Theorizing Asian Canada, Reframing Differences

Abstract

Asian Canadians are the largest visible minority community in Canada, yet they remain at the peripheries of scholarly, policy, and educational discussions.1 According to Statistics Canada, there are over 3.5 million Canadians of Asian descent in 2006, constituting about 11 percent of the nationalpopulation. Based on projections by Statistics Canada, aboutone in five Canadians will be a member of a racialized minority group by the next decade. South Asians and Chinese will remain the largest ethnic minority groups, making up almost half of the total racialized minority population by 2017. The increase of Asian Canadians over the past 30 years and in the projected future are due to high immigration rates, with their impact acutely seen and felt in major metropolitan areas, such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Montréal (Bélanger & Caron Malenfant 2005; Li 2003). Inspite of their strong numerical presence, however, Asian Canadians remain relegated to the margins of research and teaching in the fields of education in general, and of curriculum studies, in particular.