a substantial expansion of buddhism in canada began in the last half of the 20th century. changes in canadian immigration and refugee policies corresponded to increasing communities from sri lanka, japan, and southeast asian nations with buddhist traditions. in addition, the popularity and goodwill ushered in by tibet's dalai lama (who has been made an honorary canadian citizen) put buddhism in a favourable light. many non-asian canadians (namgyal rinpoche, glenn h. mullin, and richard barron for instance) have embraced buddhism in various traditions and some have become leaders in their respective sanghas.