Politics, Intergroup Relations, and Group Maintenance

Some Burghers and Sinhalese can be found in all the political parties in Canada, and no single party has a monopoly of the Sri Lankan immigrant vote. At community functions, representatives of all political groups are invited to participate with members of the community. Individuals from the Sinhalese and Burgher community have also entered local political races. Discussions of the current political situation in Sri Lanka are common at any gathering of the community.

Among Burghers and Sinhalese, the most important intergroup relationship in Canada is with their fellow immigrants from Sri Lanka, the Tamils. There has been much effort on the part of some members of the community, particularly those who came to Canada in the 1960s and 1970s, to place their Sri Lankan heritage above individual ethnic distinctions. The success of this effort has varied as the political and ethnic conflict in the homeland increases or decreases. From time to time, Tamil-Sinhalese married couples have found themselves torn between the two communities. Some respond by distancing themselves from both communities and working hard to establish a Canadian identity. There are some Sinhalese Canadians who carry with them the conflicts of the homeland and who favour distancing themselves from the Tamil-Canadian community.

The Sinhalese and Burghers have consistently made obvious efforts to integrate with and contribute to the larger Canadian society. Nonetheless, through local associations, informal networks, and community-based newspapers, the Sinhalese and Burghers have maintained a strong sense of their ethnic identities. The extended family continues to be of major importance and reinforces its members’ ties to Sri Lanka. Because many Sinhalese and Burghers have established comfortable, middle-class lives in Canada, it is possible for them to visit their extended families in Sri Lanka on a fairly regular basis, on average about once every three years.

Children and young adults in the Sinhalese and Burgher communities, who were born or raised in Canada, express interest in visiting Sri Lanka, and some second-generation Sinhalese are now learning Sinhala. It seems that most, however, see themselves as a part of the Canadian community, and, as they reach adulthood, express a desire to marry outside their group. It remains to be seen what changes will occur in the next generation in this highly integrated population.