The first Albanians who settled in Canada arrived in the early 20th century, due to internal uprisings that occurred in their country of origin. However, after World War II very few Albanians moved to Canada, and most arrived from the former Yugoslavia, due to a communist regime in Albania, which prohibited foreign travel. Most Albanians who emigrated to Canada country after the war decided to settle in Montreal or Toronto. There were also some Albanian workers who lived in Calgary and Ontario. Despite this migration, by 1986, the number of Albanians was recorded at just under 1,500. However, in 1991, these figures nearly doubled. The number of Albanians in Canada peaked in the late 1990s as they fled economic and political crisis in both Albania and Yugoslavia. At the beginning of the 21st century, a new war prompted a second wave of immigration of Albanians in Canada. This armed conflict was a clash between Albanian and Serb military and police, which caused many Albanians to feel compelled to leave Kosovo as refugees, many of them emigrating to Canada. Thus, in 1999, the Government of Canada established a residency program to allow 7,000 refugee Kosovar Albanians. As with professionals from other countries, there has been a large influx of young Albanian professionals who immigrate to Canada for a better life. According to the 2006 census, there were 22,395 people of ethnic Albanian descent living in Canada, most of whom 11,385 lived in Toronto. Hamilton, Kitchener, London, Ottawa and Peterborough are areas on the outskirts of Toronto which also have Albanian communities.
Demographics
As of the 2016 census, 36,185 Canadian residents, or roughly 0.11% of the population of Canada, stated they had Albanian ancestry. Approximately 72% of the Albanian population reside in the province of Ontario followed by Quebec and Alberta. The majority of the Albanian population were predominantly concentrated in the metropolitan areas and agglomerations of Toronto and Montréal. , there are around 17,000 Albanians. , there are around 3,000 Albanians. There are also 2,870 Canadian residents, or roughly 0.01% of the population of Canada, who stated that they had Kosovar ancestry. They are geographically distributed as well as in the particular regions with Albanian populations such as in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.
Over the years, Albanian Canadians established many organizations in Canada, to maintain their language, traditions and culture. These association have also helped other immigrants adapt to Canadian life. Many of these partnerships are in Toronto, a major city of the Albanian population. In this city, the largest associations are the Albanian Muslim Society of Toronto and the Albanian-Canadian Community Association of Toronto. There are also other notable organizations, such as the Albanian Canadian Organization of Ottawa. www.albcanorg.ca
