Shiism in Canada

The Shiism in Canada project is a collaborative research initiative between the Shi‘a Research Institute, Saint Mary’s University, and the Canadian Institute for Empirical Church Research (CIECR) at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto. The project aims to better understand the cultural, religious, and demographic realities of Shi‘a communities across Canada, highlighting the diversity of lived experiences and contributing to a fuller picture of Canada’s religious landscape.

Virtual Portal

The Shiism in Canada portal allows researchers and members of the public to explore our datasets across geography. The portal is updated regularly to reflect data updates and advancements in our research.

This portal uses a variety of datasets for its estimations of Shi‘a populations and institutions. These include:

Canadian Census of Population (2001, 2011, 2021) data on immigration, ethnic/cultural identity, birth country, and mother tongue
ESRI’s ArcGIS Business Analyst (2025) data on religious institutions and other points of interest
Hackett, Conrad, Marcin Stonawski, Yunping Tong, Stephanie Kramer, Anne Fengyan Shi and Dalia Fahmy. 2025. “How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020.” Pew Research Center. doi: 10.58094/fj71-ny11
Shiism in Canada surveys