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Or were the waves separate? I hear Canada had more Eastern European settlers filling the same roles, but do the Germans in Canada come from a similar wave in time and place, just on the other side of the border?
How about the Scandinavians like the Swedes of Minnesota? Did they have anything to do with Canadian settler descendents who live in Ontario and the Prairies?
Immigrants from Europe came to both Canada and America in 4 successive waves that coincided with each other within the same time frames, they weren't really separate. Canada is now experiencing it's 5th wave. If you look up 'immigration waves to North America' for both countries you'll find information listing the dates - starting in the 1600's and onwards - the numbers and the European (and other) countries they came from.
I have read that the Germans and Scandinavians' main destinations were the USA until it tightens its border in the latter half of the 19th century. Some still settled in Canada but in smaller numbers. Canada then become their main destination until the wars. I believe the only exception in the group was Icelanders who settled in Canada (mostly Manitoba) in larger absolute numbers than their US counterparts. There were also American farmers of said German and Scandinavian origins who moved north during that period as well.
As a whole I believe the percentages of the general population is pretty similar. In the US, 3,8% can trace their ancestry to Scandinavia, Iceland and Finland, and 4,1% in Canada (with small variations within the sub groups). The numbers is a bit different for Germans, however, as 17% of Americans have some German ancestry wheras in Canada it's roughly 10%. But when compared to say Australia, where only 0,7% are of Scandinavian origins and 4,5% are of German origin, USA and Canada seem to be more similar in that regards.
But it does seems like they are more concentrated in the Midwest in USA, and in Canada it feels more mixed. Perhaps it has to do with the overall population of those places.
We have a friend whose parents immigrated to Canada from Denmark in the 1950s, because it was easier at the time to get an immigrant visa to Canada than to the US. Later, after having established residency in Canada they immigrated to the US. That seems to have been a fairly common practice in those days.
BTW, Iceland and Finland are considered to be part of Scandinavia.
Vast majority of Germans and Scandinavians ("Germanics") who came to Canada in the 19th century immediately moved on to the USA. But there was certainly movement from the Midwest of first and second-generation Germanics into the Prairie provinces later on. The German immigrants were from a diverse background but I think many were ethnic Germans from eastern Europe.
Vast majority of Germans and Scandinavians ("Germanics") who came to Canada in the 19th century immediately moved on to the USA. But there was certainly movement from the Midwest of first and second-generation Germanics into the Prairie provinces later on. The German immigrants were from a diverse background but I think many were ethnic Germans from eastern Europe.
There were also quite alot of ethnic Germans who came to Canada after WW2.
Or were the waves separate? I hear Canada had more Eastern European settlers filling the same roles, but do the Germans in Canada come from a similar wave in time and place, just on the other side of the border?
How about the Scandinavians like the Swedes of Minnesota? Did they have anything to do with Canadian settler descendents who live in Ontario and the Prairies?
According to my research, to some extent they were the same wave. Apparently it was easier to get into Canada for awhile, so Germans and Scandi's would go to Canada, and from there, wait for a visa to go to the US. This isn't true of everyone, of course, but it was a trend within the greater phenomenon.
Not really. Most non-British or non-French immigrants in the prairies came directly from eastern Europe. The German component in western Canada mostly descends from Russian Mennonite farmers. The other component are Ukrainians. There is kind of a Scandinavian element, but that's mostly in around Lake Winnipeg. There is an Icelandic community. In Saskatchewan there was a trickling of Norwegians and Swedes, that actually did come via the Dakotas/Minnesota. But they're quite small in number.
Although, there is a Finnish community in northern Ontario that likely shares the same history as Finns in northern Michigan and eastern Minnesota. Again, they're not a significant community, but that's probably as close a parallel you'll find in regards to your question.
Last edited by billsfan1990; 05-29-2015 at 09:09 PM..
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