In the early post-
World War II period, most migrants from
Indonesia to Canada were
Indo people of mixed
Dutch and
pribumi ancestry. Many did not come directly from Indonesia, but rather went to the Netherlands and then re-migrated due to racial prejudice they faced there. Community members believe that perhaps 3,000 live in the
Ontario area. These migrants tend to be fluent in
Dutch, and may also speak Indonesian, or more commonly
Indonesian-based trade languages. However,
Indonesians of Chinese descent formed the main group in the stream of migration which began in the late 1960s and early 1970s. 7,610 respondents to the
1991 census stated their place of birth as "
Indonesia". Around half of those were settled in the
Greater Toronto Area.
May 1998 riots in Indonesia also led to several Chinese Indonesians moving to Canada. Data from the
2006 Census suggested that 14,320 people of Indonesian ethnic origin reside in Canada (3,225 single responses, 11,095 in combination with other responses), primarily in
Ontario (6,325, or 44%),
British Columbia (4,640, or 32%), and
Alberta (1,920, or 13%). ==Religion==