Canada is a Country of Immigrants
The first immigrants to Canada came from England and
France. They were called settlers. They lived in small
groups called colonies. Many of them were not used to
farming so the Aboriginal People showed them how to grow food
and how to travel in this new country, so rough compared to the lands they
had left.
Later on, some Americans called Loyalists moved into Canada because they
didn’t want to break away from Britain like some of their countrymen did.
Also, many Black Americans fled to our country to escape from slavery.
When the Potato Famine hit Ireland many families came to Canada to start
new lives because their potato crops had failed and they were starving.
The Chinese immigrants helped to build the railway to the west through the
Rocky Mountains.
Between 1867 and 1914, almost 3 million immigrants came to Canada.
In 1874, Steinbach was
settled by 18 Mennonite
families who came here from
Southern Russia. This was
the second migration of
Mennonites to Canada. The
first group came in 1786
from Eastern Pennsylvania.
By 1880, 24 families of
Irish, Scottish and Swedish descent had
settled in the Steinbach area.
By 1901, there were several hundred
German immigrants living in the
Friedensfeld area.
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The greatest number of immigrants arriving in Canada in one year was
400,000 in 1913. They came from Russia, Poland, Germany and the largest
group (150,000) came from the Ukraine. They came to Canada because their
parents and grandparents had heard of Canada and they decided to embark
on the great adventure of migrating to the new world.
When World War I broke out in 1914, Canada accepted only a few
immigrants.
Many immigrants worked on farms but others worked in mines, lumber camps
and factories. Those who agreed to work on farms were given free land.
They had to build their houses out of sod (soil held together
with grass and weeds).
From 1922 to 1930, the third and largest group of Mennonites
came from Russia. This movement brought over 20,000
Mennonites into Canada.
During the Depression of the 1930’s (a time when jobs were
scarce) Canada took in only a few immigrants. Among them
were some Jews who were being badly treated in Europe.
When World War II broke out in Europe, very few immigrants
were allowed to enter Canada.
From 1947 to 1952 the fourth wave of Mennonites immigrated
to Canada. They came from Russia and stopped in Germany for awhile
before coming to Canada.
Immigrants continued to come to Canada but they
settled mainly in Ontario, Quebec and British
Columbia. The government of Manitoba noticed
that the population of Manitoba was not growing.
They needed to do something to
bring more people to Manitoba so
that businesses, factories and
farms could grow and prosper.
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7,427
8,097
10,051
2005
2006
4,621
2002
2004
4,588
2001
6,492
4,644
2000
Family Class
Federal Economic Class
2003
3,711
1999
3,014
1998
10,000
9,000
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
Refugees
Provincial Nominees
In 1996 Manitoba introduced the Provincial Nominee Program. This program
allowed Manitoba to bring skilled workers from other countries faster than
usual.
By 2017, Manitoba hopes that
20,000 immigrants will settle in
the province each year.
(adapted from Immigration: Canada’s Mosaic, A. Anderson, 1999; Schools –
Our Heritage and Reflections on our Heritage; Labour and Immigration, MB)
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