Ethnicity and origins In the first half of the 20th century, most of the Macedonians were largely classified as
Bulgarians or
Macedono-Bulgarians. Until
World War II, most people who today identify themselves as Macedonian Canadians claimed a Bulgarian ethnic identity and were recorded as part of the Bulgarian ethnic group. The term
Macedonian was used as a geographic/regional term rather than an ethnic one. In 1911 they established the first Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox Church Sts. Cyril and Methody in Toronto. Their
Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox Churches established by immigrants from Macedonia and Bulgaria, primarily served as community centers for social gatherings and often acted as hubs for the Macedonian Patriotic Organization. The churches represented their shared Bulgarian cultural and religious identity. A Macedono-Bulgarian school, funded in Toronto as early as 1914 was also the first Bulgarian school in the Americas. The first immigrant waves which identified themselves as ethnic Macedonians arrived in the late 1950s and early 1960s from Yugoslavia. The statistics in Canada included for the first time the entries Macedonian language and Ethnic Macedonian in its census questionnaires much later and this led Macedonians to declare themselves as Yugoslavs till the 1980s.
History of immigration Many Macedonians emigrated to Canada as "pečalbari" (
migrant workers) in the early 20th century. Thousands of Macedonians emigrated to Canada after the failure of the
Ilinden Uprising. Other Macedonian organizations were soon established by emigrants from Zagorichani (Vassiliada), Oshtima (Trigonon), Smardesh (
Krystallopigi), Gabresh (Gavros), Banitsa (
Vevi), Buf (Akritas) and Tarsie (Trivuno), all villages in Aegean Macedonia. Today, most Macedonian Canadians have moved out of cities and into the suburbs, and are employed in the professional, clerical, and service sector of the economy. The
2001 census recorded 31,265 Macedonians, The Macedonian government estimates that there are 150,000 Macedonians in Canada.
Aegean Macedonians Many thousands of
Aegean Macedonians emigrated to Canada in the 1890s. They settled primarily in
Ontario, especially
Toronto. Many early Aegean Macedonian immigrants found industrial work in Toronto. Later migrants found work as factory in abattoirs and foundries.
Chatham and
Windsor attracted many Macedonian immigrants who worked along the railroads. Many later settled in
Detroit, Michigan. Many Aegean Macedonians are parishioners of the
Macedonian Orthodox Church. They set up many organizations, such as the Lerin Region Macedonian Cultural Association of Canada. In 1979 The Association of Refugee Children from Aegean Macedonia (ARCAM) was set up in order to unite the former child refugees from all over the world. It was reported that chapters had been set up in
Toronto,
Melbourne,
Perth, the
Republic of North Macedonia,
Slovakia,
Czech Republic and
Poland. ==Settlement patterns==