A man drove through a crowded pedestrian zone during a Filipino cultural festival on Saturday.
Officials have arrested a suspect they said had a significant history of mental health issues, and said there was no evidence of terrorism in the attack that struck just before Monday's election to choose a prime minister.
The victims ranged in age from five to 65, officials said. Five-year-old Katie Le was killed with both her parents, Richard Le, 47, and Linh Hoang, 30, according to a Go Fund Me page that raised $US250,000 ($A390,800) for the family.
Also among the dead was Kira Salim, a teacher and counsellor at a middle school and secondary school, education officials said.
Nearly one million of Canada's 40 million people identify as being of Filipino ethnic origin, and more than 172,000 Filipino Canadians are in British Columbia, according to the 2021 census.
Their influence extends across Canada as caregivers. Many Filipinas have carved out their place in Canada by raising other people's children. Still others tend to the elderly, or have found careers as nurses or medical technicians.
"This is what we do best," said Christina, 58, a Filipina who attended a candlelight vigil for the victims and asked not to be identified by last name.
"We're just such a caring culture. We always say we're willing to give."
David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, acknowledged their role in comments on Canadian television on Sunday when he pledged to support them "just like they support us."
"It's their turn to get care from us," Eby said.
The provincial government has pledged that victims and their families will have access to support.
The truck-ramming came during a celebration honouring Datu Lapu-Lapu, the Filipino chieftain who defeated Spanish forces led by Ferdinand Magellan in the Battle of Mactan in 1521 and became a national hero.
Filipino Canadians see the government of British Columbia's 2023 official recognition of April 27 as Lapu-Lapu Day as acknowledgement of the cultural contributions of their community, one of the largest immigrant groups in the province.
"We've been here a really long time," said Jonathan Tee, 30, a second-generation Filipino born in Canada. "We don't need to earn a place here. We are here."
Some 75,000 people from the Philippines became permanent residents of Canada through the Live-in Caregiver Program between 1992 and 2014. The program offering a path to permanent residency has been modified since 2014.
Many immigrants from the Philippines are highly educated and over-qualified for the jobs available to them, according to a 2023 Canadian census report.
More than 40 per cent of Filipinos held a bachelor's degree or higher but were under-represented in jobs requiring such a degree, the report said.
The overqualification rate of 41.8 per cent was nearly double the rate of the Chinese population and was nearly three times the rate of 15.5 per cent among the total population, the report said.
