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Người Canada Gốc Việt: A History of the Vietnamese in Canada

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    Who are Canadians of Vietnamese origin?

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    The boat people started arriving in Canada on July 27, 1979

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    Canada exploits the boat people for partisan political purposes

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    Research and write about the Canadian boat people


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Coming to Canada: a History

Canada's response to events in Vietnam shaped today's Vietnamese Canadian community.

Immigration statistics: from Vietnam to Canada

The origins of Canada's Vietnamese community

Canada's immigration programs were non-partisan, not influenced by Vietnam's conflicts.

  • Immigration statistics. Detailed numbers from authoritative sources.


Canada's history in SE Asia

Canada's never, at any time, followed the US lead in Vietnam. Canada had its own SE Asia policy that provided the context for Canada's responses to the events of the 1970's.

  • 1945-1973 Canada and Vietnam Canada respected Vietnam's right of self-determination.

  • 1973-1977 Canada and the fall of Saigon Canada declined to participate in the US evacuation.


Canada and the boat people crisis

Canada admitted 165,000 Vietnamese in response to the boat people crisis because it was NOT caused by the Vietnam war or the fall of Saigon. None were asked what their role had been in Vietnam's conflicts.

  • 1978-1996 Canada and the boat people crisis a non-partisan humanitarian effort


The hostile environment

Canadian politicians have created a hostile environment for Canadians of Vietnamese origin.

Who are the "victims of the fall of Saigon?"

The Government of Canada has stereotyped Canadians of Vietnamese origin and has created a hostile environment for those who do not conform to the stereotype.

  • Asian Heritage Month illustrates the government's stereotyping


Canadian politics and the Vietnamese new

The tight relationship between Canadian national identity and the origins of Canada's Vietnamese community made them a target when politics changed in Canada.

  • Identity and Politics in the Vietnamese community Most have left past conflicts behind but a few do not accept the idea of a diverse community.


Defining the problem

Governments at all levels in Canada have created a hostile environment for Canadians of Vietnamese origin who fail to conform to the prescribed identity.

  • Canada suppresses cultural expression and tries to turn it into political expressions of support for the Saigon regime.

  • 2008-2010 Whitehorse Heritage Festival

  • 2016-2019 Surrey Fusion Festival with an analysis of how government should respond to ARVN demonstrations.


Page updated: 2021-08-28, 522 words

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