The Vietnamese Community in PEI: From 1979 Boat Refugees to Viet.PEI

1. How the Community's Story Actually Begins

After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, an estimated one million people fled Vietnam by sea, the "boat people." Canada responded with a first-of-its-kind government program for private refugee sponsorship, and PEI churches were among the sponsors. In September 1979, the Tran family arrived in Charlottetown under sponsorship from St. Pius X Parish. That same year, the Truong family, Hai and Anh Truong with their infant son Michael and Hai's sister, fled by boat with 272 other refugees, surviving a pirate attack before reaching a Malaysian refugee camp. They landed in PEI on October 1, 1979, sponsored by the Bedeque United Church.

"We wanted to help someone in need. When they arrived, they had half of a bag of things, it was all their belongings," said Catherine Callbeck, former PEI premier and senator, who was part of the Bedeque United Church committee that sponsored the Truongs.

2. A Family Tradition Born From That Arrival

The Tran family's first meal in Canada was Kentucky Fried Chicken. Decades later, their family still marks April 4th, the date of a later family member's arrival, as "Tranada Day," with a KFC dinner every year.

3. What Happened Next for These Founding Families

The Truongs lived in Bedeque for two years before relocating to Calgary and later Toronto, but they maintained ties to the Island. The extended family returned to PEI for reunions marking both the 40th and 45th anniversaries of their arrival, reconnecting with the Bedeque United Church community that sponsored them.

"We actually sponsored a Syrian family in 2017. Here in P.E.I., we have so much to offer and we can learn from these families too. It's important we know about the world and people outside of this Island and hear what others have gone through," said Catherine Stuart, the current minister at Bedeque United Church, reflecting on the Truongs' visit and the congregation's continued sponsorship tradition.

4. From Individual Sponsorship to an Organized Community

Decades after those first sponsored arrivals, and with newer immigration through the PEI PNP adding new families, the Vietnamese community organized formally. In 2019, community members founded Viet.PEI (Vietnamese Association on P.E.I.), a voluntary non-profit aimed at helping newcomers settle, preserving cultural identity, and building cohesion across a community spread mainly through Charlottetown, with smaller numbers in Summerside and Souris.

"We are stepping out from the phase of just choosing this place as a shelter to a phase of spending great efforts building a new life here on this Island," said Nguyen, Viet.PEI's founding president.

At founding, Viet.PEI estimated roughly 500 Vietnamese people living in PEI, with about 200 having arrived over the prior three years, mostly through the PNP, and projected another 200 families arriving over the following three years.

5. What the Community Looks Like Today

Many members of the Vietnamese community in PEI are entrepreneurs, running restaurants, cottages, residential rental properties, and B&Bs, according to Viet.PEI's founding leadership. The Vietnamese Embassy in Canada has continued engaging with the community directly, discussing potential support for a dedicated community centre and expanded language and vocational training with provincial officials as recently as 2026.

6. Why This History Matters for a Newcomer Today

PEI's relationship with Vietnamese immigration didn't start with the PNP, it started with church-sponsored refugee resettlement over 45 years ago. If you're arriving today through the PNP, you're joining a community with deep, if quiet, Island roots that long predate PEI's current immigration programs, and an association built specifically to help you the way earlier sponsors once helped the Truongs and Trans.