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FM AMCONSUL TORONTO
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INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0008
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0009
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TORONTO 000200 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR AF/E, S/CT 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER SCUL SMIG KISL KPAO SO CA
SUBJECT:  TORONTO'S SOMALI COMMUNITY REMAINS CLOSE TO HOMELAND 
 
REF: Ottawa 636 
 
TORONTO 00000200  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified - protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Nearly 80% of Canada's Somali population resides in 
Ontario, with the largest community in the Toronto area.  The 
community, which consists mostly of recent immigrants, has had 
difficulty integrating into mainstream Canadian society due to 
problems with discrimination, both perceived and real, and few 
economic opportunities.  At the same time, the community maintains 
strong political and social ties to Somalia.  The perception of USG 
policies towards Somalia depends upon the clan affiliations of the 
individual.  However, in general, there is an overwhelmingly 
positive perception of President Obama and his policies towards 
Africa and the Muslim world.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Somalis in GTA: Facing Challenges to Integration 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) Official figures from the 2006 Canadian Census put the Somali 
Canadian community at 29,700 in Ontario, nearly 80% of the official 
national total.  However, community organizations claim that the 
population is over 40,000 in the Toronto area alone.  While a small 
number of Somalis migrated to Canada and other western countries in 
the mid 1980s, the majority of Somali refugees in Canada arrived in 
the early 1990s.  Prior to 1989, the small number of Somalis in 
Canada consisted of immigrants, students and political exiles.  This 
changed between 1991 and 1993, when Somalis were then the second 
largest group of refugee claimants in Canada. 
 
¶3. (U) Directors and members of Somali community service 
organizations told PolOff that, to date, cultural and language 
barriers have made Somali integration into mainstream Canadian 
society difficult.  Ontario's complicated professional certification 
process has also kept many well-educated Somalis in low-wage jobs. 
They added that the community faces discrimination based on their 
Muslim beliefs, as well as race. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Perhaps the most serious problem facing the Somali-Canadian 
community is youth crime and gang violence.  Some local Somali 
contacts expressed their fear that the youth engaged in these 
activities are in danger of being radicalized because they feel 
marginalized in Canadian society.  These contacts tell us that they 
have seen a number of youths who idolize the Somali Islamist group 
Al-Shabab, and Al Qaeda.  One Somali leader, Osman Ali, president of 
the Somali Canadian Association of Etobicoke, asserted that he has 
heard of some young Somali-Canadians traveling to the United Arab 
Emirates to join Al-Shabab, and then continue to Somalia.  Ali said 
that he has talked to the Canadian Security Intelligence Services 
about his concerns but has not seen any agency of the Canadian 
government act on his recommendation to reach out to these 
disenfranchised youths. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Somali-Canadians Follow Closely Events Back Home 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) The Somali-Canadian community maintains strong ties to 
Somalia through family and business connections.  They follow 
closely events within Somalia, with a special focus on how those 
events affect their respective clans.  One recent example is the 
reaction to Secretary Clinton's meeting with Somali President Sheik 
Sharif Sheik Ahmed on August 6.  According to our contacts, those 
Somali-Canadians who hail from Mogadishu, and are members of the 
ruling clan, saw the trip very favorably and were excited about what 
they perceived as the USG's new focus on Somalia.  However, 
immigrants belonging to rival clans were unhappy at what they viewed 
as the USG's support of another clan over theirs.  Despite this, 
there seems to be overwhelming support for the United States and 
President Obama's policies towards Africa and the Muslim world in 
the GTA's Somali diaspora. 
 
¶6. (U) All Consulate contacts agree that the majority of the 
Somali-Canadian community is against Somali piracy.  However, some 
sympathize with the acts out of concern for the poverty under which 
most people in Somalia live.  In addition, many consider that some 
of the pirates are actually protecting their local fisheries from 
foreign ships that have exploited the Gulf of Aden in the past. 
There was also particular sympathy for Abduhl Wal-i-Musi, brought to 
New York in April 2009 to face charges connected with the taking of 
the Maersk Alabama, who many see as a gullible youth. 
 
 
TORONTO 00000200  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
------------------------------ 
Involvement in Somali Politics 
------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (U) In January 2009, Adam Esse, a Canadian citizen and resident 
of Mississauga, Ontario, lost his bid for president of the Puntland 
region of Somalia.  Esse ran against 10 other candidates, including 
incumbent, and fellow Canadian, Mohamed Musa Hersi.  Esse ran on a 
platform of ending piracy in the Gulf of Aden and creating jobs. 
Esse, who was born in Puntland and educated in Saudi Arabia, the 
U.S. and Canada, told PolOff that he plans to continue travelling to 
Somalia to assist the government in any capacity.  Another contact 
told us that Esse's loss was not a surprise, as he is not a popular 
figure in the Somali-Canadian community in general and was not 
considered a strong candidate in this race.  (Note: Esse recently 
founded a breakaway mosque, Darul Hijra Islamic Centre, which was 
the cause for some of his unpopularity. End note.) 
 
¶8. (U) The previously-mentioned president of the Somali Canadian 
Association of Etobicoke, Osman Ali, is also involved in politics, 
both Canadian and Somali.  He proudly showed PolOff his credentials 
as a special Envoy to Canada from the Somali state of Puntland.  As 
the head of one of the larger Somali community organizations in the 
GTA, Ali has standing in the local community. Ali plans to run for 
federal MP of his riding, Etobicoke North, within a few years. 
However, he says that if he is not successful in Canadian elections, 
he plans to run for the presidency of Puntland. 
 
¶9. (U) Comment: Only establishing itself in Canada two decades ago, 
the Somali-Canadian community has a number of challenges to overcome 
in order to integrate successfully into Canadian society.  The 
failure to completely integrate here may be the reason the Somali 
diaspora in Canada has kept such strong ties to its homeland, as 
evidenced by their active participation in Somali politics.  While 
clan divisions exist, even in Canada, there are some signs that they 
are starting to dissipate as the Somali youth born in Canada move 
past clan associations, according to our contact.  The emergence of 
Somali community organizations that serve the entire community, not 
just specific Somali clans, is also evidence of this social shift. 
As the clans continue to meld together, the Somali diaspora's 
influence may increase, both locally and abroad.  In general, the 
community seems to view the U.S. positively and there is an 
eagerness to work with us to improve conditions in Somalia. 
 
JOHNSON