I think there's a difference between wanting to be around people with whom you share a culture and the kind of segregation we're talking about.
Like I said before, I can't explain it in a way that would make sense to someone who hasn't lived it, but Richmond feels a lot different than, say, Forsyth County, Georgia.
Also, a lot of these neighborhoods are built around religious institutions, no? I know that there is a neighborhood near Emory University in Georgia that to this day is predominately Jewish, mainly because a lot of Jews in that neighborhood observe the sabbath very seriously, and thus, they can't simply get in their cars and drive to the Synagogue. Businesses that cater to these populations spring up. Families live there generation after generation, not because they
have to, nor because they don't feel welcome anywhere else, but because they're accustomed to it. It's
tradition.
Maybe these neighborhoods sprung up because they weren't allowed to live anywhere else in Canadian cities. In that respect, it is similar to what happened in American cities from coast to coast. But you're overlooking one thing -- you and your family lived in that neighborhood, and I'm guessing you lived there without incident -- please correct me if I'm wrong.
I know that Canada isn't perfect. But it feels a lot closer to perfect than where I came from.
(Stupid Movie Central and their Mountain time zones. I missed Six Feet Under! 
)