Art, music, pizza, pasta and so much more!

June is Italian Heritage Month in Canada.

With more than 1.5 million people who reported Italian heritage in 2021, Canada is the proud home of one of the largest Italian diasporas in the world. From business to sports, cuisine, politics and much more, the community has enriched all aspects of our society and continues to do so.

Of those who reported Italian origins, 204,065 were born in Italy, but, mainly because of improved economic conditions in their home country, 4,240 were recent immigrants to Canada. There is a much more significant portion of Italians who immigrated to Canada before 1980 than after.

This has led to a decrease in the number of Canadians who speak predominantly Italian at home, as the speakers of this language are aging.

The situation is similar for a number of European languages. The number of Canadians who spoke predominantly Italian (-23,000), Polish (-10,000) or Greek (-6,000) at home fell from 2016 to 2021.

Although 547,655 people reported having knowledge of the Italian language in 2021, fewer people (319,505) reported it as their mother tongue.

English (65.5%) and French (27.2%) were the most common mother tongues reported by the White population, and Italian (1.5%) was ranked third on the list.

For 1,625 people in Canada, Italian was the language most often used at work.

Many people of Italian heritage have made home across Canada, but Italy has also welcomed thousands of Canadians for both travel and work. In 2020, Canadian affiliates in Italy employed 6,094 people, while Italian affiliates in Canada employed 22,761 people.

In 2021, approximately 15.5 thousand people from Italy entered Canada for travel. In addition, 8,895 people from Canada reported studying abroad in Italy the same year.

From across the ocean, the beauty of Italy has enriched Canada in many different ways.

Italian Heritage Month in Canada is here, time to celebrate! La dolce vita!

Learn more about work and travel in Italy:

Work and travel in Italy - Canada.ca