From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Bangladeshis/Aminur Rahim
Before the British conquered Bengal in 1757, the region had developed a well-integrated economy based on agriculture and cottage industry. Following the conquest, the policy of de-industrialization pursued by the British destroyed Bengal’s potential for an autonomous growth. Consequently, pressure on the land increased while agriculture remained traditional. To escape from hardship, hundreds of people from what is now Bangladesh became seamen, and many of them jumped ship and settled in England in the early 1900s. At that time, North America hardly attracted the Bengalis. Following the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, Canada’s immigration authorities concluded an agreement with the governments of India, Pakistan (which then included Bangladesh), and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) whereby 150 citizens of India, 100 from Pakistan, and 50 from Ceylon were to be admitted to Canada each year. Also, the wife or husband and any unmarried children under twenty-one of Canadian citizens could be admitted if their relative in Canada was in a position to provide adequate settlement arrangements. It is not possible to determine precisely how many Bengalis immigrated to Canada or the size of the community before 1972 since both immigration and census records listed them as East Indians before 1956 and as Pakistanis until 1972.
On the basis of immigration statistics, it can be assumed that the number of immigrants to Canada was small, not exceeding 150. The limited size of the community is not surprising, given that until 1971 Bangladesh was politically and economically dominated by the government based in West Pakistan. Bengalis had no political leverage in influencing the decision-making process of the central government. Since they were geographically separated by over 1,600 kilometres of Indian territory, the flow of information was slow. This fact, coupled with bureaucratic meddling, prevented them from receiving relevant information about emigration and scholarships at foreign universities.
In the late 1960s Bengali professionals (including doctors, engineers, teachers, and chartered accountants) began to enter Canada as immigrants via other countries, such as the United States and Britain. A few students also came on scholarship to Canadian universities. When Canadian educational institutions offered them teaching positions while they were finishing their studies, these individuals decided to stay. A number of students who came on visas also applied for immigrant status after the Liberal government in 1967 broadened the immigration policy as it applied to non-British and non-white immigrants. With the outbreak of the civil war between West and East Pakistan in 1971, a few students also applied for immigrant status, and some Bengalis/Bangladeshis came to Canada to escape the atrocities committed by the Pakistani army during the civil war and to seek political asylum.
These first immigrants were soon superseded by chain immigration. Once the first arrivals had settled in Canada, they began to sponsor relatives for permanent residence. One of the important features of the chain immigration in the 1970s was that a high percentage of the newcomers fell into the category of spouses, children, and students; this trend continues today. Since the creation of independent Bangladesh in 1971, particularly after 1986, the flow of Bangladeshi immigrants has increased steadily. In 1991, 1,063 individuals came to Canada as permanent residents, a figure that surpassed all previous years. Many of the recent immigrants, impelled by political unrest and the inability of successive governments in Bangladesh to bring social and economic change, came as political refugees and eventually won permanent status.
According to the 1991 census, there were 5,170 persons in Canada who claimed they were wholly (4,374) or partially (380) of Bangladeshi ethnic origin. They were to be found in every region except Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. The majority of Bangladeshi immigrants are between twenty and forty years of age and the ratio between males and females is two to one. Nearly 90 percent (single and multiple responses combined) live in Ontario (2,575) and Quebec (2,070). Within those provinces, the majority live in large urban centres, where the opportunity for employment in the professional, technical, and service sectors is greater. Though the nuclear family is a dominant trend, extended families are not unusual because the family plays a crucial role in assisting immigrants to adjust materially and psychologically to an alien environment.
