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Finnish Canadians

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Finnish Canadians
Kanadansuomalaiset(Finnish)
Kanadafinländare(Swedish)
Finno-canadiens(French)
FinlandCanada
Total population
143,645[1]
0.4% of the Canadian population
Regions with significant populations
Ontario74,505[1]
British Columbia31,610[1]
Alberta16,285[1]
Languages
Religion
Related ethnic groups
Finnish Americans,Estonian Canadians,Estonian Americans

Finnish Canadians(Finnish:Kanadansuomalaiset) areCanadian citizensofFinnishancestry orFinnswho emigrated to and reside inCanada.In 2016, 143,645 Canadians claimed Finnish ancestry.Finnsstarted coming to Canada in the early 1880s, and in much larger numbers in the early 20th century and well into the mid-20th century. Finnishimmigrationto Canada was often a direct result ofeconomic depressionsand wars, or in the aftermath of major conflicts like theFinnish Civil War.[2][3]Canada was often chosen as a final destination because of the similarity in climate and natural conditions, whileemploymentinloggingorhomesteadingattracted landless farmers in the early 20th century.[4]Migratory movements of Finns between Canada and the United States was very common as well.[5]

In the early 20th century, newly arrived Finnish immigrants to Canada quickly became involved in political organizations, churches, athletic clubs and other forms of associational life.[6][7]Halls and co-operatives were often erected in communities with sizable Finnish populations. "Finnish Canadians" pioneered efforts to establishco-operativesin several Canadian cities. Canada's largest co-operative, the Consumers' Co-operative Society, was started by Finns.

The2011 Censusrecorded 136,215 Canadians who claimed Finnish ancestry,[1]an increase compared to the 2006 Census.[8]

History[edit]

Finnish Canadian
Population History
YearPop.±%
19012,502—
191115,500+519.5%
192121,494+38.7%
193143,885+104.2%
194141,683−5.0%
195141,683+0.0%
196159,436+42.6%
197159,215−0.4%
198152,315−11.7%
198691,335+74.6%
199199,095+8.5%
1996108,720+9.7%
2001114,690+5.5%
2006131,045+14.3%
2011136,215+3.9%
2016143,640+5.5%
Source:Statistics Canada
[9]: 17 [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
Note: 1981 Canadian census did not include multiple ethnic origin responses, thus population is an undercount.

The earliest Finnish immigrants to Canada came from the US, possibly as early as the 1820s for the construction of theWelland Canal.TheCanadian Pacific Railwayrecruited immigrants directly from Finland in the late 1800s.[22]

Canadians of Finnish ancestry often formed a large percentage of left-wing organizations during the early 1900s, as Finland had, by 1906 as a part of the Russian empire, already become one of the first nations to adoptuniversal suffrage.Up until the early 1940s, the so-called "Red Finns," who held deep socialist convictions, far outnumbered "White Finns," the more religious and conservative Finns. This was partially due to the number of political refugees escaping persecution after theFinnish Civil War,but also attributable to the response of several, formerly apolitical Finns from ruralOstrobothnia,to harsh economic conditions. Finnish Canadians with Marxist political views aligned themselves with theSocial Democratic Party of Canadaand later, with theCommunist Party of Canada,centered around the newspaperVapaus(Freedom). Many Finns, however, were distrustful of politicians as a result of the perceived failure and reformism of the Finnish Social Democratic Party during the general strike in November 1917 and the reformist policy the party adopted after the Civil War. Finns arriving in Canada who had already faced severe class conflict and repression would line-up with the radical union, theIndustrial Workers of the World(IWW) emphasizing anti-authoritarianism andanti-statism.The IWW would hold considerable influence in the mines and logging camps of Northern Ontario.

A decline in the Finnish-Canadian population began with the exodus of 2,000–3,000[23]skilled workers and loggers toSoviet Kareliain the 1920s and 30s; there were also a substantial number of Finnish-Canadian volunteers in theSpanish Civil War.Finnish-Canadians, along with Ukrainians, formed the largest section of volunteers in the Canadian contingent of theInternational Brigades,Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion.Finns formed the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalions "Ilkka" machine-gun company. The period after the 1930s marks a decline in Finnish co-operative activity in Canada.

Finnish immigration to Canada increased dramatically during the late 1920s and forward, as the United StatesImmigration Act of 1924did not consider Finland to be among the Western European countries excluded from national quotas, resulting in a limit of 500 Finnish immigrants per year to the United States.[24]Despite conservative "White" Finnish support for Nazi Germany during World War II, Canadian immigration policy in the 1940s favoured admitting "White Finns" to Canada. This, combined with a fiercely anti-socialist view in the post-World War II era, led to a shift in the political balance of the Finnish-Canadian community.

Demographic concentrations[edit]

Thunder Bay, Ontariois home to 14,510 people of Finnish descent, the highest concentration of Finnish Canadiansper capitain the country,[25]and the second largest Finnish population in Canada afterTorontowhich has 14,750 persons of Finnish origin.

Central Canada(mainly Ontario) has generally been the largest destination for Finns, followed by British Columbia, recording 72,990 (ON) and 29,875 (BC) Finns in 2006. Several small rural Finnish communities were established inAlbertaandSaskatchewan.[26]

Today, the communities ofThunder Bay,SudburyandNew Finlandform the main centres of Finnish-Canadian activity. Thunder Bay boasts the largest Finnish population outside ofFennoscandia,and the only Finnish cultural centre in Canada, housed in theFinnish Labour Templealong withthe HoitoRestaurant. The Finnish-Canadian weekliesCanadan SanomatandVapaa Sanapublish out of Thunder Bay and Toronto respectively. Another significant Finnish-Canadian newspaper,Vapaus,was published in Sudbury from 1917 to 1974. Other prominent communities areSault Ste. Marie,Kirkland LakeandTimmins,in Ontario andSointulainBritish Columbia.

Finnish Canadians by province or territory[edit]

Finnish Canadian population by province and territory in Canada in 2011:

Province or territory Finnish Canadians Percentage
Canada 136,215 0.4%
Ontario 74,505 0.58%
British Columbia 31,610 0.72%
Alberta 16,285 0.45%
Saskatchewan 4,470 0.43%
Manitoba 3,850 0.32%
Quebec 2,725 0.03%
Nova Scotia 1,115 0.12%
New Brunswick 710 0.09%
Yukon 435 1.28%
Newfoundland and Labrador 225 0.04%
Prince Edward Island 169 0.12%
Northwest Territories 100 0.24%
Nunavut 25 0.08%

Finnish Language[edit]

TheFinnish languageis also spoken in Canada. According to the Canadian census 15,295 people in Canada reported Finnish as their mother tongue, of which 2,790 reported it as the primarily language spoken at home.[27]A majority of the Finnish speakers in Canada are in Ontario (9,720), and the second most in British Columbia (3,760).[27]Some Finnish Canadian community newspapers and newsletters continue to publish in Finnish, such as Kanadan Sanomat and Länsirannikon uutiset.[28][29][30]Some Canadian universities also offer Finnish language courses as part of Finnish Studies programs or as general language courses, such as atLakehead UniversityandUniversity of Victoria.[31][32][33]Research onAmerican Finnishwas also conducted in Canadian cities with significant Finnish immigrants, such as Thunder Bay.[34]However, there are no statistics on how many Finnish speakers in Canada speakStandard Finnishor American Finnish.

Notable Finnish Canadians[edit]

See also:Category:Canadian people of Finnish descent

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdeStatistics Canada."Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity Highlight Tables".Archivedfrom the original on 6 July 2021.Retrieved1 June2016.
  2. ^Adamson, Julia (14 March 2010)."– SGW – Finnish Saskatchewan Genealogy Roots".Saskatchewan History and Ethnic Roots.Saskatchewan Gen Web Project.Archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2012.Retrieved7 December2010.
  3. ^Johnson, Gilbert (1962),"Prairie People" The New Finland Colony "."(digitised online 30 November 2010 with permission from Saskatchewan Archivist by the New Finland Historical and Heritage Society, Julia Adamson),Saskatchewan History,vol. XV Spring 1962 Number 2, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan Archives Board, p. 69,archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2012,retrieved9 December2010
  4. ^Cleef, Eugene Van (1952),Finnish Settlement in Canada,The Geographical Review 1952, p. 253-266., pp. 253–266, archived fromthe original(republished online genealogia, The Genealogical Society of Finland)on 9 August 2011,retrieved7 October2010
  5. ^Wishart, David J(2004),Encyclopedia of the Great Plains(illustrated, annotated ed.), U of Nebraska Press, p. 230,ISBN978-0-8032-4787-1
  6. ^Gallop, Ralph (1972)."History of New Finland Colony covers 72 years of progress"(digitised online 25 October 2009 by the New Finland Historical and Heritage Society, Red Lauttamus and Julia Adamson).Wapella Post, now The World-Spectator.Archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2012.Retrieved8 December2010.
  7. ^Anderson, Alan (2006)."Finnish settlements".Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina.Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Archived fromthe originalon 12 August 2010.Retrieved7 December2010.
  8. ^http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-562/pages/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Table=2&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All&CSDFilter=5000Archived18 August 2016 at theWayback Machine[bare URL]
  9. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (29 July 1999)."Historical statistics of Canada, section A: Population and migration – ARCHIVED".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 28 September 2022.Retrieved28 September2022.
  10. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (3 April 2013)."Ninth census of Canada, 1951 = Neuvième recensement du Canada Vol. 1. Population: general characteristics".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 26 September 2022.Retrieved28 September2022.
  11. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (3 April 2013)."1961 Census of Canada: population: vol. I – part 2 = 1961 Recensement du Canada: population: vol. I – partie 2. Ethnic groups".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 18 September 2022.Retrieved28 September2022.
  12. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (3 April 2013)."1971 Census of Canada: population: vol. I – part 3 = Recensement du Canada 1971: population: vol. I – partie 3. Ethnic groups".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 18 September 2022.Retrieved28 September2022.
  13. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (3 April 2013)."1981 Census of Canada: volume 1 – national series: population = Recensement du Canada de 1981: volume 1 – série nationale: population. Ethnic origin".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 27 September 2022.Retrieved28 September2022.
  14. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (3 April 2013)."Census Canada 1986 Profile of ethnic groups".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 14 September 2022.Retrieved28 September2022.
  15. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (3 April 2013)."1986 Census of Canada: Ethnic Diversity In Canada".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 12 September 2022.Retrieved28 September2022.
  16. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (3 April 2013)."1991 Census: The nation. Ethnic origin".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 18 April 2023.Retrieved28 September2022.
  17. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (4 June 2019)."Data tables, 1996 Census Population by Ethnic Origin (188) and Sex (3), Showing Single and Multiple Responses (3), for Canada, Provinces, Territories and Census Metropolitan Areas, 1996 Census (20% Sample Data)".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 12 August 2019.Retrieved28 September2022.
  18. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (23 December 2013)."Ethnic Origin (232), Sex (3) and Single and Multiple Responses (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2001 Census – 20% Sample Data".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 22 September 2022.Retrieved28 September2022.
  19. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (1 May 2020)."Ethnic Origin (247), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census – 20% Sample Data".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 21 September 2022.Retrieved28 September2022.
  20. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (23 January 2019)."Ethnic Origin (264), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2011 National Household Survey".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 28 September 2022.Retrieved28 September2022.
  21. ^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (17 June 2019)."Ethnic Origin (279), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age (12) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census – 25% Sample Data".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 26 October 2017.Retrieved28 September2022.
  22. ^Lindström-Best, Varpu (Fall 1981)."Geographical perspectives on Finnish Canadian immigration and settlement".Polyphony.3(2): 16. Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2015.Retrieved9 August2013.
  23. ^Karni, Michael G (1981).Finnish diaspora I: Canada, South America, Africa, Australia and Sweden.Toronto: Multicultural History Society of Ontario. p. 203.ISBN0-919045-08-1.Archived fromthe originalon 8 August 2013.
  24. ^John Powell, "Encyclopedia of North American immigration", p. 99 | When passage of the Johnson-Reed act in 1924 drastically cut the Finnish quota, Finns increasingly turned their attention to Canada.
  25. ^Profile of Ethnic Origin and Visible Minorities for Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census.Statistics Canada.Retrieved 13 March 2009.
  26. ^The Canadian Encyclopedia."Finns".Archivedfrom the original on 10 January 2014.Retrieved14 February2014.
  27. ^abGovernment of Canada, Statistics Canada (8 February 2017)."Census Profile, 2016 Census".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 3 August 2021.Retrieved31 May2021.
  28. ^"Finnish-Canadians".Canada.Archivedfrom the original on 2 June 2021.Retrieved31 May2021.
  29. ^"finnishcanadian.com".finnishcanadian.com.Archivedfrom the original on 3 June 2021.Retrieved31 May2021.
  30. ^"The West Coast News".www.vcn.bc.ca.Archivedfrom the original on 2 July 2022.Retrieved31 May2021.
  31. ^"Finnish Studies".Lakehead University.Archivedfrom the original on 2 June 2021.Retrieved31 May2021.
  32. ^"Languages".Lakehead University.Archivedfrom the original on 2 June 2021.Retrieved31 May2021.
  33. ^"Finnish courses".Continuing Studies at UVic.Archivedfrom the original on 2 June 2021.Retrieved31 May2021.
  34. ^Virtanen, Reino (1979). "The Finnish Language in America".Scandinavian Studies.
  35. ^""Suomalainen" Pamela hurmasi Raumanmerellä ".Yle Uutiset(in Finnish). 23 June 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 1 January 2023.Retrieved1 January2023.
  36. ^Lauri, Toiviainen (28 April 1996)."Avonlea-sarjan tekeminen päättyi seitsemän vuoden jälkeen".Helsingin Sanomat(in Finnish).Archivedfrom the original on 17 January 2023.Retrieved17 January2023.
  37. ^Koskinen, Anu Leena (17 September 2017)."Aamulehti Kanadassa: Kävimme kaupungissa, jossa joka kymmenes on suomalaista sukua".Aamulehti(in Finnish).Archivedfrom the original on 1 January 2023.Retrieved1 January2023.
  38. ^"Kanadan Virtanen käy henkistä kiekkosotaa suomalaisten sukulaistensa kanssa".mtvuutiset.fi(in Finnish). 23 December 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 1 January 2023.Retrieved1 January2023.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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