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Where in Spain do all the Canadians live?

The Local Spain
The Local Spain - [email protected]
Where in Spain do all the Canadians live?
Barcelona is home to more than a fifth of Canadians who live in Spain. Photo: Joaquin Aranoa/Pixabay

There are over 5,000 Canadians who reside in Spain according to the latest government data. Here are the Spanish regions and cities where most of them are based and other interesting information for people hailing from the maple leaf nation.

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A total of 5,385 Canadian nationals lived in Spain in 2022, 2,531 men and 2,854 women, according to latest data by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE)

It’s a number that’s around seven times smaller than the number of US nationals who are based in España (41,953) but higher than that of other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand.

While these figures are based on the padrón (town hall registry), and therefore may exclude Canadian citizens who have moved within Spain and not updated their registration in their new town or city, they do enable us to get a pretty good idea of where in Spain most canadienses live.

Other sources estimate the real number of Canadians living in Spain could be around 10,000

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Barcelona on top

A total of 1,484 Canadian nationals are based in the northeastern region Catalonia, and almost all of them have made the Catalan capital their home away from home.

There’s even a Facebook group called Canadians in Barcelona with 1.5K members. 

There’s also a Canadian Consulate close to the city’s central Plaça de Catalunya square.

Andalusia is the second most popular

The southern region of Andalusia is home to 1,065 Canadians, the second most popular Spanish region for people from Canada.

There’s a Canadian Consulate in the city of Málaga and the majority of Canadians live in the city.  

Madrid comes in third

The Spanish capital region has 970 Canadians registered at the city hall (most of them in Madrid city), reflecting again their overall preference for Spain’s big cities, the same as what happens with US nationals. 

Apart from having the Canadian Embassy in Spain within easy reach, they can also meet fellow Canadians through the Canadian Club of Madrid Facebook group.   

Valencia region also loved by Canadians

Spain’s eastern Valencia region, where approximately one in six people are foreigners, has 791 Canadian citizens who are registered as residents. 

A small but even spread across the rest of Spain

The rest of the Canadian citizens who’ve moved to Spain’s 13 other autonomous communities aren’t big communities, but there are certainly enough people for a get-together in each. 

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There are 244 Canadian nationals in the Balearic Islands, 220 in the Canary Islands, 120 in the Basque Country, 85 in Galicia, 77 in Murcia, 69 in Castilla y León, 56 in Castilla-La Mancha, 53 in Asturias, 48 in Cantabria, 31 in Aragón, 29 in Navarra, 25 in Extremadura and 18 in La Rioja. 

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau (R) poses for photos with Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez. Photo: MARTIN OUELLET-DIOTTE / AFP)
 

Other interesting information for Canadians in Spain

As mentioned earlier, the Embassy of Canada in Spain is based in Madrid, and according to their website they provide consular services, as well as passport services and general enquiries. 

The current Canadian Ambassador to Spain and Andorra is Wendy Drukier, who took up her position at the end of 2020.

Homesick Canadians who are missing their country’s cuisine may be interested in knowing that there are a handful of Canadian restaurants across Spain. 

There’s an American and Canadian eatery in Madrid, La Gamella, which imports Canadian food products, and at least 15 Tim Hortons Canadian Coffee Houses in Madrid, Alicante, Valencia, Málaga and Mallorca. 

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