Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
04 July 2011
Patterns of Immigrant Settlement
From Prairie farmers to city dwellers Canada
has absorbed huge numbers of immigrants
“The twentieth century belongs to Canada.”
Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier made that bold prediction as the new century began. Most observers agree that it was our neighbour to the south to whom the century belonged.
For Canada, though, an argument can be made that the twentieth century belonged to immigrants.
Between 1900 and 1999, 13,023,406 people came to Canada from other countries. At times, immigrants flooded in, at others, the flow was slowed to a trickle. One of the biggest boom periods was as the century began.
Library and Archives Canada
Canadian Illustrated News cover from 1880 encourages immigrants to “Come to Stay.”
Changes in Immigrant Numbers
The settlement of the Prairies and the expansion of Canadian industry caused a heavy demand for labour. Between 1900 and 1914, more than 2.9 million people settled in Canada, nearly four times as many as had arrived in the previous 14 years.
The low point for immigration came during World War II (1939-
After the war, there was a rapid increase in the number of people applying to settle in Canada, most trying to escape the shattered cities and economies of Europe.
Since then, the numbers of immigrants entering Canada has tended to rise and fall with the economy, usually in the range of 120,000 to 250,000 a year.
Genders and Source Countries Change
At the start of the century, male immigrants outnumbered females by a wide margin.
Look at the 1911 Census. Among immigrants there were 158 men for every 100 women;
the ratio among Canadian-
This imbalance gradually declined over the 20th century. By 2005, it had turned around; 51 percent of immigrants were female and 49 percent were male.
Just as the numbers and genders of immigrants have changed over time so too have the source countries.
At the start of the 20th century, most immigrants to Canada came either from the United States or the United Kingdom. After a couple of decades, the number of new Canadians from other European nations started to rise, peaking in the 1960s.
As recently as 1962, Canadian immigration policy -
Points System Introduced
In 1967, a points system for judging the acceptability of potential immigrants was introduced. The country of someone’s birth was not a determining factor.
During the 1970s, increasing numbers of Asians immigrated to Canada. Between 1991 to 1996, Asian countries were the source for 48 percent of the people settling in Canada.
By 2005, more than half of Canada’s immigrants came from Asia. In 2005, the top four source countries for immigrants were: China, India, the Philippines, and Pakistan.
According to Statistics Canada, “Among the more than 1.1 million recent immigrants who arrived between 2001 and 2006, 58.3% were born in Asian countries, including the Middle East.”
Where immigrants settle has also changed. During the 1930s and 1940s, new Canadians increasingly made their homes in urban areas.
By 1961, 81 percent of foreign-
Again, Statistics Canada reports that, “In 2006, 94.9% of Canada’s foreign-
Seven out of ten immigrants settle in either Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver.
Image credit
Steve Cornelius
Sources
“Immigration to Canada Hits Record High in 2010.” CTV News, February 14, 2011.”History of Canadian Immigration Policy.” Tobi McIntyre, Canadian Geographic, January/February 2001.
“Canadian Snapshot -
© Canada and the World, July 2011
All rights reserved
“Canada welcomed a record number of immigrants in 2010, according to a report by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. The report indicates that 280,636 new permanent residents were admitted — the highest reported number in over 50 years.”
Settlers arriving on the Prairies faced the immediate problem of providing shelter for themselves and their families. Not an easy task when traditional building materials such as wood and stone were very scarce.
But, there was plenty of deep-
Doors and windows could be fitted in, and the better quality soddies (as they were known) might have a wooden or metal roof.
These houses were cool in summer and warm in winter, but that’s where the comfort ended.
In heavy rain they leaked and they constantly needed repair. Also, the inhabitants had to get used to sharing their accommodation with insects.
1921 CENSUS
Total population:
8,787,949
Percentage of this
number born outside
Canada: 22%
Percentage of immigrants who had been in Canada for ten or more years:
82%
Percentage of immigrants born in the
United Kingdom:
52%
born in the U.S.:
19%
born in Russia:
5%
Number of immigrants who were born in China:
39,587
Percentage of these
who were women:
3%
Percentage of immigrants born outside the British Isles who were citizens:
58%
Number of people
identified as Japanese:
23,342
Percentage of these who were citizens:
33%
PICTURE BRIDES
Single Japanese and
Korean men living in
Canada used what was called the “Picture Bride” system.
Photographs
and letters would be
exchanged through
marriage brokers or
family members back home.
A fair bit of cheating went on, with men sending fake pictures to make them appear younger than they were. Women too were not above deception, using the system as a way out of prostitution.
The 1988 novel Picture Bride by Yoshiko Uchida describes the system.