year's census. Between 1996 and 2011, the number of Hong Kong-born Canadians dropped as many Hong Kong-Canadians chose to return to Hong Kong during the 2000s. From 2011 to 2016, the number of Hong Kong-born Canadians residing in Canada increased again. In 2006, among the 790,035 speakers of any of the varieties of Chinese, 300,590 were speakers of Cantonese. According to 2001 statistics, 44% of the Cantonese speakers were born in Hong Kong, 27% were born in Guangdong, the Chinese province where most Hongkongers have their ancestral roots, and 18% were Canadian-born. Among the Cantonese speakers who were born in Guangdong, a large percentage are Hong Kong immigrants. This community, along with the Canadians living in Hong Kong, plays a dynamic role in building vibrant bilateral relations between Canada and Hong Kong. Canadians expatriates in Hong Kong Hong Kong boasts the second-largest community of Canadians living abroad, second only to Canadians residing in the United States. There were approximately 300,000 Canadians living in Hong Kong in 2011. A number of these Canadian expatriates originated from the Hongkongers who migrated to Canada prior to the handover of the territory. A number of Hongkongers eventually returned to the territory after acquiring Canadian citizenship. But many more have opted to return to Canada following the imposition of the Hong Kong national security law. A 2011 report from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, found that the majority of Canadians living in Hong Kong have only resided in Canada for four or five years. However, seven in 10 Canadians living in Hong Kong have family living in Canada; with more than 60 per cent of Canadians living in the territory stating they have plans to return to Canada at some point in the future. The same study also found that 46 per cent of Canadians living in Hong Kong considered Canada their home "sometimes" or "all the time," while 37 per cent of Hong Kong-born Canadians stated they would "never" consider Canada home. Canada's presence in Hong Kong is also reflected by the presence of Hong Kong-Canadian associations, such as the Chinese Canadian Association, established in 1989 and the Canadian University Association, which now acts as an umbrella group for some twenty Canadian university alumni associations active in Hong Kong today. See also Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong East Asian Canadians History of Chinese immigration to Canada List of Chinese Canadians Notes