Tibetans in Canada

How many Tibetans live in Canada, where they live, how they came here, and where to find Tibetan food, Buddhist centres and community life today. A short, friendly guide from Tibetan Community, the free community board for Tibetans in Toronto and across Canada.

How many Tibetans live in Canada?

In the 2021 Census, 9,350 people in Canada reported Tibetan ethnic or cultural origin. That is more than double the roughly 4,250 counted in the 2006 Census. The real number may be higher, because census figures depend on how each person chooses to describe their origins.

Canada has one of the larger Tibetan communities outside Asia, alongside the United States, Switzerland and France. Worldwide there are about 7.7 million Tibetans, most of them living on the Tibetan Plateau, with the largest exile communities in India and Nepal.

Where do most Tibetans live in Canada?

Most Tibetans in Canada live in the Greater Toronto Area. In the 2006 Census, about three out of four Tibetan Canadians lived in Toronto. Within the city, two areas stand out:

• Parkdale, “Little Tibet”: Queen Street West in Parkdale, especially the blocks between Lansdowne and Roncesvalles Avenues, full of Tibetan restaurants, momo shops and stores. In 2006 about 2,000 Tibetans lived in Parkdale, close to two-thirds of the city’s Tibetan population.
• South Etobicoke: a growing community around the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre (TCCC) at 40 Titan Road, which opened in 2007 and hosts Losar, monlam, language classes and community events.

Outside Toronto, there are Tibetan communities in Calgary, Vancouver, Montréal and Ottawa, as well as families in Ontario towns such as Belleville and Lindsay, where some of the first refugees settled in the 1970s. Browse by city on our Tibetan Directory.

How did Tibetans come to Canada?

After the 1959 uprising in Lhasa, the 14th Dalai Lama went into exile in India and tens of thousands of Tibetans followed him, mostly to India and Nepal. Canada became one of the first Western countries to resettle Tibetan refugees.

1966	The UN refugee agency asks Canada to consider resettling Tibetan refugees.
1970	Canada offers to resettle 240 Tibetans. On 15 October, the first two arrive to work in Belleville, Ontario.
1971–72	228 Tibetans arrive and settle in 11 towns and cities across Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Manitoba.
1970s–80s	Tibetan associations are founded in Alberta (1972), Quebec (1974), Ontario (1978) and British Columbia (1981). The Canada Tibet Committee follows in 1987.
Late 1990s–2000s	A second, larger wave settles mainly in Toronto, and Parkdale becomes known as Little Tibet.
2007	The Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre opens in Etobicoke.
2010s	In 2010 Canada announces it will resettle about 1,000 Tibetans living in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Newcomers arrive over the following years with community sponsors across the country.
2018	Bhutila Karpoche, MPP for Parkdale–High Park, becomes the first person of Tibetan heritage elected to public office in North America.
2020	Ontario passes the Tibetan Heritage Month Act: July is Tibetan Heritage Month.

Tibetan community life in Canada today

• Food: momo, thukpa, shabhaley and butter tea in Parkdale and beyond. See Tibetan restaurants & takeaway.
• Faith: Tibetan Buddhist temples and Dharma centres in the GTA. See Buddhist centres.
• Festivals: Losar (Tibetan New Year), Saga Dawa, the Dalai Lama’s birthday on 6 July and Tibetan Heritage Month in July. Dates are on our Tibetan calendar and Events page.
• Everyday help: rooms for rent, jobs, trusted trades and services posted by community members on our community board.
• Organizations: the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre, regional Tibetan associations, youth and women’s groups. See associations.

Questions people often ask

How many Tibetans live in Canada?

About 9,350 people reported Tibetan origin in Canada’s 2021 Census, more than twice the number counted in 2006. Most live in the Greater Toronto Area.

Where do most Tibetans live in Canada?

Most live in Toronto, especially in Parkdale (“Little Tibet”) along Queen Street West and in South Etobicoke near the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre. Smaller communities live in Calgary, Vancouver, Montréal, Ottawa, Belleville and Lindsay.

Where is Little Tibet in Toronto?

Little Tibet is in Parkdale, in Toronto’s west end, along Queen Street West, especially between Lansdowne and Roncesvalles Avenues. The 501 Queen streetcar runs right through it.

When did Tibetans first come to Canada?

The first two Tibetan refugees arrived on 15 October 1970, and a group of 228 followed in 1971–72 under Canada’s Tibetan Refugee Program. They settled in towns and cities in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Manitoba.

Where is the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre?

The Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre (TCCC) is at 40 Titan Road in Etobicoke, Toronto. It opened in 2007 and hosts Losar celebrations, prayers, language classes, sports and community events.

When is Tibetan Heritage Month?

In Ontario, July is Tibetan Heritage Month, under the Tibetan Heritage Month Act passed in 2020. July also includes the Dalai Lama’s birthday on 6 July.

Where can I find Tibetan restaurants, shops and Buddhist centres near me?

Our free Tibetan Directory lists Tibetan restaurants, grocery and gift shops, real estate and mortgage professionals, Buddhist centres and associations in Toronto and across Canada, with addresses, phone numbers and directions.

Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia, “Tibetan Canadians” · Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, “Tibetan Immigration to Canada” · Tibetan Heritage Month Act, 2020 (Ontario) · Wikipedia, “Tibetan Canadians” · Statistics Canada, 2006 and 2021 Census.