Vietnamese Community

Regina's Vietnamese community marked the mid-Autumn festival with handmade lanterns, dragon dances and lively music, September 25, 1988.

Tuan Nguyen (Regina Leader-Post)

As in other Canadian provinces, thousands of Vietnamese refugees came to settle in Saskatchewan during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The “Boat People,” as they came to be known, fled their homeland to find a safe haven in Canada after the Vietnam War ended with the collapse of South Vietnam in April 1975. A large majority of them now live in Regina and Saskatoon. The 2001 Census recorded a total of 1,870 Saskatchewan residents with country of origin as Vietnam, among whom 915 resided in Regina and 770 in Saskatoon. Over the years, Vietnamese-Canadians have rebuilt their lives and have created community organizations and built places of worship that reflect their cultural origins. Today, many residents are attracted to the Vietnamese cuisine offered at an increasing number of Vietnamese restaurants in Saskatoon and Regina. Having established themselves as residents of Saskatchewan, members of the Vietnamese-Canadian community continue to preserve their heritage through many socio-cultural activities: both Regina and Saskatoon have their own Buddhist temples, Vietnamese-Canadian Associations, Vietnamese-Canadian Senior Citizens Associations, Vietnamese Buddhist Associations, Vietnamese Roman Catholic Associations, and Vietnamese Heritage Language Schools. The Vietnamese community in Saskatoon has recently begun its weekly Vietnamese language radio program on Community Radio Station (CFCR FM 90.5). The once “Boat People” and their children, the second-generation Vietnamese-Canadians of Saskatchewan, are now making significant contributions to the province’s workforce as business people, educators, engineers, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

Vinh-The Lam

Further Reading