From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Goans/N.k. Wagle
From the mid-nineteenth century on, Goan Christians began migrating in large numbers to territories throughout British India, in search of better job opportunities in cities such as Bombay and Karachi. Because they were Christian, and familiar with European culture, the Goans were acceptable to the British, who also recruited them to work in the British colonies of East Africa and Persian Gulf ports such as Aden, where their vocational training and clerical skills were in demand. Yet, even today, Goans still resent the term “Goanese,” which the British used disparagingly to refer to Goan Christians in lower-class service occupations, such as cooks, tailors, butlers, waiters, and ayahs (nannies).
Although Goans started immigrating to Canada in the 1960s, it is estimated that over 90 percent of the community arrived during the 1970s, a large number from East Africa and Pakistan, and a smaller group directly from Goa. Still more recently, there has been an increasing number of Goan immigrants to Canada from Middle Eastern countries. Regardless of what country they may have left, the immigrants and their descendants born in Canada identify as Goans, not with the last country in which they resided (if other than Goa). With regard to Hindus from Goa, only a very few have emigrated; those who are in Canada prefer to identify with Hindu Maharashtrian Canadians from Goa’s neighbouring state, Maharashtra. Hence, the discussion about Goans in this entry will focus on the Roman Catholic community.
Since Goans are not listed separately in Canadian census data, no clear immigration and settlement statistics are available. It is estimated that there are approximately 13,000 in Ontario and 10,000 in the rest of Canada. The estimated total population of 23,000 is calculated on the basis of the membership in the Toronto-based Goan Overseas Association (GOA), the Montreal-based Canorient Christian Association (CCA), and Goan associations and clubs in the cities of Hamilton, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver.
