Filipinos in Canada: Disturbing Invisibility

By:  Bonnie McElhinny

Publisher:   University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division © 2012 World Rights

The Philippines became Canada’s largest source of short- and long-term migrants in 2010, surpassing China and India, both of which are more than ten times larger. The fourth-largest racialized minority group in the country, the Filipino community is frequently understood by such figures as the victimized nanny, the selfless nurse, and the gangster youth. On one hand, these narratives concentrate attention, in narrow and stereotypical ways, on critical issues.  On the other, they  render other problems facing Filipino communities invisible.

This landmark book, the first wide-ranging edited collection on Filipinos in Canada, explores gender, migration and labour, youth spaces and subjectivities, representation and community resistance to certain representations. Looking at these from the vantage points of anthropology, cultural studies, education, geography, history, information science, literature, political science, sociology, and women and gender studies, Filipinos in Canada provides a strong foundation for future work in this area.

Bonnie McElhinny is Director of the Women & Gender Studies Institute and Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto.