Therefore, both Ph and F version are accepted.