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From 1867 to 1914,
the Canadian West opened for mass settlement, and became home to
millions of immigrant settlers seeking a new life. This immigration
boom created key industries still important to Canada’s
international role – like agriculture, mining, and oil. The Prairie
Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta grew rapidly in
these years as settlers began to transform the barren prairie
flatland and establish unique cultural settlements. Many motivations
brought immigrants to Canada: greater economic opportunity and
improved quality of life, an escape from oppression and persecution,
and opportunities and adventures presented to desirable immigrant
groups by Canadian immigration agencies. By examining these
motivations, an understanding of Prairie immigration experiences and
settlement patterns evolves in interesting ways.
The immigration boom leading up to 1914 was one of the most
important periods of Canadian population growth. Significant changes
occurred in Canada after 1867 that made the Prairie immigration boom
possible: the construction of a transcontinental railroad made
transportation and travel accessible; the Dominion Lands Act of 1872
created free and fertile homesteads for settlers; the establishment
of the North-West Mounted Police in 1873 guaranteed the safety of
Prairie residents; and the creation of the Department of the
Interior in 1873 attracted hard-working immigrants to the region.
While the period after 1867 saw a rise in international immigration,
the movement did not fully take off until 1896. After a tough
economic recession from 1873 to 1896, Canada thirsted for settlers.
With the help of Sir Clifford Sifton, Minister of the Interior from
1896 to 1905, immigrants began to find their way to the Canadian
Prairies. Sifton is known for promoting the immigration of
non-traditional immigrants to Canada. Sifton strongly believed that
sturdy European immigrants were the best settlers for the
challenging Prairies, because of their familiarity with agriculture,
rural lifestyles, and harsh climates. He is best known for his
statement that “a stalwart peasant in a sheep-skin coat, born on the
soil, whose forefathers have been farmers for ten generations, with
a stout wife and a half dozen children, is a good quality.” Sifton
disliked the idea of urban populations settling the Prairies, for
they would congregate in cities, instead of developing Prairie
homesteads. Instead, he promoted the immigration of groups like the
Ukrainians, Hungarians, and Mennonites over the more ethnically
“desirable” British immigrants.
Thanks to intensive advertising and international immigration
agencies after 1867, foreign populations began to settle the
Prairies. These immigrants fostered distinct ethno-cultural pockets
and diverse industries in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The
population in the West exploded; Winnipeg grew from a city of 20,000
in 1886, to 150,000 in 1911.
Thousands of diverse immigrants came to Canada between 1867 and 1914
for different reasons. For the thousands of immigrants who were
inspired to emigrate in search of greater economic opportunities and
improved quality of life, the Canadian West presented seemingly
infinite possibilities. This category of immigrants encompassed
populations of Hungarians, French, Icelanders, Romanians, Chinese,
and Ukrainians.
Economic and social situations in Europe were increasingly
challenging in the mid to late 1800s. During this time, Europe’s
population was growing at an unprecedented rate and death rates were
decreasing, leading to a population surplus. This resulted in work
shortages and competition for resources. Political tensions in
Europe also ran high in the late 1800s, as empires reorganized and
borders shifted.
For Hungarians, Romanians, and Ukrainians, overpopulation and
unemployment definitely prompted their migration to the Canadian
West. These “Sifton” immigrants were hearty European farmers,
well-known for their ability to survive harsh climates. After
decades
of landless tenant occupation on tiny farms in Europe, free 160 acre
homesteads in the Canadian West appealed to these poor eastern
European agriculturalists. Hungarians left Austria-Hungary after
neglect from the government, and while many came to Canada, most
moved to the United States. Romanians and Ukrainians however,
favoured settlement in Canada, and moved in large numbers to Western
Canada.
Romanians began arriving in 1895, and like many other “Sifton”
immigrants, the Prairies were their first and ultimately permanent
home. Over 8,000 Romanians not only succeeded agriculturally, but
also possessed trade labour skills, making them valuable Prairi e
immigrants. Ukrainians were also an immigrant group valued for their
skills. Between 1896 and 1914, an estimated 170,000 Ukrainians came
to Western Canada and arranged in block settlements. Block
settlements were compact settlements populated by a specific ethnic
group, which created a patchwork of cultural zones on the Prairies.
Though agricultural backwardness had hindered Ukrainian communities
in Europe, it actually helped Ukrainian-Canadian populations succeed
on the Prairies, where the lack of agricultural development required
knowledge of pioneer farming techniques.
Canada represented a second chance for many immigrants. For the
French, Icelanders, and Chinese, unfavourable environmental
conditions added to their desire to relocate. The French had lived
in other areas of North America before moving to the Canadian West.
French migration to the Prairies came from eastern Canada, as well
as New England, and the western United States. French populations
favoured settlement in Manitoba, where distinct French communities
had already been established by French fur traders and the Métis,
well before Confederation.
While overpopulation, underemployment, and poor treatment of rural
farmers were the primary motivations for immigrants coming from
Iceland and China, these groups were also pushed to emigrate by
unique environmental conditions. Approximately 16,800 Icelanders
left for North America between 1871 and 1915, the majority of whom
came to settle in block settlements in Manitoba. Most of these
immigrants came from the agriculturally depressed region of
northeast Iceland, which was further affected by a number of
detrimental volcanic eruptions in the 1870s that caused remaining
arable land to be covered in debris.
The Chinese experienced a similar fate. Over 15,000 Chinese
immigrants came from China and the United States to help construct
the Canadian Pacific Railway during the 1880s. The majority of these
Chinese immigrants originated from Taishan, in Guangdong province,
which had been repeatedly ravaged with floods, earthquakes, plagues,
typhoons, droughts, and civil wars during the late 1800s. The
Chinese, like the Icelanders, saw Canada as a refuge with ample
opportunities for a better life.
The opportunity for a better life in Canada was also sought after by
many “undesirable” immigrant groups, who took advantage of the
Sifton period of liberalized immigration to escape their plight in
the homeland. Survival and freedom were the motivations of oppressed
and persecuted populations like the American Blacks, Doukhobors,
Jews, Mennonites, and Mormons. For them, the Canadian Prairies
represented a safe place to resettle.
The Blacks and Mormons, both American-based populations, came to
Western Canada to escape the discrimination they faced in the United
States. After restrictive acts were imposed on Blacks in Oklahoma in
1907, a group of 1500 Blacks fled to Canada, settling in Amber
Valley, Alberta in 1910 and 1911. Despite this movement, the
population of Blacks on the Prairies was never as large as other
groups, as Black populations were sometimes barred entry, or tended
to move into other urban areas in Canada.
Mormonism was born in the United States in the 1830s, and faced
major backlash from conservative Americans. The practice of polygamy
in Mormon communities was met with serious distaste by the majority
population, and the American government passed laws to prohibit
polygamy. Threatened by imprisonment and persecution, thousands of
Mormons moved to southern Alberta in the 1880s, creating a thriving
Mormon population of 7,000 by 1910. Mormons enjoyed increased
freedoms in Canada; although polygamy was not officially legal, the
persecution and imprisonment of Mormons because of polygamy ended
when they came to Canada.
In Europe, as in the United States, governments were making
restrictive laws which prohibited many groups from living free and
happy lives. For the Jews, Mennonites, and Doukhobors, life in
Europe became increasingly difficult towards the end of the
nineteenth century.
Most Jews did not have strong agricultural skills to qualify them as
desirable immigrants, but they came to the Prairies in large numbers
nonetheless. After numerous failed rural settlements, the majority
of Jews in Western Canada settled in cities. Winnipeg in particular,
became a thriving Jewish community in the early 1900s, where many
successful Jewish businesses emerged. Still today, Winnipeg
continues to be a centre for Jewish-Canadian life and culture.
When the Russian government imposed intense Russification in the
late 1800s, Doukhobors and Mennonites experienced major violations
of their cultural and religious rights. These peoples were
imprisoned and banished for resistance to Russification and refusal
to participate in the military. After their immigration to Canada,
Doukhobors in Saskatchewan and Mennonites in Manitoba became some of
the most successful Prairie farmers. The social impacts of these
groups in Canada are also substantial; both Doukhobors and
Mennonites introduced communal lifestyles and the practice of shared
communal goods to the Prairies. Currently, the population of
Doukhobors in Canada is twice that which remains in Europe, and
Mennonites continue to be a dominant ethno-cultural group in
Manitoba.
Even though negative motivations pushed many immigrant groups away
from their homelands, some groups came to Canada for positive
opportunities and adventures presented to them by Canadian
immigration agencies. Advertisements for the Canadian West were
distributed in different European countries, and the recruitment of
ethnically desirable immigrants by Canadian immigration agents
flourished. The most ethnically and culturally desirable immigrants
to Canada between 1867 and 1914 – though not all the most productive
Prairie farmers – were the British, Belgians, Americans, Poles,
Dutch, German, Finns, and Scandinavians.
While some of these “desirables” did become successful rural
farmers, like the Americans, Dutch, Germans, Poles and
Scandinavians, the Belgians and British and did not experience
success agriculturally. Belgians were a unique settler group;
despite
cultural differences and mediocre agricultural skills, they were
considered desirable immigrants by Canadian immigration agents. Many
Belgians spoke French, and as a result, settled in French areas of
Manitoba, where they practiced a diversity of agricultural, skilled,
unskilled, and resource labour.
Despite their limited contribution to a skilled agricultural or
trades-related workforce, the British were the most numerous and
ethnically desirable immigrants to Canada. As Canada remained
heavily influence by England in the twentieth century, British
immigrants (predominantly from Scotland and England after 1867)
helped maintain the dominant white Anglo-Saxon presence in Canada.
The failure of British settlers to prosper in rural landscapes meant
that they tended to congregate in urban centres, where they added to
the unskilled workforce. During the Sifton era, immigration had
shifted away from the British, but as new ministers took power after
1905, the desire to preserve and protect Canada’s “British-ness”
re-emerged.
Though British immigrants displayed a general ineptitude on rural
farming enterprises, many other desirable immigrant groups succeeded
in Prairie agriculture. The Americans, Poles, Dutch, Germans, Finns,
and Scandinavians all proved to be prosperous settlers.
Interestingly, most of these groups get muddled in the “American”
immigrant category, for these peoples often tried their luck in the
American West before moving northward and settling permanently in
Canada. Like the French, these groups encountered high land costs
and overdevelopment in the American West, spurring their movements
to Canada.
These groups were highly desirable settlers to Canadian immigration
agencies: they were familiar with the Prairie climate and land
conditions from experience in the American West, they were
ethnically pleasing immigrants with physical similarities to the
Brits, they were accustomed to democratic institutions, and while
displaying high rates of cultural retention, they did not practice
“questionable” customs (like communal living or polygamy) like some
other immigrant groups.
Like the Dutch and the Germans, many Poles that settled in Western
Canada came from agricultural backgrounds and were familiar with a
harsher climate. Though Poles came in considerably larger numbers
after the First World War, they still had a strong presence in the
Prairies during the turn of the century. By 1911, there were over
30,000 Poles in Canada, many of whom were farmers in the West.
The Dutch and Germans were two of the most desirable Prairie settler
groups in Canadian history. They were praised for their agricultural
prowess and hearty work ethics. Both the Germans and Dutch
established strong ethnic block settlements in the West. The Germans
flocked mainly to Saskatchewan, and established two large colonies
in the early 1900s. Germans from the United States settled in St.
Peter’s colony, comprised of fifty townships, which had 7,000 people
in 1914. European Germans favoured St. Joseph’s colony, comprised of
seventy-seven townships, where the 1916 population hovered around
11,000.
The ability of the clean and sober Dutch to assimilate gracefully
into the dominant culture made them favourable immigrants. Many
Dutch immigrants already spoke English, from years in the United
States, making them even more desirable in the eyes of the Canadian
government. The Dutch settled predominantly in Alberta, where a
large population still thrives.
Northern European groups shared similar languages, physical
resemblances, and cultural identities, and were therefore typically
categorized as Scandinavians. Scandinavians came in their largest
numbers between 1880 and 1900, mostly from the United States. In
fact, only 6,000 of the 40,000 Swedes to the Prairies between 1893
and 1914 travelled directly from Sweden. Scandinavians favoured
block settlement, which helped preserve their culture and languages.
About 20,000 Finnish immigrants came to the Prairies, and favoured
settlement in Saskatchewan. Danish populations favoured Alberta,
where one in every two Danes settled in Dickson, Alberta.[14] Nearly
20,000 Norwegians came to Alberta and Saskatchewan, and about 40,000
Swedes created block settlements in Erickson, Manitoba and rural
Saskatchewan.
Immigration to the Prairies between 1867 and 1914 diversified the
land by building a solid agricultural and resource-based economy in
the West, and by establishing a web of unique cultures with a
lasting presence in the Prairies today. Though different motivations
brought immigrants to the Prairies, they stayed because of
opportunities and prosperity found through settlement. The boom
period of immigration between 1867 and 1914 had a major impact on
the development of the Prairies, and has permanently shaped Canada’s
society, economy, and culture.
Notable Immigrant Settlements in the Prairies
Belgians
St. Alphonse, MB (1882, first Belgian settlement)
St. Boniface, MB (pre-Confederation, one of the first Belgian
settlements on the Prairies)
Blacks
Amber Valley, AB (1910-11, largest black community in Alberta)
Eldon, SK (early 1900s, largest black community in Saskatchewan)
British
Lloydminster, AB (1903, formerly Britannia Colony/Barr Colony)
Cannington Manor, SK (1882)
(Scottish)
Selkirk Settlement, MB (pre-Confederation, also known as Red River
colony)
(Irish)
Carberry, MB
Kilarney, MB
Chinese
Winnipeg, MB (1880s)
Calgary, AB (1880s)
Doukhobors
Verigin, SK (1899, Verigin district includes Runnymede, Coté,
Kamsack, Mikado, Canora)
Kamsack-Canora colonies, SK
Dutch
Granum, AB (1903, formerly Leavings, AB)
Nobleford, AB
Neerlandia, AB
Finnish
New Finland, SK (1888)
Red Deer, AB
French
St. Albert colony, AB (1874, includes Legal, Morinville, Ray,
Hazelwood, Picardville)
Ste. Rose colony, MB (includes Sainte-Rose du Lac, MB)
St. Boniface, MB (pre-Confederation French settlement)
Germans
St. Peter’s Colony, SK (1902, 50 townships, including Humboldt,
Annaheim, Muenster, Lake
Lenore, Englefeld, St. Gregor, Carmel, Bruno, Daylesford)
St. Joseph’s Colony, SK (1907, 77 townships, including Kerrobert,
Wilkie, Scott, Unity,
Biggar, Macklin, Trampling Lake)
Edenwold, SK (second oldest German settlement in Saskatchwan)
Leduc, AB (largest area of German settlement in AB)
Wetaskiwin, AB
Hungarians
Esterhazy, SK (1885, Esterhaz-Kaposvar colony)
Minnedosa, MB (1885)
Hutterites
James Valley colony, MB (1918)
Waterton, AB
Icelanders
Gimli, MB (1875, formerly the Republic of New Iceland)
Markerville, AB (1888-89, first Icelandic settlement in Alberta)
Thingvalla, SK
Jews
Winnipeg, MB (1880s)
Bender Hamlet, MB (1880s)
New Jerusalem, SK (1884)
Mennonites
Gretna, MB (1881, first grain elevator on the Prairies))
East Reserve, MB (1874-75, 8 townships)
West Reserve, MB (1874-75, 17 townships, including Reinland,
Chortitz, Bergthal,
Halbstadt, Blumenort, Neuhoffung, Hoffnungsfeld)
Rosthern, SK (1902)
Mormon
Cardston, AB (1887, first Mormon settlement on the Prairies)
Raymond, AB (1903, first sugar beet factory on the Prairies)
Polish
Rabbit Hill, AB (1897)
Skaro, AB (1897)
Round Hill, AB (1899)
Springfield, MB
Lac du Bonnet, MB
St. Michael, AB (1905)
Romanian
Vegreville, AB (1895)
Scandinavian
Minnedosa, MB (1886)
Canwood-Polworth district, SK
(Danes)
Nokomis, SK
Dickson, AB (1903, oldest and most populous Danish settlement on the
Prairies)
(Norwegian)
Calgary, AB (Bow River area)
Wetaskiwin, AB
Macoun, SK
(Swedes)
Erickson, MB (1885, establishment of New Sweden, also called
Scandinavia, MB)
New Stockholm, SK (1886)
Wadena district, SK (1904)
Norquay, SK (1905)
Wetaskiwin, AB
Ukrainians
Edna-Star colony, AB (1892)
Interlake, MB (1898, first Ukrainian school district on the
Prairies)
Gilbert Plains, MB (1902)
Wakaw, SK |
