The “Great” Canadian Dream Immigration and the Settling of the West

Canada’s Immigration Policies  Canada’s first immigration act was established in 1869 as an “open door” policy  Very few restrictions on who could enter Canada  Only rejected criminals & people who couldn’t support themselves  Act set limits to avoid overcrowding on ships, and set up rules to report onboard sickness

 Immigration Act of 1906, by Frank Oliver  Defined the meaning of the term immigrant and barred many from entering Canada  Increased governments power to deport (especially those with illness)  Increased the amount of “landing money” required to have when they arrived  Amendment of 1908 “Continuous Journey”  Had to travel to Canada without stopping from their country of origin (no ships offered this service from India so those immigrants were stopped)

 Immigration Act of 1910  Gave authority to exclude immigrants belonging to any race unsuited to the climate or requirements of Canada

The “Last Best West”

 Nearly all immigration between ’s in North America was to the US.  Nobody wanted to come to the barren, unpopulated land of Canada.  Those who did come to Canada usually left for the US because of lack of work, or the harsh climate.  Between , the Canadian government encouraged people to come and settle in the West.  During these years the prairie population increased dramatically, and Clifford Sifton become the new Minister of the Interior in charge of immigration.

 The “Last Best West” was the slogan used to attract people to Canada West to settle down as homesteaders and settlers.  With the end of the depression, there was a demand for wheat around the world.  Sifton was a westerner, and was dedicated to populating the prairies.

 Sifton brought controversy when he encourage immigrants from the grasslands of eastern and central Europe.  They understood dryland farming methods.  Sifton had created an open-door policy, and he defended it.  Sifton stated that “a stalwart peasant in a sheep skin coat, born of the soil, whose forefathers had been farmers for ten generations, … is good quality.”

 The settlers who come to the prairies were a much more diverse group as a result of Sifton’s open-door policy.  Ukrainians, Russians, Czechs, Hungarians, Poles, Rumanians, Austrians, etc.  British Settlers still made up 1/3 of all the immigrants.  Many actually failed as farmers because of having no background in it.  Many of the American settlers who come north of the border Assimilated into Canadian culture easily.  They made great farmers, and were quite successful at it.

The “Push-Pull” Factors of Immigration  Between the population of Canada almost doubled.  60% of the immigrant who come to Canada settled in the West.  Canadian immigration succeeded because of “push-pull” factors.  1. A need to leave one’s homeland (push).  2. The lure of opportunity in another country (pull).  Americans, British, Europeans, and Asians come as a result of the pull factor.  Poor eastern and central Europeans come as a result of the push factor.  The pull factor still did play a part.  Ukrainians come because of repeated crop failure, starvation, and over population.

 Push-pull factor often worked together, and not always independent of each other.  i.e. Doukhobors, a group of Russians who come to escape military service because it was against their religion, and they were in search of free land.  1899, 7000 had settled in Saskatchewan.

Adjusting to Life on the Prairies  Once arriving on the prairies, homesteaders had to prepare for their new lives.  First was raising $500 to buy a plough, a wagon, horses, and a milk cow.  Many worked in the lumber industry, railway, mining camps, or other peoples farms to raise the money they needed to start.  Many lived in primitive conditions on their new homesteads.  Comfort was not a concern.  Mud covered sod houses was the norm.  Known as “soddie”.  Made from thatched roofs, open windows covered with sacks, sod like bricks, and a wood frame.  Usually they were infested with flies and fleas, and smelt during the hot prairies summers with leaks during the rainy season.

 Adjusting was tough.  Winters were cold, and the diet of the homesteaders was very monotonous.  Natural disasters like hail, drought, and grasshopper infestation made things difficult.  Most immigrants to the prairies succeeded despite the conditions.  After a few years the soddies would be replaced with a more substantial home, and with more settlers come better roads and infrastructure to get to the towns and markets.

Newcomers in the Cities  Between , the population of the prairies increased by approx. 1.5 million.  The increase effected the entire country.  1/3 of all the immigrants that landed in Canada during this time frame chose the cities as their place to settle.  The developments in industry encouraged rural Canadians to move to the cites to live a more urban lifestyle.  Montreal and Toronto doubled in size.  1914, the urban population was almost 50% of the total population.  Only four cities in Canada had populations that exceeded 100,000  Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver.

 Many immigrants coming to the cities could speak little English.  Many were pushed into unsafe, low-paying factory jobs.  A lot of the immigrants lived in ghettos.  Lots lived in crowded two room buildings with little heat, fresh air, or water.  Disease was common because of the poor living conditions.

 Most people found work as unskilled labourers.  Pay was $10-$15 a week, working hour days, and six days a week.  The working conditions were usually poor.  Job security did not exist.  Most incomes were spent on housing and food.  People did not have a lot of extra money to spend  Lots of families had children that worked to help out, which in turn resulted in no education for them and neglect from the parents because of the long working hours.

 At this time the government did not feel responsible for the poor, or any type of social welfare programs.  The poor relied on each other, and charitable organizations for help.