Hey yall, i'm back home now, but I was in Canada for 3 weeks visiting relatives. They live in the Toronto area. Anyways, i saw so many Filipinos there. Some things that I observed are:

- A lot of them still speak their first language. I was around a lot of Ilocanos and they mostly spoke Ilocano to each other. It was cool to see that because i've never really heard Ilocano before. We have a lot of Ilocanos where I live too but I never hear them speaking Ilocano.

- Filipinos live close to other Filipinos. We drove through this one part of Toronto (Bathurst was the name of the road) and I saw Filipinos everywhere! It was cool. Filipinos where I live could care less if they live around other Filipinos, but the Filipino community in Toronto seemed close-knit.

- Many of them are new immigrants & working class. Somebody correct me if i'm wrong on this part because I don't mean this in a demeaning way. It's just something I noticed. We visited a lot of Filipinos that lived in apartments in the city and the apartments were full of other new immigrants. I know Filipino-Americans are known for being middle class & suburban but it was a totally different for the Filipinos I saw in Canada. I'm not sure if most Filipino-Canadians are like that or if we just didn't see the wealthier Filipinos.

- Filipinos don't marry other races as much. I only saw like 2 Filipino/White couples the whole time I was there. Surprised me because I saw so many other interracial couples.

So yeah, just some things I observed. Feedback from ppl that actually live there would be nice. Btw, I enjoyed myself up there, i really liked the diversity. You can hear 20 different languages just by walking down the street. It was awesome.

no they don't. in comparison to other ethnicities in toronto, filipinos are pretty damn scattered. it's for this reason that there is no 'filipino' town or area in the city, and also why the filipino cultural centre was put in some obscure place far from my house. in fact, to me it's just some fictional location. so far from where i live that i've enver bothered to visit. by comparison, most jewish people live in north york, koreans live on yonge street, there are like 3 chinatowns, punjabis dominate peel region, there are two little italies, and black people live... in the ghettos...

it's just that there's A LOT of filipinos here, so you probably just saw what you thought was a lot.

most filipinos heredon't give a fu-k about what other filipinos are up to if they're not part of their barkada.

yea i know a few. mostly the ones who can't speak english.

most filipino canadians live in the suburbs. they've all been here for over 10 years though. enough time to move out of the city. your friends are probably new immigrants. note that the subrubs are like 45 minutes from the downtown core in 3 directions so if you didn't go that far from the city, you probably did see that many filipinos.

yea both points are pretty true. i actually didn't notice that until you pointed it out.


yea. we're awesome.

how'd you like the massive amounts of browns? that's what most americans take note of. "COT DANG, YOU GOT A LOT OF INDJUN LOOKIN' PEOPLE UP HURR!"

Yeah true. Maybe it's because where I live there's not a lot of Filipinos. But do you know about that part of town? I think it's known for being the Filipino area. I read it on wikipedia.



There were Filipinos (and Jews) everywhere. And there was some park w/ a monument thing of Jose Rizal and the park was full of Filipinos.



Well actually my family lives in Oshawa, it's pretty damn white there. There wasnt a lot of Filipinos. But when we went to visit places w/ a lot of Filipinos it was always in the city. Which suburbs have a lot of Filipinos?



Yeah, that's what i said to my cousin when I was in the airport. "There's alot of brown ppl here" Haha, i'm gonna miss the diversity soo much.

Yup there is a very strong regional identity amongst filipino canadians.

It depends really some like to live close to thier churches but pretty much they live wherever they can find the best housing, as soon as they can they buy house in the suburbs. We don't segregate ourselves like the Indian and chinese communities.

Its true many if not most flilpinos in canada are working class citizens. In Vancouver fast food chains are fool of filipinos, were like the mexicans of Canada.

The filipinos are relatively new to Canada unlike the more established Indian and Chinese communities that go back since they built the Candian Railroad.

I actually have an Ecuadorian friend that lives in a condo right in that neighborhood.

I can bet the main intersection that you're speaking of is Bathurst and Wilson.
(No Frills, TD Bank, Starbucks)

What hamlet said about Toronto is pretty much correct. However there's more to it than that.
Whenever I visit that area, I always thought to myself as well why are there so many ghetto flips around this neighborhood.

So I did a little reading, and found out myself.

Canada is known to let in only high-skilled immigrants into the country. However there is this program, called the Domestic Worker Program also known as the Live-In Program. Essentially, if you're not a high-skilled immigrant you can still obtain a Canadian citizenship if you take the Live-In Program, which means you work as a labrourer for two years then you can apply for citizenship. i.e. you become a nanny, or ya-ya.(I actually read an article about the abuse that goes down in this Live-In program, talking about how this filipina was almost raped by one of her employers, and how she was still waiting on 2 months of back-pay)

It wasn't till recently that filipinos became the majority applicants of the Live-In program. Thus you have two different classes of filipinos that come to Canada. If you keep going down south of Wilson on Bathurst street you'll notice that it is pretty wealthy Jewish area. Jews usually hire Nannies that are in the Live-in Program, thus over time this has created a mini filipino town just north of that area. Because once they complete the program and obtain they're citizenship they are allowed to bring over the rest of their family.

I hope that gives you a better understanding behind the sociology behind filipino-canadians.

But what Hamlet said about middle-upper class filipinos is correct in the sense that they are scattered.

^ Yup that's the area that I was talking about. It's a Jewish & Filipino area but most of the Filipinos live in apartments while most of the Jewish ppl live in big houses. Some of the Filipino ladies we met worked as a nannies for Jewish families. Yeah, "Filipino ghetto" is how i would describe it too. I've never seen that before.

You gotta visit Montreal Graham, you're gona like it here. we own Montreal

Yeah I've been to Toronto in 2004, and well let me respond to some of those things.

-Well of course, they need to speak their first language to keep the culture alive or to communicate. I'm guessing the Canadian accent is hard to understand, or some words may be different.

-Now that part is partially true. In reality Filipinos in Toronto are scattered, and thus there is NO "Little Manila". However, there is a large amount of Filipinos along Bathurst street (which is a primarily Jewish area). There is also a large amount of Filipinos along Steeles Avenue East (where some of my cousins live). Markham and Thornhill may also have large Filipino populations.

-I'm not really familiar with the economic conditions of Filipinos in Canada, because I haven't been there long enough to know. But many of my cousins live in townhouses during the time I was there. But now they live in suburban homes. I'm guessing the poor Filipinos would be new immigrants or new people in town, they just have to work their way up to get good money.

-As for interracial dating for Filipinos in Toronto, I'd say you probably haven't been around the city as much. My aunt who moved to Toronto married a white Canadian man. And my cousin is dating a White Canadian lady. I would say roam around areas outside Steeles Ave. East and Bathurst St. and you might see alot of Filipinos holding hands with Whites or other groups. Plus I think suburban Filipinos might also have higher interracial datings, because they probably live in predominantly white areas.

i thought youre american

Yeah I wanted to go there to experience the culture & whatnot, but my uncle didn't wanna drive there... Being back in TN sucks. There's no culture here

I said that? nope



youd feel like you're in Philippines, specially in Van horne/cotes des neiges area. I feel so at home here.

LOL. barangay ko yun dati.

maraming pinoys jan pero still... walang filipino town up hurr.









Lol, go to LA. Tons of Filipinos that think they're black or some $hit.


YUUUUCK! The 'Schwa'. My brother's university is there. Bunch of low-income white people. The people there are so gross. It reminds me of America TBH. It looks exactly like your average American town. A downtown core that's like only 2 blocks wide and then hundreds of houses made of WOOD and not BRICK.

Which suburbs have a lot of Filipinos? Well... Malvern is sort of a suburb. Living there isn't something to be proud of though. Unless 'street cred' is what you're looking for. I lived there for most of my life. I love it there but that neighbourhood is going to hell. Way too much gang violence these days. I moved to a town called Markham. A fair amount of Filipinos here... maybe 5% of the population... It's mostly Chinese and Italian here. I'd say Filipinos form 5% of every suburb in Toronto. Not bad. I think it's just that Filipinos find it easy to integrate into Canadian society compared to other ethnicitiesso they spread out more. I'm not sure if Filipinos here are better off than Filipinos in America, though. The success of Filipinos in the States is quite remarkable... It would be hard to top.

I'd say the success of Chinese-Canadians matches the success of Filipinos in America. Of course, once the second generation starts having kids, they won't be encouaging their kids to do nerdy things... so I don't know... You might be seeing a lot of Chinese-Canadian janitors and bricklayers in the future...

Oh, so Oshawa doesn't have a good reputation? Haha. I didn't really like it there either. I especially didn't like the teenagers. A bunch of wiggers & goths. It reminded me of some redneck town here in TN, even though the ppl weren't really redneck.



Yeah, 5% is pretty good. My town is less than 2% Filipino and it's probably the most Filipino town (percentage wise) in the whole state.

Well it was cool to see working class Filipino-Canadians. Because a lot of Filipino-Americans I know that are wealthy really lost touch w/ their roots. They seem to want to be more American than Filipino. In Canada, i saw a lot of Filipinos who were still in touch w/ their roots, but still integrated into society at the same time. I guess it's easier when you live in an area w/ a large Filipino population.

Thats RARE! Very RaRe! 1/100 chances!

I think Filipino-Canadians have it better than their American counterparts for some reason.

I used to live in the Bathurst-Wilson area!!! Yeah there are a lot of Filipinos there and also a lot of orthodox Jews too. I attended a school there for one year and about half of the kids were Filipinos. Most of the Filipino kids I encountered there were Ilocanos and they spoke it to each other

Cool, I have relatives in Canada (Toronto and Vancouver)! I notice this phenomenon in a lot places (Filipinos scattered and not a cohesive community). Sometimes I wonder whether it would be better if there were more self-aware, mutually-supportive communities of Filipinos overseas.


Lito Joaquín and Lita Teresita at their 50th anniversary in Vancouver. Hijos (children) Tíos María Teresa, Ana Inés, Jaime and Enrique. Nietos (granchildren) Primos Pía Ana, Inés, and Juan Andrés.


Tío Jaime and Tía Ana Inés. Pinoy food: Pork siomai! Mmm sarrap!


The whole family went out too. Canada is just too cold for me. I cannot understand how Filipinos can ever get used to it.


Phew! That's better -- back home in sunny Tali with the in-laws of Tía Ana Inés.



That's interesting. I only ever seem to meet Filipinos who speak English there.



That's what I thought. Most of the Filipinos I met have lived in the suburbs since they arrived and seem to be fairly well-off. No different than in the U.S.



Do you get the feeling that there is any sort of racial discrimination there too? Most Filipinos I know in Canada never mention anything about this. I just figure that things are fine in Canada. Anyone have any experiences to share?

I think a Filipino would be better off in Canada than in the USA. I mean the income for a Filipino in Canada is higher than a Filipino in the United States.

filipinos assimilate faster than others. what about vancouver area ? dami pinoy ? i loved la and sf. makes me feel at home.

I agree, but this means that Filipinos overseas could lose their cultural values faster too, I think.



Yes, there are quite a few. There are Filipino stores, restaurants, etc. But nothing like SF or LA.

Well if you relatives in Vancouver then they should know that the weather here is quite mild.



That is a LIE!!! the majority of Filipino canadians belong to the working class, thanks to the Canadian governments refusal to acknowledge foreign credentials.

Yeah, for Canada maybe... I still consider BC weather too cool dude. I went in December, and the average was 3° C!

Sorry, but that is just too bloody cold for me!

Thats fregggin true!! I know some filipinos who are engineers and Accountants in Philippines who settled for 10$/hour in a factory here, cos Canada does not acknowledge their diplomas and experiences like the US does. Sux big time.

LOL I thought that too but you get used to it after a while, I know whenever I go home nowadays I have hard time adjusting to the heat.



I know its discrimination and it really works against professionals with families. The Canadian government promises so much in order to lure in foriegn professionals but they end up unable to practice when they get to Canada. Its a SCAM i tell you.

Lie? I have relatives there, and they're pretty much in the middle class.

Yes of course I forgot your relatives represent all filipino canadians.

Well probably MOST are, but at least my relatives aren't.

Of course there many families who are what you would call middle class. But the sad truth is most are working class, there is no use sugar coating it. I know because I live here.

Most of the older generation obviously still speak their native language but not the younger generations. They're known as "Bacons" to some, meaning they're born or raised in Canada and have assimilated into the culture


Yeah, very true; but lucky for me I'm one of the few Filipinos who aren't part of the working class though sometimes I wish I was so I'd fit in more


Not true... I see a lot of Filipinos (Filipinas especially) going out with non-Filipinos


Toronto is diverse but after a while it isn't much of a big deal. The older generations seem pretty secluded and still somewhat racist to each other but the younger more assimilated generation don't really have too much problems.

Well actually, the ppl speaking Ilocano were in their teens & 20s and there was a bunch of them. That's why I was so surprised.



Hmm... those couples seemed almost non-existant (in the Toronto area) I was very surprised that i didn't see more.

Well I know too much about Toronto, but what about Ottawa or Montreal? How about the filipinos over there?

Why is that so surprising? is it really that rare to hear regional languages from Fil-ams?

^ Well where I live yeah. Half of the Filipinos around here are Ilocanos but I can't think of one time that i've heard them speaking Ilocano.

Ever care to ask why not??

i was born and grew up in montreal, there's a lot of fliipinos there, in ottawa there's a couple that i've met
Winnipeg has a lot of filipinos people said that's where the largest population of them live in Canada; and where I live now Calgary, it's said to be the 3rd largest minority group in this city. Indians and Sudanese being #1 and #2 respectively

Vancouver has quite a bit of filipinos as well

yeah. I'd like to live in Canada when I grow up, I just don't think Texas is a good place.

Plus I read somewhere that a Filipino male in Canada is more likely to marry a non-Filipino than a Filipino male in the USA.

.

What's wrong with Vancouver?

yea there is. canadians are very passive, so they'd never say "fu-k you, chinaman" to your face. i bet a lot of them think it though.

even so, there's far more racism in america than in canada.


no. the things RL33 mentioned, added with the fact that on average, i think americans make more money than canadians.

nothing really, it just rains a lot. plus it contains 70% of all asians in canada. it's like little hong kong. in richmond the streetsigns are in chinese

If that's the case why is the quality of life better in Canada than in the US?

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_count...velopment_Index

And Montreal is like frozen almost the whole year.



Well we have free healthcare its not the best in the world but its free though I feel that it may not be for long. Because its a country so dependent and used to immigration people are more tolerant here, but that does not mean theres is no racism. We only have 1/10th of the population of the US so have less crime and its fairly safe even in the poorest neighborhoods. Money isn't everything man.

The Canadian dollar is now 1:1 to a US dollar

Poor US, the country's sinking fast with its Trillions worth in debt

Oh lookie here, the 51st state is contemplating secession.

Gawtdang maple-sucking moose-fawkers.

.

.

ick. i pray to god that one day we stop associating with those stupid yankees.

too bad we elected a bush-clone as our prime minister. fu-king western canadians, they ruin everything.


because our healthcare system isn't as fu-ked up as yours, and there isn't the same problem with income disparity that americas have. i swear, whenever i go to california, it feels like a developing country. infrastructure is covered in graffiti and garbage, and there's a HUGE gap between the rich and the poor. it's like the philippines.

I have to grudgingly agree with most of your points. I have lived here on and off for 12 years and Im so sick of it already. Thank god Ill be moving to Montreal for at least three years or maybe even for good.

Downtown LA doesn't represent the entire California.

Try visiting the northern part of the state. I don't want to brag so just come and see for yourself.

im sad to say that i had the same feeling...