Belgian Canadians (French:Canadiens belges;Dutch:Belgisch-canadezen) areCanadian citizens of Belgian ancestry orBelgium-born people who reside in Canada. According to the2011 census there were 176,615 Canadians who claimed full or partial Belgian ancestry.^[1] It encompasses immigrants from bothFrench andDutch-speaking parts of Belgium.

People from theSouthern Netherlands (present-dayBelgium) first arrived in the 1660s. A trickle of artisans came toNew 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 FrancophoneCatholic communities ofQuebec andManitoba.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]

Belgian immigration toWestern 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. TheWalloon immigrants discovered they could continue to speak French in Canada, while theFlemish quickly learned English. The Belgians formed no national organizations but they were active in local affairs. Some settled in towns such asSaint 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 theFree Belgian Forces, which was based in Canada.^[17]

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]

• Johan Beetz (1874–1949), Belgian-born naturalist and namesake ofBaie-Johan-Beetz, Quebec
• Gustave Francq (1871–1952), Belgian-born printer and trade unionist
• Berthe Chaurès-Louard (1889–1968), Belgian-born Canadian businesswoman
• Maurice Baudoux (1902–1988), Belgian-born Catholic priest andArchbishop of Saint Boniface, Manitoba
• Alexis Nihon (1902–1980), Belgian-born industrialist
• Marcel Lambert (1919–2000), politician andSpeaker of the House of Commons of Canada
• Michael DeGroote (1933–2022), businessman and philanthropist
• Émilie Heymans (1981–), Belgian-born Olympicdiver
• Lance Stroll (1998–),Formula One driver

• European Canadians
• Bruxelles, Manitoba
• Belgian Americans
• Gazette van Detroit (1914–2018)
• Belgium–Canada relations
• Dutch Canadians
• French Canadians
• German Canadians
• Luxembourgish Canadians
• Red Star Line

• Jaenen, Cornelius J. (1998)."The Belgian Presence in Canada". In d’Haenens, Leen (ed.).Images of Canadianness: Visions on Canada's Politics, Culture, Economics. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press. pp. 67–90.ISBN 9780776627090.
• Jaenen, Cornelius J. (1999). "Belgians". In Magocsi, Paul R. (ed.).The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples. pp. 257–69.
• Jaenen, Cornelius J. (2011).Promoters, Planters, and Pioneers: The Course and Context of Belgian Settlement in Western Canada. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: University of Calgary Press.ISBN 978-1-55238-570-8.
• Magee, Joan (1987).The Belgians in Ontario: A History. Toronto: Dundurn Press.ISBN 978-1-55002-014-4.
• Stynen, Andreas, ed. (2014).Boer vindt land : Vlaamse migranten en Noord-Amerika. Leuven: Davidsfonds.ISBN 9789059085497.
• Vermeirre, André (2001).L'immigration des Belges au Québec. Sillery: Septentrion.ISBN 9782894483015.

• Belgian Canadians atThe Canadian Encyclopedia.

• Belgian diaspora in Canada
• Belgian diaspora
• European diaspora in Canada
• Canadian people of Flemish descent
• Canadian people of Belgian descent

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• Short description matches Wikidata
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