Indo-Canadians or
Indian Canadians are
Canadian citizens whose heritage is fully or partially
Indian, children of persons who immigrated from India to Canada, or persons of Indian origin who have Canadian citizenship. The terms
East Indian and
South Asian are sometimes used to distinguish people of ancestral origin from India in order to avoid confusion with the
First Nations of Canada. First Nations of Canada are also officially referred to as 'Indians' by the Canadian government under the
Indian Act. This is partially because historically the Americas were mistaken by
Columbus as India and Native Americans were mistaken by Columbus for Indians and later as
West Indians. Therefore, there is no need to distinguish between west and east Indians, because the term "Indian" only refers to a single ethnic group. The main concentration of the Indo-Canadian population is found in the
Lower Mainland of British Columbia (which includes
Greater Vancouver) and the
Greater Toronto Area, however there are growing communities in
Calgary,
Edmonton,
Hamilton, and
Montreal.