link: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/02/24/hong_kong_asias_most_canadian_city.html

Hong Kong: Asia’s most Canadian city


There is one Canadian citizen in every 13 households in Hong Kong, says a new survey by Vancouver-based Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

About 300,000 Canadian citizens are living and working in the metropolitan city and 8 per cent of households there reported to have at least one Canadian over the age of 18 among them.

The number likely reaches 542,600 if underage minors are counted.

“Hong Kong is Asia’s most Canadian city,” said Yuen Pau Woo, president and CEO of the foundation, a think tank and research institute that studies Canada-Asia relations.

“People-to-people ties between Canada and Hong Kong are based on extensive family, business and education linkages. They are an asset in trans-Pacific business, diplomatic and socio-cultural relations that deserve greater recognition.”

Eighty-two per cent of the Canadians in Hong Kong said they last lived in Ontario and British Columbia, with more than half indicating they got their education in Canada.

Although researchers believed that these expatriates play a key role as a conduit in the $3.3 billion trade between Canada and Mainland China, the survey also reflects a worrying trend of the group’s poor attachment to Canada.

Only 16 per cent of the Canadians surveyed considered Canada as their home “all the time,” while 37 per cent said “never.” Worse, 35 per cent said they would “almost never” or “never” consider returning to Canada.

“There is considerable opportunity to strengthen, through policy and outreach activities, the attachment of the estimated 2.8 million Canadians abroad to their Canadian ‘home,’ ” said Kenny Zhang, a co-author of the report conducted by the Hong Kong Baptist University.

“These activities could inspire a greater contribution to Canada’s presence abroad.”

The survey, funded by various groups including Citizenship and Immigration Canada, was conducted in November, with a total of 35,825 households contacted. The margin of error is +/- 5 per cent.