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WHERE
DID WE COME FROM, WHERE DID WE SETTLE?
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From
1996 publication Diversity, Identity and Rapid Growth:
Critical Issues Facing the Greater Vancouver Jewish Community
by Torczyner et al, based on Statistics Canada 1991 Census
figures. Includes those who said they were Jewish by birth
or religion.
*This figure is from page 358 of Branching Out by Gerald
Tulchinsky, who bases his results on identity by ethnicity
only.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver estimates that
in 2001 there are 25,000 Jews in the Lower Mainland. Other
estimates vary.
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The
Jewish community of British Columbia, and especially Vancouver,
has witnessed periods of dramatic growth in the last half-century.
Vancouver is now the third largest Jewish community in Canada, larger
than Winnipeg, which for a long period was the "capital" of the
Jewish west. Until recently, Vancouver was the fastest growing Jewish
community in Canada.
Much of this growth was due to internal migration. Many Canadian
Jews moved to British Columbia from elsewhere in the west, hoping
to take advantage of cosmopolitan Vancouver's wide range of opportunities.
Others moved from Quebec, beginning with René Lévesque's ascent
to power in 1976, because they distrusted the Parti Quebecois' growing
nationalism. Jews from Ontario, particularly in the 1990s, were
drawn to BC when the Pacific Rim economy appeared stronger than
that of central Canada.
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Jews
also immigrated to British Columbia from other countries.
The greatest proportion have come from the United States,
but relatively large numbers have also come from: the Former
Soviet Union, especially from Russia; Hungary following the
1956 Revolt; South Africa; Israel; Western Europe; and most
recently, the Balkan States. Although not yet well documented,
a number have come from Central and South America. Each immigration
wave has had its reasons for coming to Canada; usually a combination
of political disillusionment with their country of origin,
outright fear for their future and Canada's reputation as
a land of political and economic stability.
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Jewish
Family Services Agency counsellor Annette Wigod with
Alexandra, Roman and Mark Bichin from USSR, 1977.
JFSA/JHS
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Most Jews arriving in British Columbia moved to the Vancouver
region, although Victoria and Kelowna have had their own
population booms. In Vancouver, this has resulted in community
growth beyond the Oak Street corridor, especially in the
last twenty years (1980-2000). In 1991, while most of the
Lower Mainland's Jews still lived in the City of Vancouver,
a substantial proportion now lived in Richmond, followed
by the North Shore and the Burnaby, Coquitlam and New Westminster
area. In the closing decade of the 20th century, settlement
moved farther east into Langley and south to White Rock/Delta.
(Histories on these communities can be seen in the "Communities
in Transition" section below.)
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Welcoming
newcomers from the former Yugoslavia to Vancouver,
c. 1992. JWB
Collection, JHS
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JEWISH
POPULATION BY GREATER VANCOUVER REGION, 1991
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NORTH
SHORE |
BURNABY |
RICHMOND |
VANCOUVER |
TOTAL |
| population |
2,155 |
1,675 |
4,410 |
11,140 |
19,380 |
| percent |
11.1 |
8.6 |
22.8 |
57.5 |
100 |
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In
Vancouver, very few Jews remained in the old Downtown East Side
neighbourhoods after 1950. Most moved their residences near Oak
and Cambie streets, many to the newly developed Oakridge area. During
subsequent decades, Vancouver's Jewish population tended to remain
on the West Side, residing in neighbourhoods such as Oakridge, Shaughnessy,
South Vancouver and Dunbar. In the 1990s there was some movement
to the East Side.
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Section
1
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Section
2
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Section
3
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Section
4
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Where
Did We Come From,
Where Did We Settle?
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Making
A Living
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Integration/Rejection
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Communities
In Transition
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