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Period: to
Early mass immigration to British North America
An estimated 447 616 Irish emigrate to British North America in this period. This is due to several ongoing issues in crowding and reliance on potato harvests. A series of 14 crop failings in the period from 1816-42 lead to starvation and disease in Ireland which caused mass emigration to British North America, Britain, and any other European state which would accept them. -
Period: to
Irish as the largest ethnic group in English Canada
As an example, in 1871 a Canadian population census showed that 24.3% of all Canadians were of Irish ethnicity. -
The Beginning of Irelands 'Great Famine'
The Great Famine in Ireland resulted in the mass death of over a million Irish citizens in a period of around 4 years (1845-49). In the period of 1845-54, around 1.5-2 million Irish emigrated out of Ireland, with an estimated 328 947 escaping to British North America. Many of these migrants would arrive in the cheaper British North American ports but would later emigrate to the US, a trend that remained into the 20th century. -
All time high for Irish immigration (1840-1849)
Highest rate of Irish immigration within Irish immigration data provided (+328 947). ([Image Caption] Rising Trend - Original Image) -
Period: to
Post-Famine Migration
Immigration during this time was way less than it had been previous periods with an estimated 56 582 Irish immigrants arriving in British North America/Canada. This could be due to the fact that the population in Ireland had been halved since the Great Famine, and that most who wanted to escape famine conditions had already done so by this period. -
Canada gains confederacy
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Period: to
Irish immigration drop in Post-Confederation Canada
In this 30 year period immigration from Ireland dropped considerably, with only around 82 851 immigrants arriving in Canada. This could be due to Irish immigrants preferring the United States as a result of cheaper naval fares and Irish Catholics avoiding the prospect of living under a British flag. Additionally, Canada was undergoing a tough economic recession from 1873-96 which further discouraged emigration to Canada. -
All time low for Irish immigration (1890-1899)
Lowest rate of Irish immigration within the data provided (+11 390). ([Image Caption] Down Trend - Original Image) -
Period: to
Canadian immigration boom
in this 30 year period Canada received almost three times the amount of immigrants as it had the previous 30 years. In this period Canada received an estimated 4 523 478 immigrants from around the globe. Irish immigration did not substantially grow with the exception of the 1920-29 period which started to include Irish immigrants who moved from the US to Canada. This could also be due to the ending of Canada's recession and the influx of immigration to Canada's inner provinces. -
Start of World War I
The beginning of World War I halted immigration to Canada, and overall immigration had dropped to less than 34 000 in the year 1915. Post-war the high immigration numbers rebounded back but were not as high as they had been in the previous decade. Despite this, Irish immigration still remained strong in the 1910's with 43 249 Irish immigrants making it into Canada. -
Start of The Great Depression
The Great Depression launched Canada into a decade of economic collapse. This resulted in a large drop in immigration and was the first and only time that emigration out of Canada surpassed immigration into Canada. As the numbers show, only 252 044 immigrants entered Canada in this 10 year span, with only 19 914 of those being Irish. This is compared to the previous three decades which had from 1.0-1.5 million more immigrants from around the globe and 2000 to 25 000 more Irish immiants. -
Start of World War II
Similar to the First World War, World War II halted immigration into Canada. Once the war ended in 1945, Canada saw an immigration boom that lasted into the 1970's. The mixed immigration patterns in the 1940's created a slight rise in immigration compared to the 1930's with 428 733 global immigrants arriving. Of these, 24 185 (or 5.6%) were Irish. -
Period: to
Post-war immigration boom
This period saw a large influx of immigration due to a number of factors, these include: the displacement of people from war or political upheaval, weak European economy, and new immigrations policies set forth by the MacKenzie King Government which encouraged immigration while also creating further vetting processes for who could immigrate. As a result, Irish immigration saw a substantial boost in this from the 1950-78 period with 116 328 Irish immigrants (about 2.6% of total immigration). -
Dispersion of Irish immigrants across Canada by 1961
Atlantic Provinces: 271 060 (15.4%)
Quebec: 129 326 (7.4%)
Ontario: 873 647 (49.8%)
Prairies: 310 961 (17.7%)
British Columbia: 165 631 (9.5%)
Northern Territories: 2 726 (0.2%) -
Irish immigration figures unavailable after 1978