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Belgian Canadians

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Belgian Canadians
Total population
186,665
(by ancestry, 2016 Census)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa
Languages
Canadian English · Canadian French · Flemish Dutch · Belgian French · German
Religion
Christianity (Catholicism)
Related ethnic groups
Dutch Canadians · French Canadians · German Canadians

Belgian Canadians (French: Canadiens belges; Dutch: Belgisch-canadezen) are Canadian citizens of Belgian ancestry or Belgium-born people who reside in Canada. According to the 2011 census there were 176,615 Canadians who claimed full or partial Belgian ancestry.[1] It encompasses immigrants from both French and Dutch-speaking parts of Belgium.

History

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Belgian Canadian
Population History
YearPop.±%
19012,994—    
19119,664+222.8%
192120,234+109.4%
193127,585+36.3%
194129,711+7.7%
195135,148+18.3%
196161,382+74.6%
197151,135−16.7%
198142,270−17.3%
198674,795+76.9%
199190,910+21.5%
1996123,595+36.0%
2001129,780+5.0%
2006168,915+30.2%
2011176,615+4.6%
2016186,665+5.7%
Source: Statistics Canada
[2]: 17 [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
Note: 1981 Canadian census did not include multiple ethnic origin responses, thus population is an undercount.
The Emigrants (1896) by the Belgian artist Eugène Laermans

People from the Southern Netherlands (present-day Belgium) first arrived in the 1660s. A trickle of artisans came to New France before the 1750s. In the mid-19th century there were enough arrivals to open part-time consulates in Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax. After 1859 the main attraction was free farm land. After 1867 the national government gave immigrants from Belgium preferred status, and encouraged emigration to the Francophone Catholic communities of Quebec and Manitoba. Édouard Simaeys became a part-time paid Canadian agent in Belgium to publicize opportunities in Canada and facilitate immigration. The steamship companies prepared their own brochures and offered package deals to farm families. By 1898 there was a full-time Canadian office in Antwerp which provided pamphlets, lectures and specific travel advice. By 1906 some 2,000 Belgians a year were arriving, most with skills in agriculture. A third wave of immigration took place after 1945, with urban areas the destination. The 1961 census counted 61,000 Canadians of Belgian ancestry.[15]

The Club Belge in Saint Boniface, Winnipeg, Manitoba founded in 1905

Belgian immigration to Western Canada in the late 19th and early 20th century attracted the attention of the Belgian government. It enacted laws and regulations to protect the emigrants and guarantee adequate travel conditions. Provision was made to assist emigrants who decided to return to Belgium. Starting in the 1860s consular officials made on-site visits to inspect conditions in Canada, which eagerly welcomed the new arrivals. The Catholic church was likewise welcoming, and a number of priests emigrated. The Walloon immigrants discovered they could continue to speak French in Canada, while the Flemish quickly learned English. The Belgians formed no national organizations but they were active in local affairs. Some settled in towns such as Saint Boniface, Manitoba, but most became farmers who specialized in dairy farming, sugar beets and market gardening. After 1920 there was a move to western Alberta, with an economy based on ranching, horse breeding, and sugar beets.[16]

During the Second World War, Belgian émigrés from Canada and elsewhere in the Americas were formed into the 2nd Fusilier Battalion of the Free Belgian Forces, which was based in Canada.[17]

Demographics

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Belgian Canadians by Canadian province or territory (2016)

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Province Population Percentage Source
 Ontario 57,890 0.4% [18]
 Quebec 51,340 0.7% [19]
 Manitoba 21,515 1.7% [20]
 Alberta 21,210 0.5% [21]
 British Columbia 19,980 0.4% [22]
 Saskatchewan 9,655 0.9% [23]
 Nova Scotia 2,620 0.3% [24]
 New Brunswick 1,465 0.2% [25]
 Prince Edward Island 440 0.3% [26]
 Newfoundland and Labrador 200 0.0% [27]
 Yukon 170 0.5% [28]
 Northwest Territories 145 0.4% [29]
 Nunavut 30 0.1% [30]
 Canada 186,665 0.5% [31]

Notable people

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Main pages: Category:Belgian emigrants to Canada and Category:Canadian people of Belgian descent

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Statistics Canada. "Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity Highlight Tables". Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  2. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (1999-07-29). "Historical statistics of Canada, section A: Population and migration - ARCHIVED". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  3. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-04-03). "Ninth census of Canada, 1951 = Neuvième recensement du Canada Vol. 1. Population: general characteristics". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  4. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-04-03). "1961 Census of Canada : population : vol. I - part 2 = 1961 Recensement du Canada : population : vol. I - partie 2. Ethnic groups". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  5. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-04-03). "1971 Census of Canada : population : vol. I - part 3 = Recensement du Canada 1971 : population : vol. I - partie 3. Ethnic groups". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  6. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-04-03). "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. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  7. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-04-03). "Census Canada 1986 Profile of ethnic groups". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  8. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-04-03). "1986 Census of Canada: Ethnic Diversity In Canada". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  9. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-04-03). "1991 Census: The nation. Ethnic origin". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  10. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-06-04). "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. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  11. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-12-23). "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. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  12. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2020-05-01). "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. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  13. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-01-23). "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. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  14. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-06-17). "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. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  15. ^ Paul R. Magocsi, Encyclopedia of Canada's peoples (1999) pp 257-69
  16. ^ Cornelius J. Jaenen, Promoters, Planters, and Pioneers: The Course and Context of Belgian Settlement in Western Canada (University of Calgary Press, 2011)
  17. ^ Thomas, Nigel (1991). Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces, 1939–45. London: Osprey. pp. 15–6. ISBN 978-1-85532-136-6.
  18. ^ "Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), Ontario, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), Quebec, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), Manitoba, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), Alberta, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  22. ^ "Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), British Columbia, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  23. ^ "Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), Saskatchewan, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  24. ^ "Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), Nova Scotia, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  25. ^ "Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), New Brunswick, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  26. ^ "Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), Prince Edward Island, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  27. ^ "Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), Newfoundland and Labrador, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  28. ^ "Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), Yukon, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  29. ^ "Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), Northwest Territories, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  30. ^ "Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), Nunavut, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  31. ^ "Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity Highlight Tables". statcan.gc.ca. 25 October 2017.

Further reading

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