Vietnamese Community in Saskatchewan

Vinh-The Lam, M.LS.

Librarian Emeritus

University of Saskatchewan

CANADA

(From: The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan.  Regina: University of Regina,Canadian Plains Research Center, 2005.  P. 988-989)

Like their fellow countrymen in other Canadian provinces, thousands of  Vietnamese refugees came to settle in Saskatchewan during the late 1970s and early 1980s.  The “Boat People”, as they came to be known, fled their homeland to find safe haven in Canada after the Vietnam War ended with the collapse of South Vietnam in April 1975.  A large majority of them now live in Regina and Saskatoon.  The 2001 Census recorded a total of 1,870 Saskatchewan residents with country of origin as Vietnam, among which 915 resided in Regina and 770 in Saskatoon.  Over the years, the Vietnamese-Canadians have rebuilt their lives and have enriched this province with their contributions in many respects.  They have created community organizations and built places of worship that reflect their own cultural origins in Regina and Saskatoon.  Today, many residents of Saskatchewan and out-of-province visitors are attracted to the delicious Vietnamese cuisine offered at more than a dozen Vietnamese restaurants in these two cities.  Having firmly established themselves as an integral part of the proud residents of Saskatchewan, members of the Vietnamese-Canadian community continue to preserve their heritage through many socio-cultural activities within the Canadian multicultural mosaic.  Both Regina and Saskatoon now have their own Buddhist temples, Vietnamese-Canadian Associations, Vietnamese-Canadian Senior Citizens Associations, Vietnamese Buddhist Associations, Vietnamese Roman Catholic Associations, and Vietnamese Heritage Language Schools.  The Vietnamese community in Saskatoon has recently begun its weekly Vietnamese language radio program on Community Radio Station (CFCR FM 90.5).  The once “Boat People” and their children, the second-generation Vietnamese-Canadians of Saskatchewan, are now making significant contributions to the province’s workforce as businessmen, educators, engineers, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.