Canadian Community in Birmingham

Where they come from

Canada is the second largest country in the world, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific and north to the Arctic. English and French are its official languages. Canadians in Birmingham include academics, doctors, teachers, business professionals, students and families, many with family ties to Britain.

The community in numbers

At the 2021 Census, out of a city population of 1,144,919, 664 people living in the city had been born in Canada; and 632 Birmingham residents described their ethnic group as North American. The North American figure covers people with roots in both Canada and the United States.

Working for Birmingham

Canadian residents work in education, research, healthcare, finance and business, and Canadian academics teach and research at the city's universities. Canada and Britain share close ties through the Commonwealth, and Canadian professionals often move between the two countries.

Much of the work that keeps Birmingham moving happens out of sight: the night shift on a hospital ward, the early start on a building site, the plumber who fixes a boiler on a winter evening, the teaching assistant who helps a child learn to read. People from every community in the city do these jobs, and Canadian residents are part of that everyday effort to make Birmingham a better place to live.

Culture and community life

Canada Day on 1 July is celebrated with maple leaf flags and gatherings, and Canadian Thanksgiving falls in October. Ice hockey is a national passion, and maple syrup, poutine and butter tarts are much-loved tastes of home.

The story of the Canadian community in Birmingham is still being written, by students, workers, parents and pensioners who call the city home. It is a story of hard work, friendship and quiet pride, and Birmingham is richer for it.