[wild goose chase]

Also it is much more diverse than that of BC, where the South Asian population is overwhelmingly Sikh, while here you can find concentrations of Sikhs, Tamils, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis etc.

I remember once talking to an Indian student studying in the US and after bringing up the topic of the large Indian-descended population here in Canada, he told me the general impression many Indians have about Indo-Canadians was that Canada was exceptionally Punjabi-dominated, and that there were many Punjabi truckers here. He must have been thinking more of BC than anywhere further east, including, Ontario, since that doesn't seem to hold in Greater Toronto.

The Tamil influence in Toronto is big and is something I don't notice as much proportionally with other cities with South Asian communities. In many US cities like New York and New Jersey, people of Tamil descent seem to more incorporated into a South Asian or Indian identity, or in places like California, they seem to be more international workers from India. In Toronto, it seems that Tamils are much more demographically and culturally distinct as an immigrant wave, from escaping the Sri Lankan civil war. It is almost like how Hmong refugees are a distinctive group from other Southeast Asians, and referred to by ethnic group not nationality, in some US cities (though not so much in Canada).

Also, it seems like Bengalis, whether from West Bengal in India or Bangladesh, don't seem to be as noticeable proportionally in Toronto (also in terms of cultural influence among the South Asian communities), compared to places like London or New York city.

Maybe I'm just imagining it, but it seems like it is more common in Toronto too (than in other cities with S. Asian communities) to have immigrants of South Asian ancestry who are Caribbean or African. I've met people in the city whose roots are Guyanese, Trinidadian, Tanzanian, Mauritian etc.

 

[King of Kensington]

In the US, the South Asian population is overwhelmingly made up of Indian Hindu professionals, especially doctors and engineers. It wouldn't surprise me if Indians made up a larger percentage of MDs in the US than in Canada.

NYC is the exception as it includes a large South Asian working class and large numbers of Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Indo-Guyanese.

 

[wild goose chase]

In the US, the South Asian population is overwhelmingly made up of Indian Hindu professionals, especially doctors and engineers. It wouldn't surprise me if Indians made up a larger percentage of MDs in the US than in Canada.

NYC is the exception as it includes a large South Asian working class and large numbers of Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Indo-Guyanese.

Another thing that is different, I've noticed, is the large share of Indian-Americans, in particular of Gujarati descent, in the US motel industry. It doesn't seem to be the case in Canada.

 

[King of Kensington]

Had a look at some US language data, via here: http://www.mla.org/map_data&dcwindow=same

The most commonly spoken South Asian languages were:

Hindi 586,173 (93,190 MT in Canada)
Urdu 356,621 (165,380 MT in Canada)
Gujarati 333,428 (91,310 MT in Canada)
Panjabi 223,293 (433,280 MT in Canada)
Bengali 207,596 (58,895 MT in Canada)

About half of Panjabi speakers are in California where there is a significant population near Yuba City.

Looking at the states of California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois - Hindi is the most commonly spoken South Asian language in CA, Bengali in NY, Gujarati in NJ and Urdu in IL.

 

[the lemur]

Another thing on the topic of South Asian descent in Canada and Toronto specifically, I notice a lot of people whose ancestry is South Asian but immigrated from other parts of the world such as Africa and the Caribbean. For example, there are many in the Guyanese community with either (or both) Indian and African roots.

Yes, and there was also a wave of immigration of people of South Asian (primarily Indian, and primarily Gujarati at that) from East Africa where they had lived for several generations, having been brought there during the era of British India. Several thousand of the East Asians expelled from Uganda by the Idi Amin regime in 1972 ended up in Canada, and there has probably been some migration from other countries such as Tanzania and Kenya.

 

[the lemur]

An article about Toronto in the August 1975 issue of National Geographic had this line: "To reach the city's 71 ethnic groups, many of whom live in vibrant urban enclaves, one radio station broadcasts in 30 languages, including Hindustani."

Another ambiguous name ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindustani_language#Hindustani_outside_South_Asia

 

[wild goose chase]

Another ambiguous name ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindustani_language#Hindustani_outside_South_Asia

It would be interesting to know what the other 29 languages mentioned in that article (the one whose quote I posted) are!

 

[wild goose chase]

Had a look at some US language data, via here: http://www.mla.org/map_data&dcwindow=same

The most commonly spoken South Asian languages were:

Hindi 586,173 (93,190 MT in Canada)
Urdu 356,621 (165,380 MT in Canada)
Gujarati 333,428 (91,310 MT in Canada)
Panjabi 223,293 (433,280 MT in Canada)
Bengali 207,596 (58,895 MT in Canada)

About half of Panjabi speakers are in California where there is a significant population near Yuba City.

Looking at the states of California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois - Hindi is the most commonly spoken South Asian language in CA, Bengali in NY, Gujarati in NJ and Urdu in IL.

Looks like according to the US data, Tamil is 154,029. I looked at the 2011 Canadian stats and found Tamil for mother tongue at 131,265 (not sure if I was looking at the same stats as you though, as I saw close, but somewhat slightly different numbers for the others).

The Tamil being spoken in Canada is likely Sri Lankan in origin, whereas I'm thinking it's from India in the US.

 

[wild goose chase]

In the US, the South Asian population is overwhelmingly made up of Indian Hindu professionals, especially doctors and engineers. It wouldn't surprise me if Indians made up a larger percentage of MDs in the US than in Canada.

Another thing I wonder about is whether the number of temporary workers makes a major contribution to either country's stats, since I know both the US and Canadian census count not just citizens but non-citizen residents such as permanent residents or even those on work or study permits. This probably isn't so much the case for say, MD's, who I'd assume are mostly citizens if not permanent residents, but might apply for engineers.

At first I assumed that a census would only count Americans or Canadians, rather than another country's expat living here, but I was wrong after looking it up. I get the impression temporary workers make up a larger share in the US, but I wonder if it is possible to exclude them in the statistics. I feel like say, a young international student here for four years, whether it be from India, Ireland or Iowa, only to return right after to work in the home country, should not be lumped together with our actual citizens for stats, but maybe it's hard to separate.