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Sunday, September 24, 2023
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The
presence of the Italians in Canada was largely limited to Montreal
during the 19th century. These immigrants were isolated individuals.
By
the end of the century the number of Italians entering Canada was
growing. The first wave of immigration was on a temporary and seasonal
basis. About 600 Italian labourers were reported working in construction
in Southeastern Quebec.The official statistics show waves of the
Italian immigration in Canada over the years |
Map
of Ontario |
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Years of Immigration |
Number
of Immigrants |
%
of Total Canadian Immigration |
1901-1910 |
58,104 |
3.5 |
1911-1920 |
62,663 |
3.7 |
1921-1930 |
26,183 |
2.1 |
1931-1940 |
3,898 |
2.4 |
1941-1950 |
20,682 |
4.2 |
1951-1960 |
250,812 |
15.9 |
1961-1970 |
190,760 |
13.5 |
1971-1978 |
37,087 |
3.1 |
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Immigration
Statistics |
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| Despite
the high degree of geographical mobility which marked the
experience of the early contingents of Italian labourers in
Canada, by the first decade of the 20th century Italian communities
or “colonies” – as they were often called – had
become part of the urban landscape of some of the major Canadian
cities. If one translates these figures at the provincial level,
it means that Ontario and Quebec together have become the residential
choice for more than two thirds of the Italian immigrant population.
(Bruno Ramirez, The Italians in Canada, 1989) |
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Italian
Population of Canada during 1901-1981 |
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Year |
Total |
Italian |
% |
1901 |
5,371,315 |
10,834 |
0.2 |
1911 |
7,204,838 |
45,411 |
0.6 |
1921 |
8,788,483 |
66,769 |
0.8 |
1931 |
10,376,786 |
98,173 |
0.9 |
1941 |
11,506,655 |
112,625 |
1.0 |
1951 |
14,009,429 |
152,245 |
1.1 |
1961 |
18,238,247 |
450,351 |
2.5 |
1971 |
21,568,310 |
730,830 |
3.4 |
1981 |
24,343,180 |
871,715 |
3.6 |
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(Jansen C. J., Fact-book
on Italians in Canada, 2nd ed.,
Toronto,
Institute for Social Research, York University, 1987) |
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Distribution
of People of Italian Origin in Canada (1901 – 1981) |
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Year |
Maritimes
N% |
Quebec
N% |
Ontario
N% |
Prairies
N% |
British
Columbia N% |
N.W.T
N% |
1901 |
357(3.3) |
2,805(25.9) |
5,233(48.3) |
329(3.0) |
1,976(18.2) |
134(1.2) |
1911 |
1,378(3.0) |
9,608(20.9) |
21,440(46.6) |
3,473(7.6) |
9,997(21.8) |
67(0.1) |
1921 |
2,013
(3.0) |
16,141
(24.2) |
33,355
(50.0) |
6,650
(10.0) |
8,587
(12.8) |
23
(0.0) |
1931 |
2,330
(2.4) |
24,845
(25.3) |
50,536
(51.5 |
8,185
(8.3) |
12,254
(12.5) |
23
(0.0) |
1941 |
2,794 (2.5) |
28,051
(24.9) |
60,085
(53.3) |
8,368
(7.4) |
13,292
(11.8) |
35
(0.0) |
1951 |
3,288
(2.2) |
34,165
(22.4) |
87,262
(57.6) |
9,906
(6.5) |
17,207
(11.3) |
57
(0.0) |
1961 |
5,278 (1.2) |
108,552
(24.1) |
273,864
(60.8) |
23,914
(5.3) |
38,399
(8.5) |
344
(0.0) |
1971 |
5,750
(0.8) |
169,655
(23.2) |
463,095
(63.4) |
38,115
(5.2 |
53,795
(7.4) |
410
(0.0) |
1981 |
4,790
(0.6) |
163,735
(21.9) |
487,310
(65.2) |
38,960
(5.2) |
52,760
(7.1) |
?
(?) |
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| Italian
workers could be found throughout Canada at the turn of the
century. Anywhere there was heavy and dangerous seasonal
work, there were men from Italy…. The most typical
area of seasonal Italian labour was northern Ontario. They
had come as immigrants intending to return to their paese,
not as permanent immigrants. . (Bruno Ramirez, The Italians
in Canada, 1989) |
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The numbers of the newcomers within a decade,
compared to the older Italian Canadians, was four to one (150,000
people of Italian descent in 1951 and 450,000 by 1961). Today,
over 60% of Italians in Canada live in the province of Ontario. The
economic boom of the 1950s attracted many Italians to the province
as well
as other ethnic groups… During that period the Italians
proved themselves excellent builders, industrious labourers,
able miners, imaginative small entrepreneurs. Each town of
origin in Italy began the history of its own migrations to
one or more destinations in Ontario – movements which
would multiply significantly in the 1950s and 1960s. And
finally, each Italian settlement and Little Italy developed
its own social texture with mutual aid societies, voluntary
associations, churches and ethnic brokers. (John E. Zucchi,
Mining, Railway Building and Street Construction: Italians
in Ontario before World War One, Polyphony, Vol.7 No.2)
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The
opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada. |
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