How Immigration Influenced Canada

During the first half of the nineteenth century, a large number of immigrants came to Canada. They made up a large percent of the Canadian population, helping to fuel Canada’s economic expansion through the 1850’s and 1860’s, and therefore influencing the social and cultural life of Canada. Immigration promoted the change of the nature of colonial society, leading to the transition from colonial status to the Dominion of Canada.

Between 1790 and 1845, 750,000 immigrants came to Canada from Britain, with almost half coming from Ireland. Among these early Irish immigrants, some came because of poverty and others because the British wanted to get rid of Irish troublemakers who continued to rebel against British rule in Ireland. When preparing to emigrate, some British immigrants received assistance from the British government to settle in Canada, while the poorest immigrant had to cross the Atlantic in the holds of timber ships. Thanks to their move, ship owners who had ships returning empty from Britain after delivering timber could recruit immigrants to pay at least some of the costs of the return voyage. However, people travelling in these ships were so undernourished and the conditions on board were so terrible, that many developed cholera, a deadly and contagious disease. They brought it to Canada and caused numerous deaths. Unfortunately, Canadians failed fighting the epidemic but under such severe situations, the strong national spirit developed to a great extent.

Despite of the cholera epidemics, the number of immigrants became even greater, especially after the potato crop failure in 1845. Over 300,000 Irish came to Canada between 1845 and 1850 who have made up as much as five percent of population in New France as well as a sizeable population in Newfoundland. When they finally arrived in Canada, what really mattered for them was whether they could get a job instead of how much they would be paid, because they did not want to live as they did in...