Somali Canadians

Most Somalis arrived in Canada between the late 1980s and the early 1990s as refugees from Somalia, with some secondary migration from the United States.

[3] Many Somali-Canadians from Somalia, Somaliland, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti have returned to their countries of origin to participate in entrepreneurial activities.

Participating in the renovation of schools, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure, they have played a leading role in their capital's recovery and have also helped propel the local real estate market.

[4] In recent years, there have been efforts made at the provincial level to formally recognize the Somali Canadian community's cultural contributions.

In 2020, MLA Uzoma Asagwara was able to pass a bill marking Somali Heritage Week in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

Records from the 2011 National Household Survey show that 28,475 Somalis in Canada aged 15 years and over are eligible for the labour force.

[9] Official correctional figures at the population level for Somali residents are uncertain since Canadian law enforcement is prohibited from compiling ethnicity-based crime statistics.

25% of Somali-speaking pupils in Grade 9 completed fewer than eight credits by the end of the 2011–2012 school year compared with a student average of 15%, whereas 63% of Somali-speaking students completed the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test compared with 73% of all first-time eligible TDSB pupils.

Of the 28,475 persons aged 15 years or older, the major fields of study are business, management and public administration (2,230), health and related fields (1,840), social and behavioural sciences and law (1,425), architecture, engineering, and related technologies (1,380), mathematics, computer and information sciences (760), humanities (495), physical and life sciences and technologies (455), personal, protective and transportation services (395), education (300), and agriculture, natural resources and conservation (150), and 18,885 have no recognized post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree.

Ahmed Hussen chairs the Canadian Somali Congress, which works closely with national and regional authorities to strengthen civic relations.

The program spanned two years and took place in various major cities across the country, partnering 130 experienced Jewish-Canadian mentors with 18- to 25-year-old Somali-Canadians.