The United States was a major competitor for immigrants, and within Canada the West tended to compete with the East. Within the East, Ontario's pull was much stronger than that of Quebec. Factors leading to these conditions are analysed, so is the type of Dutch immigrant that arrived here, and the role played by Canadian and Dutch recruiting agents or agencies.

Although some farmers appear to have settled in Quebec, the majority of Dutch immigrants in Quebec during these years were urban workers. On the whole, these do not seem to have been too successful. The few interviewees that could be found and who are quoted in these pages were in this respect rather the exception than the rule.

The Dutch were served by few ethnic institutions. The Consulate was one of them and its history is traced.

Finally, the high rate of intermarriage and its relationship to the community structure is examined.

Dutch Immigration Prior to World War II 

Demographics

Dutch emigration to Canada began in the late 1800's. Several decades earlier, group migration from Holland to the United States had taken place, mainly by Protestants in search of religious freedom, but also including some Roman Catholics. These settlers were true pioneers who helped open up parts of Michigan, Iowa, and Wisconsin. However, later in the century, cheap, arable land began to become scarcer in the United States, and by 1890, Dutch-Americans began tentatively to move towards the Canadian prairies which were being opened up (Ganzevoort, 1975:8).

At about the same time, the first significant migration to Canada from the Netherlands took place. In the spring of 1893, the Christian Emigrant Society (C.E.S.) sent out 73 emigrants who settled in Western Canada, where Dutch-Canadian Robert Insinqer, member of the Territorial Assembly for Assiniboia, was acting as a go-between for the C.E.S. More emigrants followed, but their numbers remained small. Clifford Sifton, Minister of the Interior, responsible for immigration under the Liberal government of Sir Wilfred Laurier (in power from 1896), campaigned actively for settlement of the West. However, government representatives and steamship company booking agents found recruitment in the Netherlands difficult around the turn of the century. Far-reaching social change was taking place at that time in the Dutch nation, and a sense of optimism in the country's future prevailed. Furthermore, full religious freedom had been achieved and dissenters were playing a prominent part in Dutch politics (Ganzevoort, 1975:39-41). As illustrated by Table III, in the decades between 1871 and 1901, the total Dutch-Canadian population increased by only 4,183.

The figures in the table must be approached with a great deal of caution. In the first place, as Sas (1957) points out, not all those who entered Canada, and claimed Dutch origin, came from the Netherlands. Mennonites from Russia claimed Dutch origin, and so did second and third generation Dutch from the United States, and who settled primarily in the West. Descendants of United Empire Loyalists, whose forebears came to this continent from the Netherlands, were also likely to claim Dutch origin. The fact that the majority of those claiming Dutch origin belonged to the rural populations of Ontario and the Maritime Provinces, where most Loyalists settled, tends to underscore this.

Table III shows some interesting changes in the distribution of Dutch among the provinces. Ontario increased its share slightly from 67.4% in 1871 to 68.8% in 1901. The whole vast area west of Ontario held no more than 2,185 or 6.4% of all Dutch recorded in 1901. Nova Scotia gained a few souls, but New Brunswick lost about 40% ( 2,341) of its Dutch population, more than all the Dutch who settled in the West. The latter is not easy to explain in view of the overall increase in both the urban and rural population in New Brunswick. Quebec al most doubled its Dutch population, from 798 to 1,554, increasing both its urban and rural components. This may mean that a number of New Brunswick Dutch settled here.

Table III
Racial Origin of the Population, Rural and Urban,
Canada and the Provinces, 1871 and 1901.

_{(2) Racial origin figures not available
(1) Includes the four original provinces of Canada only. (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec)}

Source: 1931 Census, Table 35, pp.710-723, as cited in Sas (1957:36).

They may also have moved to Ontario as the sharp increase of urban Dutch there cannot be accounted for by the limited decrease in the rural population or by the very minimal immigration from overseas (In 1901 the Dutch-born population in Canada amounted to 385 see Table IV).

Table IV
Population Born in The Netherlands: Canada and the Provinces, 1901-1941

Source: (1957:31) Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Canadian Census, 1941,
Vol I, as quoted in Sas.

The overall shift to urban areas during those years, did not occur quite as rapidly among the Dutch in Quebec as it did among the Dutch in Canada, a situation reversed in later years. Between 1871 and 1901, the number of rural Dutch decreased by 17% in Quebec compared to 20% in Ontario and 20% in Canada. Comparable figures for the general population are: 22%, 27%, and 21% (figures compiled from Table III by author).

Immigration, largely from Europe, began to take on unprecedented proportions in the beginning of the twentieth century, and immigration from the Netherlands increased likewise. However, compared to other populations, the Dutch contributed only very small numbers and of these the majority settled in Ontario and the Western provinces. This is illustrated by Table IV. The relatively large increase between 1921 and 1931 reflects increased interest in emigration during an economic crisis which reached its depth in 1923, as well as the introduction of a quota system for immigrants by the United States. It must be kept in mind that these earlier population statistics are difficult to interpret. For example, the distinction between Dutch from overseas and from the U.S.A. was only introduced in 1925. Also, emigration figures to the U.S.A. are not available although it is known that many used Canada as a convenient stepping stone on their way to the U.S.