From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Eritreans/Yohannes Gebresellasie
During the war with Ethiopia, tens of thousands of lives were lost and over a million Eritreans were forced to leave their country to seek refuge elsewhere. The political situation was exacerbated by environmental disasters. Periods of severe drought, such as that in the Sahel region along the western border with Sudan, added immeasurably to the hardships endured by Eritreans. The majority of Eritrean migrants settled in neighbouring African countries, including Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, and Egypt. In 1992 an estimated 530,000 Eritrean refugees were living in Sudan, 280,000 in refugee camps, and 250,000 in Sudanese villages. Today, there are nearly 300,000 Eritreans in Ethiopia, compared to two million in Eritrea itself. Tens of thousands, particularly those with relatively high levels of education and professional skills, have been admitted to industrialized countries in Europe and North America as migrants or refugees.
There are no Canadian census data on Eritreans as a separate group because most Eritrean immigrants and refugees were officially registered as Ethiopians when they entered Canada in the 1970s. However, Eritrean community organizations estimate that the number of Eritreans residing in Canada in 1993 was approximately 6,000. Of these, approximately 3,800 lived in Ontario (1,950 males and 1,850 females), mainly in Toronto. There were communities of approximately 800 (460 males and 340 females) in Manitoba and 500 (270 males and 230 females) in Quebec, while the remaining 900 were dispersed across Canada. Most Eritrean immigrants in Canada are found in the larger cities, primarily Toronto, Winnipeg, Montreal, and Vancouver.
