Toronto's Ismaili Community

Toronto's Ismaili Muslim community grew substantially after 1972, when Ugandan dictator Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of the country's entire Asian population, including tens of thousands of Ismailis whose families had lived in East Africa for generations. Canada, under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, agreed to accept a significant share of the expelled Ugandan Asians as refugees, and many settled in Toronto, arriving with little beyond what they could carry after being given only weeks to leave the country.

Building a community from displacement

That refugee wave, combined with earlier and later immigration from South Asia and elsewhere in East Africa, built Toronto into home to one of the largest Ismaili communities outside South Asia and East Africa itself. The community's growth and institutional development culminated in the opening of the Aga Khan Museum and adjoining Ismaili Centre in 2014, physical landmarks reflecting both the community's scale in Toronto and its refugee origins just over four decades earlier.

Sources

• The Canadian Encyclopedia — Ismaili Muslims in Canada
• Wikipedia — Ugandan Asians

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