Great Migration of Canada
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The Great Migration of Canada (also known as the Great Migration from Britain or the second wave of immigration to Canada) was a period of high immigration to Canada from 1815 to 1850, which involved over 800,000 immigrants, mainly of British and Irish origin.[1] Though Europe was becoming richer through the Industrial Revolution, population growth made the relative number of jobs low, forcing many to look to the New World for economic success, especially Canada and the United States.[2]
Background
In the late-18th and early-19th century, there occurred a transition in parts of
It was at the same time met with a rapid population explosion. A slow rise in quality of living standards throughout the past 200 years allowed more children to survive and made childbearing more economic. Jobs that were previously done by poor peasants could now be done even cheaper by machinery, and this led to the loss of many jobs. The combined effects made it difficult for some to find jobs, leading them to look to the colonies in the Americas for work.[3]
The Migration
As the Industrial Revolution began in Britain, the first immigrants, who were the majority, of the Great Migration were British (English and Scottish) and made up 60% of Canada's immigrant population and so were the largest group in Canada.[4][failed verification] The Great Migration encouraged immigrants to settle in Canada after the War of 1812, including British army regulars who had served in that war.
Worried about another American attempt at invasion and to counter the French-speaking influence of Quebec, colonial governors of Canada rushed to promote settlement in backcountry areas along newly-constructed plank roads within organized land tracts, mostly in Upper Canada (now Ontario).
Other people from other countries migrated as well. Americans went to British Columbia to look for gold, a material that was quickly evaporating because of the California gold rush. Also, Chinese went to British Columbia to help build the Canadian Pacific Railway and to escape war and famine in their own country. Those migrations can be considered apart from those in earlier times.
Impact
The Great Migration had profound impacts on Canadian culture and identity. Before 1815, 80% of
At the beginning of the Great Migration, when the total population of Canada was approximately half a million, Canadians of French descent (known as
References
- ^ "The History of Canada and Canadians - Colonies Grow Up". Linksnorth.com. 2006-10-12. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "1815-1850 The Great Migration". timeline. Archived from the original on November 3, 2008.
- Robert Lucas, Jr. (2003). "The Industrial Revolution". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2007-11-14.in all societies were stagnated at around $400 to $800 per year.
it is fairly clear that up to 1800 or maybe 1750, no society had experienced sustained growth in per capita income. (Eighteenth-century population growth also averaged one-third of 1.0 percent, the same as production growth.) That is, up to about two centuries ago, per capital incomes
- ^ "Immigration to Canada". Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "Cultures arriving between 1815–1860". Projects.cbe.ab.ca. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-07-29.