ABSTRACT
The first Buddhist worshippers in Québec were most probably found among the Chinese immigrants who started to move from British Columbia to eastern Canada as early as the late 1880s. Most of them settled in Montréal (the city had only 33 Chinese residents in 1891 but 888 in 1901; cf. Chan 1991: 28); a few also went to smaller places such as Québec City, Sherbrooke and Hull (Dorais 1996: 5). The Chinese were followed later on by small numbers of Japanese and other Asian immigrants, who also included some Buddhists. It is difficult to assess – or even approximate – the number of practising Buddhists during this time. Presbyterian and Roman Catholic inland missions were particularly active among Asian Québecers, and many of them converted to Christianity, at least nominally. According to Helly (1987: 282), though, out of a total of 496 children born in Montréal between 1898 and 1951 from one or two Chinese parents, 268 (54 per cent) were not christened at birth. Their families’ religious beliefs thus presumably included some Buddhist elements.
