By Lise Demers
Lester B. Pearson School Board
CANADA
Nation of immigrants
** Canada’s history is a story of immigration. From
the aboriginal people to today’s immigrants, many
different groups of people have come and left their
mark on this land. Here is a brief history of
immigration to Canada.
FIRST PEOPLE – Canada’s first people crossed the
Bering Straight from Asia about 25,000 years ago.
They settled in all parts of Canada, and developed
many different cultures and societies.
1500–
1500–1760 – The first Europeans arrived in the
1500s. They came to fish and trade for furs with
the Native people. In the 1600s, some Europeans
settled here permanently. Many of these
immigrants were from France. They settled in
Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. By 1760,
Canada’s French population was 64,000.
17831783-84 – Forty thousand United Empire Loyalists
came to Canada from the United States. They were
refugees from the War of Independence between
the United States and England. The Loyalists
supported England. When England lost the war,
they had to move to Canada. They settled in Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and southern
Ontario.
18201820-1860 – About 100,000 Irish Immigrants
came to Canada. Ireland was very poor, and there
was little food to eat. The Irish came here to start a
new life. Many worked as labourers in the cities,
and in lumber and railway camps.
18401840-1860 – About 30,000 Blacks came to
Canada. They were slaves running away from the
United States. They came to Canada for freedom.
They settled mostly in Nova Scotia and Ontario.
Native people came here
250,000 years ago.
1600s: French settlers
arrived.
1783-84: 40,000 British Loyalists moved here
1820-1860: 100,000 came
from Ireland. Many died on
crowded ships.
1840-1860 : Thousands of Blacks
fled the U.S.A. Harriet Tubman
(left) helped many escape.
PRACTICE PAGE
A.
TRUE OR FALSE?
KEY WORDS
Write T (true) or F (false) in the blank.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Canada’s first people came from Asia.
They settled only in northern Canada.
There were many different aboriginal cultures.
The first Europeans arrived in the 1700s.
They came to fight with the Native people.
Many of the first European settlers were French.
They settled in Ontario.
The United Empire Loyalists came from the U.S.
They were refugees from the War of Independence.
Ireland was a rich country.
Many Irish immigrants worked as labourers.
In the 1800s, Blacks had a good life in the U.S.
About 30,000 Blacks came to Canada for freedom.
British
Europeans
freedom
French
furs
history
immigrants
labourers
nation
settled
trade
war
C.
B.
WHAT’S THE QUESTION
On a separate piece of paper, write a question for each of these
sentences.
1. Where?
Where Canada’s first people came here from Asia. Where
did Canada’s first people come from?
2.
When?
When The first Europeans arrived in the 1500s.
3.
Why?
Why They came here to fish and trade.
4.
Where?
Where The first European settlers were from France.
5.
Where?
Where The Loyalists came here from the United States.
6.
What Country? The Loyalists supported England.
7.
How many?
many About 100,000 Irish immigrants came here.
8.
Where?
Where They worked in lumber and railway camps.
9.
Why? Thirty thousand Blacks came here for freedom.
10.
Where?
Where They settled in Nova Scotia and Ontario.
DEFINITIONS
Match each key word with one of
the definitions below.
1.
record of past events
2.
animal skins
3.
Exchange;buy and sell
4.
fight between countries or
groups of people
5.
Unskilled workers
6.
Liberty: being free
7.
Independent country
8.
Established a new home
9.
People who come from
another country to live here
permanently
10.
People from Europe
11.
People of Britain
12.
People of France
CANADA
Nation of immigrants
1867–
Canada
became
an
1867-1890s
independent country in 1867. For the next 30
years, about 1.5 million immigrants came
here. Most of them came from England,
Scotland, Ireland and the United States.
881881-1885 – ore than 15,000 Chinese men
arrived in British Columbia. They came to build
the Canadian Pacific Railway. In the late
1800s, Japanese and East Indians also
immigrated to Canada’s Pacific coast.
18961896-1914 – Three million immigrants arrived
in Canada. The government invited people to
settle Canada’s West. Most of the immigrants
were from Britain, Europe, and the U.S.A. About
170,000 were Ukrainian. Many of the
Ukrainians were farmers who settled in the
Prairie provinces.
1881-85: 15,000 Chinese railway workers.
1896-1914: 3 million immigrants arrived.
19151915-1945 – About two million people
immigrated to Canada, mostly from Europe. In
1941, about 50% of Canada’s population was
of British origin; 30% was French; and 20% had
other origins, mostly European.
After
After 1945 – Immigrants and refugees from
many different countries made Canada their
new home. In the 1950s, many people arrived
from Britain, Germany, Hungary, and the
Netherlands. In the 1960s, there was a wave of
Italian immigrants, as well as newcomers from
Portugal, Greece, and Hong Kong. During the
1970s and 1980s many people came here
from the West Indies, Asia, and South America.
From 1991 to 1996, the majority of
immigrants came from Asia and the Middle
East.
Today, Canada is truly a multicultural country.
Canadians have many different ethnic origins
and come from every part of the world.
1956-58: 37,000 Hungarian refugees.
Today: Canada is a multicultural society.