Why are there so few Thai's in Canada?

September 13, 2014 10:52 PM

Why are Thai's an underrepresented demographic in Canada? Canada has successfully attracted immigration from all of Asia with the exception of Thai's. Wikipedia says there is less than 1000 in BC. What makes it an unattractive immigration option for the Thai people? More Thai's seek US citizenship every year than the sum Thai expat population in Canada.
posted by Keith Talent to Society & Culture (7 answers total)

If you look at the total number of Thais in Canada vs the US (per various Wikipedia articles), it is 15,000 in Canada and 150,000 in the US (although some stats say 300,000). This is 1/10 the US number and Canada has 1/10 the population.
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 11:11 PM on September 13, 2014 [9 favorites]

When it comes to immigration patterns, there's a strong network effect: I'll go where the other guys are going. As you said, there's a pattern now established for Thais to go to the US. As such, and as long as they can do it, there's no real incentive for any given Thai to go to Canada instead. The US is a sure thing, so why take a risk on Canada?
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:11 PM on September 13, 2014

Best answer: Thai-US relations were unusually strong, relative to other Asian nations, during the period of US involvement in Vietnam. For example, in 1969, there were actually more US airmen in Thailand than in Vietnam itself.

One would surmise that this established a lot of precedent and familial relations in the US, which continues to draw Thais to the US instead of Canada.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:11 PM on September 13, 2014 [6 favorites]

Best answer: The U.S. and Thailand have a surprisingly long history of peaceful relations. Thailand was America's first East Asian treaty partner; the U.S. established formal diplomatic and commercial relations with Thailand (then Siam) in 1833 (the Siamese-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce). This was 11 years before the establishment of formal diplomatic relations with China and 20 years before Commodore Perry's gunboat "diplomacy" with Japan. For that matter, U.S. and Thailand treaty relations actually predate the Canadian confederation by 34 years.
posted by RichardP at 1:39 AM on September 14, 2014 [3 favorites]

I always figured immigration patterns followed feedback loops, as other people have said here. An expat community develops in the new country, people back home in the old country hear about it, uncles or cousins or siblings or whoever who now live overseas offer to help set up new arrivals, etc etc etc. For example, there are proportionally far more Portuguese-Canadians than there are Portuguese Americans, and I can't think of any particularly compelling reason for that to be so other than such a phenomenon.
posted by erlking at 12:35 PM on September 14, 2014

There are a zillion Thai in the Seattle area so maybe they just went there instead of BC? Same climate and proximity to Asia, and if there already a lot of Thai people in Seattle then the rest have an incentive to follow their extended families and go somewhere they know there is already a pocket of their native culture.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:27 PM on September 14, 2014

My wife is Thai and we plan on moving to Canada from the UK next year as I've just received Positive Eligibility Review for the Federal Skilled Workers immigration program.

I asked her if she would move to Canada if it wasn't for me and she replied no. The reason being the weather. Canada is cold and Thais generally do not like really cold weather.

Another anecdotal piece of evidence is that when I've talked to Thais the are generally happy in Thailand.
posted by asharchist at 11:59 AM on October 2, 2014