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Jan 1, 1002
Vikings
The first immigrants who settled in Canada for only a short amount of time on the Northern tip of the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland & Labrador were the vikings. They built at least one settlement there, the remains of which can still be seen at L'Anse aux Meadows. -
Period: Jan 1, 1002 to
Early Immigration
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Jan 1, 1502
Europeans
500 years later the Europeans came to the shores of Canada. These people came from England, France, Denmark, Norway, and Portugal, Spain & Italy as well as outher countries. England and France claimed parts of the continent as their own. -
French Settlers
French settlers came with Samuel de Champlain to build the first permanent settlement in Canada at Port-Royal, Nova Scotia in 1606. These Settlers than became known as the Acadians. -
French Settlers
Samuel de Champlain founded a settlement at Quebec on a high bluff overlooking the St. Lawrence River. This river became the main highway of New France. The first farms were ploughed along the shores of the St. Lawrence by 1628. -
Germans
Germans were among the early immigrants to Canada. A group of 312 German settlers arrived in Halifax in 1750 and more came within the next three years. Approx 1450 German immigrants settled in and around Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in 1753, where they quickly adapted to a seafaring lifestyle. Many of the schools and churches that were built by these poeple are still standing in Nova Scotia today. -
Brittish Immigrants
British Immigrants refers to the people who came to Canada from England, Scotland, Wales & Ireland. The main stream of these immigrants came to Canada after the British conquest in 1760. The British government encouraged immigration to Canada hoping that the english settlers would soon outnumber the French. By 1770 there were still only about 600 English speaking immigrants in Canada, many of these were British soldiers who had recieved grants of land in Canada after their service was over. -
British Immigrants
Americans who had fought on the side of the British during the Revolution were called Loyalists, because they opposed the Revolution and remained loyal to Brittain. About 40 000 of theese Loyalists settled in Nova Scotia and Quebec. This resulted in the formation of two new colonies, New Brunswick & Upper Canada. -
The Great Migrations
The years between 1815 & 1869 brought a large wave of immigrants to Canada. These poeple came to Canada because of major economic changes in European countries which left many people destitute. They had no choice but to leave their land in order to survive.
A popular idea at the time was to send the poor poeple of Brittain to Canada. Among these were the Scotish highland farmers who had been turned off their farms by their landlords who saw a greater profit in raising sheep. -
Irish Immigrants
The greatest number of immigrants were the Irish who were driven from their homeland by povery and hunger after the great potato crop failure. After 1828 and especially during 1845-49, the potato crop in Ireland was destroyed by disease and the Irish immigrants flocked to Canada. Because of the outbreak of Cholera, many of the Irish immigrants were confined to quarantine stations. It was reported 17 000 of the 100 000 immigrants died at sea of cholera. -
1870-1900
Between 1870 a little over one million immigrants came to Canada. Many of these were just passing through, lured by the promise of free land in time western United States. There was very little land left in Central Canada, but there were millions of acres waiting in western Canada. -
1870-1900
The land in the west was not a promising destination for European immigrants because the land was to dry for farming and the winters were long and cold. When the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed it brought more settlers to Northern Saskatchewan & British Columbia. -
1870-1900
Clifford Sifton stepped up the advertising campaing to increase immigration to the west. To do this he put up signes & handed out panflits.
The results of the campaign brought a number of immigrants from all over Canada such as, Great Brittain, the United States, Germany, France, Norway & Sweeden.
