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European Canadians

Largest reported European ancestry in Canada by census division, 2021 census
Total population
19,062,115 (2021 census)[1] 52.5% of the Canadian population (as self-identified by census respondents)
Regions with significant populations
All areas of Canada less prevalent inNorthern Canada
Languages
English French Italian German Polish Ukrainian Portuguese OtherEuropean Languages Historically:Scottish Gaelic · Irish
Religion
Christianity (60.3%) Roman Catholicism,Protestantism,Eastern Orthodoxy,Oriental Orthodoxy,Mormonism,Other Latter Day Saints,Nondenominational and Other Christians Irreligion (37.5%) Judaism (1.2%) Islam and others (1.1%)
Related ethnic groups
European diaspora,Europeans,European Americans,European Australians,European New Zealanders,British (English,Scottish,Welsh,Northern Irish),Irish,French,German,Italian,Dutch,Russian,Ukrainian,Polish,Portuguese

European Canadians areCanadians who can trace theirancestry from Europe.^[2][3] They form the largestpanethnic group within Canada. In the2021 Canadian census, 19,062,115 people or 52.5% of the population self-identified ethnic origins from Europe.^[4] People may nominate more than one ethnic origin in the census.

As with otherpanethnic groups, Statistics Canada records ethnic ancestry by employing the term "European origins" under the ethnic origin population section in the census data,^[5] but does not specifically use the term "European Canadian". "Euro-Canadians" and "European Canadians" are terms primarily used by those opposed to immigration to Canada from the Third World, and their use has been criticized as conflating distinctions between very different European groups and nationalities.^[6] Those employing the terms can recognize that most Canadians of European descent do not see that as their collective identity and instead identify with a specific ethnicity or country of ancestral origin, characterizing themselves as for example "Anglo" or "Québecois" rather than as part of a larger "Euro-Canadian" group.^[7] For most of the history of European settlement in North America, the French and the English were seen as two distinct races, with distinct cultures and national spirits.^[8][9]

Statistics Canada has cautioned that "the reporting of ethnicity, and subsequent interpretation of the results, has become increasingly complex due to a number of factors, and poses challenges for historical data comparisons. The concept of ethnicity is fluid and is probably one of the more complex concepts measured in the census."^[10] As well, patterns of self-reporting ethnic origins on the census vary with different population groups in Canada, with particular fluidity on self-reporting of the category "Canadian".^[11][12] Use of statistics in this subject area must be approached with these cautions in mind. The sum of the identified ethnic groups is greater than the total population estimate, because a person may report more than one ethnic origin in the census.^[13][11]

There are several subgroups of Canadians of European ancestry,^[14] identified according to their, or their ancestors', country of origin. Although loosely defined, these categories have been utilized widely in ethnic and cultural identification,^[15][16] particularly in diasporas, such as the European diasporas of Canada.^[17]

Statistics Canada does not use the term "European Canadian". The2021 census asked individuals to self-identify their ethnic origins, within seven general categories (subcategories shown for clarity):^[4]

• British Isles origins, includingBritish Canadians (Cornish Canadians,English Canadians,Scottish Canadians, andWelsh Canadians) andIrish Canadians
• French origins, includingFrench Canadians (Breton Canadians)
• Other Western European origins, includingAustrian Canadians,Belgian Canadians,Dutch Canadians,German Canadians,Luxembourgish Canadians, andSwiss Canadians
• Northern European origins, includingDanish Canadians,Finnish Canadians,Icelandic Canadians,Norwegian Canadians, andSwedish Canadians
• Southern European origins, includingGreek Canadians,Italian Canadians,Maltese Canadians,Portuguese Canadians, andSpanish Canadians (Basque Canadians)
• Southeast European origins, includingAlbanian Canadians,Bosnian Canadians,Bulgarian Canadians,Croatian Canadians,Macedonian Canadians,Montenegrin Canadians,Romanian Canadians,Serbian Canadians, andSlovenian Canadians
• Eastern European origins, includingBelarusian Canadians,Czech Canadians,Estonian Canadians,Hungarian Canadians,Latvian Canadians,Lithuanian Canadians,Polish Canadians,Russian Canadians,Slovak Canadians, andUkrainian Canadians

The exploration of Canada by European nations commenced with the Norse in the late 10th century along the East Coast. After Jacques Cartier's arrival in 1534, British and French explorers progressively ventured westward over the subsequent three centuries.^[19]

The first documented source of Scots in what would become Canada comes from theSaga of Eric the Red and theViking expedition of 1010 AD toVinland (literally, the land of meadows), which is believed to refer to the island ofNewfoundland. The Viking princeThorfinn Karlsefni took two Scottish slaves to Vinland.^[20] When thelongships moored along the coast, they sent the slaves ashore to run along the waterfront to gauge whether it was safe for the rest of the crew to follow. After the Scots survived a day without being attacked, by either human or animal, the Vikings deemed it safe to spend the night ashore. The expedition was abandoned three years later; the original sagas were passed on in an oral tradition and then written down 250 years later.

English Canadian history starts with the attempts to establish English settlements inNewfoundland in the sixteenth century. The first English settlement in present-day Canada was at St. Johns Newfoundland, in 1583. Newfoundland's population was significantly influenced by Irish and English immigration, much of it as a result of the migratory fishery in the decades prior to theGreat Famine of Ireland.^{[citation needed]}

The first recorded Irish presence in the area of present-day Canada dates from 1536, when Irish fishermen fromCork traveled to Newfoundland.^{[citation needed]}

TheFrench were the first Europeans to establish a continuous presence in what is now Canada.French settlers fromNormandy,Perche,Beauce,Brittany,Maine,Anjou,Touraine,Poitou,Aunis,Angoumois,Saintonge andGascony were the firstEuropeans to permanently colonize what is nowQuebec, parts of Ontario, Acadia, and select areas of Western Canada, all in Canada (seeFrench colonization of the Americas) .Their colonies ofNew France (also commonly called Canada) stretched across what today are theMaritime provinces, southern Quebec andOntario, as well as the entireMississippi River Valley.

Hélène Desportes is considered the first child with European ancestry to be born inNew France. She was born circa 1620, to Pierre Desportes (bornLisieux,Normandie, France) and Françoise Langlois.^[21]

The first permanent European settlements in Canada were atPort Royal in 1605 andQuebec City in 1608 asfur trading posts. The territories of New France wereCanada,Acadia (later renamedNova Scotia), andLouisiana. The inhabitants of the French colony of Canada (modern-day Quebec) called themselves theCanadiens, and came mostly from northwestern France.^[22] The early inhabitants of Acadia, orAcadians (Acadiens), came mostly but not exclusively from thesouthwestern regions of France.

Canadien explorers and fur traders would come to be known ascoureurs des bois andvoyageurs, while those who settled on farms in Canada would come to be known ashabitants. Many French Canadians are the descendants of theKing's Daughters (Filles du Roi, several hundred women who immigrated over a decade under the sponsorship of Louis XIV). A few also are the descendants of mixed French andAlgonquian marriages (see alsoMetis people andAcadian people).^[23]

The area that forms the present day province ofNova Scotia was contested by the British andFrench in the eighteenth century. French settlements atPort Royal,Louisbourg and what is nowPrince Edward Island were seized by the British. After the 1713Treaty of Utrecht ceded the French colony of Acadia (today's mainlandNova Scotia andNew Brunswick) to Great Britain, efforts to colonize the province were limited to small settlements inCanso andAnnapolis Royal.

In 1749, ColonelEdward Cornwallis was given command of an expedition for the settlement ofChebucto by some three thousand persons, many of whom wereCockney. Cornwallis' settlement,Halifax, would become the provincial capital, the primary commercial centre for theMaritime provinces, a strategic British military and naval outpost and an important east coast cultural centre. To offset the Catholic presence of Acadians, foreign Protestants (mainly German) were given land and foundedLunenburg. Nova Scotia itself saw considerable immigration from Scotland, particularly to communities such asPictou in the northern part of the province and toCape Breton Island, beginning with the arrival of 189 Highlanders on the sailing shipHector in 1773.

A few Germans came toNew France when France colonized the area, but large-scale migration from Germany began only under British rule, when GovernorEdward Cornwallis establishedHalifax, Nova Scotia in 1749. Known as theForeign Protestants, the continental Protestants were encouraged to migrate to Nova Scotia between 1750 and 1752 to counterbalance the large number of CatholicAcadians. Family surnames,Lutheran churches, and village names along theSouth Shore of Nova Scotia retain their German heritage, such asLunenburg. The first German church in Canada, theLittle Dutch (Deutsch) Church in Halifax, is on land which was set aside for the German-speaking community in 1756. The church was designated aNational Historic Site of Canada in 1997.^[24]

After the fall ofNew France to the British in 1759, a colonial governing class established itself inQuebec City. Larger numbers ofEnglish-speaking settlers arrived in theEastern Townships andMontreal after the American Revolution.

A large group ofUlster Scots, many of whom had first settled inNew Hampshire, moved toTruro, Nova Scotia in 1761.^{[citation needed]}

New Brunswick became the home for many Scots. In 1761, a Highland regiment garrisonedFort Frederick. The surrounding lands surveyed by Captain Bruce in 1762 attracted many Scottish traders when William Davidson of Caithness arrived to settle two years later. Their numbers were swelled by the arrival of thousands of loyalists of Scottish origin both during and after the American Revolution. One of the New Brunswick and Canada's most famous regiments was "The King's First American Regiment" founded in 1776. It was composed mostly of Highlanders, many of whom fought with their traditionalkilts to the sound ofbagpipes. The regiment distinguished itself when it defeated Washington's forces at theBattle of Brandywine. When it disbanded after the War, most of its members settled in New Brunswick.^{[citation needed]}

In 1772, a wave of Gaels began to arrive inPrince Edward Island, and in 1773 the shipHector brought 200 Gaels toPictou, beginning a new stream of Highland emigration — the town's slogan is "The Birthplace of New Scotland". At the end of the 18th century,Cape Breton Island had become a centre of Scottish Gaelic settlement, where onlyScottish Gaelic was spoken.

After the American Revolution, Americans who identified with the British Crown left the United States for Canada, some fleeing the hostility of their revolutionary neighbours, others lured by easily available land and lower taxes. The majority of theUnited Empire Loyalists were of European birth or descent, although the group also included a significant number of African Americans.

Furthermore, a number of Scottishloyalists to the British crown, who had fled the United States in 1783, arrived inGlengarry County (in easternOntario) and Nova Scotia.^{[citation needed]}

Prince Edward Island (PEI) was also heavily influenced by Scottish Gaelic settlers. One prominent settler in PEI wasJohn MacDonald of Glenaladale, who conceived the idea of sending Gaels to Nova Scotia on a grand scale after Culloden. The name Macdonald still dominates on the island, which received a large influx of settlers, predominantly Catholics from the Highlands, in the late 18th century.^{[citation needed]}

The history of English Canadians is bound to the history of English settlement of North America, and particularly New England, because of the resettlement of manyLoyalists following theAmerican Revolution in areas that would form part of Canada. Many of the fifty thousand Loyalists who were resettled to the north of theUnited States after 1783 came from families that had already been settled for several generations in North America and were from prominent families in Boston, New York and other east coast towns. Although most were of Scottish and English ancestry, these settlers had also intermarried withHuguenot andDutch colonists and were accompanied by Loyalists of African descent. Many others were German – including Hessian mercenaries who had fought for the Crown – ^[25] with smaller numbers of Dutch, French, Welsh, Swiss, Danes and Swedes.^[26] Dispossessed of their property at the end of the Revolutionary War, the Loyalists arrived as refugees to settle primarily along the shores of southern Nova Scotia, theBay of Fundy and theSaint John River and inQuebec to the east and southwest of Montreal. The colony ofNew Brunswick was created from western part of Nova Scotia at the instigation of these new English-speaking settlers. The Loyalist settlements in southwestern Quebec formed the nucleus of what would become the province ofUpper Canada and, after 1867,Ontario.

At the end of the 18th century,Cape Breton Island had become a centre of Scottish Gaelic settlement, where onlyScottish Gaelic was spoken. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries,Canadian Gaelic was spoken as the first language in much of "Anglophone" Canada, such asNova Scotia,Prince Edward Island, andGlengarry County in Ontario. Gaelic was the third most commonly spoken language in Canada.^[27]

In the late 18th century, British colonies in North America were significantly affected by the outbreak and subsequent loss of theAmerican Revolutionary War. At the time,Great Britain and its overseas empire were ruled by the German-descended KingGeorge III, who was also thePrince-Elector of Hanover, a state in what is now northwestern Germany. Notably, a number of soldiers fighting on what modern historiography terms the pro-British side of the conflict were members of regiments hired from various small German states. These soldiers were collectively known as "Hessians", since many of them came fromHesse. Following the defeat of British forces in the Revolutionary War, about 2,200 of them settled in Canada once their terms of service had expired or they had been released from American captivity. For example, a group from the Brunswick Regiment settled southwest ofMontreal and south ofQuebec City.^[28] In this, they formed part of a larger population movement composed of several waves of migration northward from the newly foundedUnited States toUpper andLower Canada. In traditional Canadian historiography, these migrants are often grouped together under the broad label ofUnited Empire Loyalists, obscuring particular ethnic and religious identities,^[29] as well as their exact motivations for migrating to Canada.

Welsh mapmakerDavid Thompson was one of the great explorers of theNorth West Company in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and is often called "Canada's Greatest Geographer". He covered 130,000 kilometres on foot and surveyed most of theCanada–United States border in the early days of exploration.^{[citation needed]}

Upper Canada was a primary destination forEnglish,Scottish andScots-Irish settlers to Canada in the nineteenth century, and was on the front lines in theWar of 1812 between theBritish Empire and theUnited States. The province also received immigrants from non English-speaking sources such as Germans, many of whom settled aroundKitchener (formerly called Berlin).^[30] Ontario would become the most populous province in theDominion of Canada at the time ofConfederation, and, together with Montreal, formed the country's industrial heartland and emerged as an important cultural and media centre for English Canada.

English, Scottish, and Irish communities established themselves in Montreal throughout the 1800s. Montreal became Canada's largest city and commercial hub until surpassed by Toronto the following century.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 19th century, a large group of Germans (Mennonites) fled the United States. Many of their families' ancestors had been from southern Germany or Switzerland. They began to move to what is now southwestern Ontario and settled around theGrand River, especially inBerlin, Ontario (nowKitchener) and in the northern part of what later becameWaterloo County, Ontario.^[31] The same geographic area also attracted new German migrants from Europe, roughly 50,000 between the 1830 and 1860.^[32][33] Research indicates that there was no apparent conflict between the Germans from Europe and those who came from Pennsylvania.^[34]

Another large group of Scottish Gaels immigrated to Canada and settled in Prince Edward Island in 1803. This migration, primarily from theIsle of Skye, was organized by theEarl of Selkirk, LordThomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk. The Earl, who was sympathetic to the plight of the dispossessedcrofters (tenant farmers in the Highlands), brought 800 colonists to Prince Edward Island. In 1811, he founded theRed River Colony as a Scottish colonization project on an area of 300,000 square kilometres (120,000 sq mi) in what would later be the province ofManitoba — land that was granted by theHudson's Bay Company, in what is referred to as theSelkirk Concession. This formed the earliest English and Scottish settlements inAssiniboia (part of present-dayManitoba), involving some 300 largely Scottish colonists.^{[citation needed]}

One of the first efforts to encourage Welsh emigration to Canada began in 1812, when Welsh native John Mathews endeavoured to bring his family to Canada. Mathews left home at a young age and went on to become a successful businessman in the United States. When he returned to Wales, he found his family living in poverty and became convinced they should emigrate to Canada. In 1817 his family settled in the township of Southwald, near what is nowLondon, Ontario. By 1812 he had brought over more relatives who built homes on the 100-acre (0.40 km²) lots granted to them by Colonel Thomas Talbot.^{[citation needed]}

A continual influx of immigrants from Scotland and Ulster meant that by 1843 there were over 30,000 Scots in New Brunswick.^[35]

Broader English, Scottish, and Irish settlement of British Columbia began in earnest with the founding ofFort Victoria in 1843 and the subsequent creation of theColony of Vancouver Island in 1849. The capital,Victoria, developed during the height of theBritish Empire and long self-identified as being "more English than the English".

After the permanent settlement in Newfoundland by Irish in the late 18th and early 19th century, overwhelmingly fromWaterford, increased immigration of the Irish elsewhere in Canada began in the decades following theWar of 1812 and formed a significant part of theGreat Migration of Canada. Between 1825 and 1845, 60% of all immigrants to Canada were Irish; in 1831 alone, some 34,000 arrived in Montreal. Between 1830 and 1850, 624,000 Irish arrived; in contextual terms, at the end of this period, the population of the provinces of Canada was 2.4 million. BesidesUpper Canada (Ontario),Lower Canada (Quebec), the Maritime colonies ofNova Scotia,Prince Edward Island andNew Brunswick, especiallySaint John, were arrival points. Not all remained; many out-migrated to the United States or to Western Canada in the decades that followed. Few returned to Ireland.

During theGreat Famine of Ireland (1845–52), Canada received the most destitute Irish Catholics, who left Ireland in grave circumstances. Land estate owners in Ireland would either evict landholder tenants to board on returning empty lumber ships, or in some cases pay their fares. Others left on ships from the overcrowded docks in Liverpool and Cork.^[36] Most of the Irish immigrants who came to Canada and the United States in the nineteenth century and before wereIrish speakers, with many knowing no other language on arrival.^[37]

The firstSouth Slavs (includingSerbs) to arrive in Canada came toBritish Columbia in the 1850s.^[38] Many of them came from the state ofCalifornia in theUnited States, while others directly emigrated from the Balkans.^[39] They primarily originated from theBay of Kotor and theDalmatian coast which had similar climates as their destinations.^[40][41][42] The majority of these migrants came from territories controlled byAustria-Hungary for political and economic reasons, and only a small number came directly fromIndependent Serbia.^[41] Those who settled were typically young single men and employed inmining orforestry near such towns asPhoenix,GoldenPrince Rupert andKamloops.^[43]

The German Protestants developed the Lutheran Church along Canadian lines. In Waterloo County, Ontario, with large German elements that arrived after 1850, the Lutheran churches played major roles in the religious, cultural and social life of the community. By 1871, nearly55% of the population of Waterloo County had German origins.^[44] Especially in Berlin, German was the dominant language spoken. Research indicates that there was no apparent conflict between the Germans from Europe and those who came from Pennsylvania.^[45]

The French-English tensions that marked the establishment of the earliest English-speaking settlements in Nova Scotia were echoed on the Prairies in the late nineteenth century. The suppression of the rebellions allowed the government of Canada to proceed with a settlement ofManitoba,Saskatchewan, andAlberta that was to create provinces that identified generally with English Canada in culture and outlook, although immigration included large numbers of people from non English-speaking European backgrounds, especiallyScandinavians andUkrainians.

The history of Yugoslav-Bosnian arrivals to Canada dates back to as far as the 19th century.^[46] Around the same time, many thousands of Yugoslav-Aegean Macedonians emigrated to Canada in the 1890s. They settled primarily inOntario, especiallyToronto. Many early Aegean Macedonian immigrants found industrial work in Toronto. Later migrants found work as factory in abattoirs and foundries.Chatham andWindsor attracted many Macedonian immigrants who worked along the railroads. Many later settled inDetroit, Michigan.

Western Canada started to attract in 1896 and draw large numbers of other German immigrants, mostly fromEastern Europe.Plautdietsch-speakingRussian Mennonites of Dutch-Prussian ancestry were especially prominent since they were persecuted by theTsarist regime in Russia. The farmers were used to the harsh conditions of farming in southern Imperial Russia (nowUkraine) and so were some of the most successful in adapting to theCanadian Prairies.

Nearly one million European immigrants, primarily from non-British and non-French origins, came throughPier 21 inHalifax, Nova Scotia in the early-mid 1900s.^[47]

In 1902, Welsh immigrants arrived fromPatagonia, which had been incorporated intoArgentina in 1881. Compulsory military service and a series of floods that ruined Welsh farmers' crops led to some emigrants resettling atLlewelyn near Bangor, Saskatchewan, where they once again took up farming. A community of Welsh farmers was also established at Wood River nearPonoka, Alberta.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 20th century, Yugoslavs (Serbs) arrived in theprairies. InSaskatchewan, they took upfarming.^[41] In Alberta, coal mining and road construction was a source of employment. Many Serbs worked on the construction of railway lines that now extend from Edmonton to thePacific coast.^[48] Communities of Serbs emerged inRegina,Lethbridge, Edmonton andCalgary while significant populations formed inAtlin, British Columbia andDawson, Yukon.^[49] InOntario andQuebec, Serbs were drawn to work in the industry sector. By 1914, the Serbian community of the city ofHamilton, Ontario numbered around 1,000.^[50] Further Serb settlement was established inNiagara Falls,London, andWindsor.^[38] The first Serbian immigrants to the city ofToronto arrived in 1903; by 1914 there were more than 200 Serbs.^[38]

Until theSecond World War, most people who today identify themselves as Yugoslav-Macedonian Canadians claimed a Bulgarian ethnic identity and were recorded as part of the Bulgarian ethnic group.^{[51][52][53][54]} The termMacedonian was used as a geographic/regional term rather than an ethnic one.^[54] At that time the political organization by the Slavic immigrants from theregion of Macedonia, theMacedonian Patriotic Organization, also promoted the idea of Macedonian Slavs beingBulgarians.^[55]

During theGreat War, military-aged Serb males who hailed from Serbia or Montenegro were considered allies but those who were born in Austro-Hungarian territories were deemed enemy aliens by Canadian law, even though their sympathies tended to lie with the allied cause. The latter were restricted in their freedom of movements, had to wear special identity cards and had to identify themselves regularly at the police station.^[50] Several hundred were interned inprison camps throughout the country under terrible conditions.^[56] PhysicistMihajlo Pupin, Serbia's consul inNew York during the war, and Antun Seferović, the honorary consul of Serbia inMontreal, advocated for the rights of the classified aliens and internees through diplomacy via theSrpska Narodna Odbrana u Kanadi (Serbian National League of Canada) which resulted in exemption, compensation and the release of many ethnic Serbs.^[57] Another advocate for the rights of Serbs of Austro-Hungarian origin was Serbian-born court interpreter Bud Protich, who enlisted in the Canadian Army and was wounded in action in 1917.^[58]

German immigration and settlement to Canada accelerated in the 1920s, when the United States imposed quotas on Central and Eastern European immigration. Soon, Canada imposed its own limits, however, and prevented most of those trying to flee theThird Reich from moving to Canada. Many of the Mennonites settled in the areas ofWinnipeg andSteinbach, and the area just north ofSaskatoon.^[59]

Victoria Hayward described the cultural changes of theCanadian Prairies as a "mosaic" in the 1920s, as hundreds of thousands of immigrants fromcentral and eastern Europe settled across the Prairies beginning in earnest during the late 19th century, with large scale immigration flows lasting through the mid-20th century.

"New Canadians, representing many places and widely separated sections of Old Europe, have contributed to the Prairie Provinces a variety in the way of Church Architecture. Cupolas and domes distinctly Eastern, almost Turkish, startle one above the tops of Manitoba maples or the bush of the river banks. These architectural figures of the landscape, apart altogether of their religious significance, are centers where, crossing the threshold on Sundays, one has the opportunity of hearing Swedish music, or the rich, deep chanting of the Russian responses; and of viewing at close hand the artistry that goes to make up the interior appointments of these churches transplanted from the East to the West…It is indeed a mosaic of vast dimensions and great breadth, essayed of the Prairie."^[60]

After 1921, all immigrants from Yugoslavia, including Serbs, were designated as "Yugoslavs".^[42] Theinterwar period saw a major increase in Serbianimmigration to Canada.^[40] More than 30,000 Yugoslavs came to Canada between 1919 and 1939, including an estimated 10,000 Serbs. Many of these immigrants were single, working men who settled in the northern region of the province of Ontario.^[38]

Another early use of the termmosaic to refer to Canadian society was byJohn Murray Gibbon, in his 1938 bookCanadian Mosaic. Gibbon clearly disapproved of the American melting-pot concept. He saw the melting pot as a process by whichimmigrants and their descendants were encouraged to cut off ties with their countries and cultures of origin so as to assimilate into the American way of life.^[61]

In the aftermath of the Holocaust, displaced Jews emigrated to Canada from Europe, rejuvenating Canada's Yiddish-language European culture.^[62][63][64]

After theSecond World War, Serbian political émigrés who were opposed to the newly established Yugoslav communist government sought refuge in Canada.^[40] Many of these werePOWs and laborers from Austria and Germany who refused to return to their homeland. They settled in cities such as Toronto, Sudbury and Hamilton.^[38] Later, between 1957 and 1971, some 23,000 Yugoslavs arrived in Canada, of whom 10-15% were Serbs. They established organizations, newspapers and cultural events.^[38]

A community ofPortuguese immigrants, primarily from the Azores Islands, came to settle in Canada beginning in significant numbers in 1953.^[65]

Beginning with the first Canadian censusin 1871, the European Canadian population as a percentage of the total Canadian population had a peak of 98.5 percent. Since then, their proportion of the total Canadian population has been decreasing gradually since the mid-20th century to the most recent census in 2021.^[13][66][67] The actual decrease in the percentage of the population who are of European origins is hard to quantify, because individuals who fill out the census can self-identify under more than one category, based on their personal family history. Statistics Canada advises that the total number of people listed by ethnic origin is actually larger than the total population estimate.^{[13]: note103 [11]} It is therefore not possible to express the number of individuals of European origin as a percentage of the total population.

The 2021 census recorded Canadians of European descent in the following categories: British Isles origins; French origins; other Western European origins; other Northern European origins; Southern European origins; Southeast European origins; Eastern European origins; and other European origins.^[68]

"Canadian" was the single largest ethnic origin reported in the 2021 census, reported by 5,677,205 individuals, although the grouping from the British Isles was collectively larger, at 10,712,280. The British category included 5,322,830English, 4,392,200Scottish, 4,413,115Irish, and 455,720Welsh. It was followed byFrench at 4,011,665. Other large groups included individuals ofGerman (2,955,695),Italian (1,546,390),Ukrainian (1,258,635),Dutch (988,585), andPolish (982,820) origin.^[68]

demographic vertical bar chart of between 1871 and 2021

Population (1871-2021) Canadian census

demographic vertical bar chart of between 1871 and 2021

Population percentage (%) per census (1871-2021)

In the2021 census, the largest non-official Europeanmother tongue languages wereSpanish (538,870),Italian (319,505),German (272,865) andPortuguese (240,680) andRussian (197,905).^[90] English and French are not included in this table because most Canadians have one of those languages as their mother tongue, regardless of their ethnic origin.

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The various cultures of the Canadians of European descent have had a predominant influence on theculture of Canada. Over time, many people of European Canadian origins have brought with them or contributedliterature,art,architecture,cinema andtheater,religion andphilosophy,ethics,agricultural skills,foods,medicine,science andtechnology,fashion andclothing styles,music,language,business,economics,legal system,political system, and social and technological innovation toCanadian culture. European settlers brought with them European plants, animals, viruses and bacteria, remaking significant portions of the Canadian ecology and landscape in the image of their homelands.^[102][103] Canadian culture evolved in large part from the culture that the English, French, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish settlers brought with them, long before Canada became a country. Much of English-Canadian culture shows influences from the cultures of the British Isles, with later influence, due to 19th-century immigration from different regions of Europe, such as Eastern Europe. Colonial ties to Great Britain and the cultural presence of the United States spread theEnglish language, legal system and other cultural attributes.

Elements of Aboriginal, French, British and more recent immigrant customs, languages and religions have combined to form theculture of Canada and thus aCanadian identity, without eradicating specific regional or cultural identities such as Aboriginal or Québecois.^{[dubious –discuss]} Canada has also been strongly influenced by its linguistic, geographic and economic neighbour, theUnited States.

Many Canadians see theCultural Mosaic, which promotesmulticulturalism and an equality of cultures, as a distinctive feature of Canadian culture, one that sets it apart from themelting pot philosophy of many Americans.^[104][105]

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Another area of cultural influence areCanadian Patriotic songs:

• Canadian National Anthem – Two Canadians of French descentAdolphe-Basile Routhier wrote the lyrics and Calixa Lavallée composed the music in 1880.^[106][107] The English lyrics were written in 1908 byScottish-CanadianRobert Stanley Weir.^[108] The lyrics have also been translated into many other languages spoken by different Canadian minority populations, including other European languages.^{[109][110][111][112][113]}
• The Maple Leaf Forever – An older butunofficial national anthem written by ScotsmanAlexander Muir in 1867.^[114] It was in consideration for official national anthem, however, as no French version was ever written, it was never popular with Francophones.^[115]

• Ice Hockey – British soldiers and immigrants to Canada and the United States brought their stick-and-ball games with them and played them on the ice and snow of winter. Ice hockey was first played in Canada during the early nineteenth century, based on similar sports such asfield hockey that were played in Europe.^[116] Although stick-and-ball games are common to many cultures, including those of the indigenous people of the Americas,^[117] European Canadians created a distinctive variation. The sport was originally played with a stick and ball, but in 1860 a group of English veterans from theRoyal Canadian Rifle Regiment played a game inKingston, Ontario, utilising apuck for what is believed to be the first time. This match, played on the frozen harbour by the city, is sometimes considered to be the birth of modern ice hockey.^[118] According to legend, the first hockey pucks were molded from fresh cow dung that was then allowed to freeze in below-zero outdoor temperatures.^[119] Whether or not this was how the first puck was made, the use of horse or cow droppings was common thereafter, a distinctively Euro-Canadian aspect of the game made possible by the country's Northern climate.^[119][120]

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Substantial numbers of European Canadians of French extraction migrated to New England beginning in the late nineteenth century, taking jobs in the cotton mills there and forming a Catholic French-speaking immigrant community.^[121] Between 1840 and 1930, almost a million Quebecers migrated to New England to work in its factories, mills, potato fields and logging camps.^[122]

• European emigration
• Métis people (Canada)
• Ethnic origins of people in Canada
• European Americans
• Demographics of Canada

• Bassler, Gerhard P. (July 30, 2013)."German Canadians".The Canadian Encyclopedia.Historica Canada. RetrievedApril 16, 2021.
• Bloomfield, Elizabeth; Foster, Linda; Forgay, Jane (1993).Waterloo County to 1972: an annotated bibliography of regional history. Waterloo: Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation.ISBN 9780969693604.
• Campbell, Wilfred; Bryce, George (1911).The Scotsman in Canada. The Musson Book Company.
• Lehmann, Heinz (1986). Bassler, Gerhard P. (ed.).The German Canadians 1750–1937: Immigration, Settlement & Culture. Translated by Bassler, Gerhard P. Jesperson Press.ISBN 978-1-55081-308-1.
• Mandres, Marinel (2020). "An Unprecedented Dichotomy: Impacts and Consequences of Serbian Internment in Canada during the Great War". In Hinther, Rhonda L.; Mochoruk, Jim (eds.).Civilian Internment in Canada: Histories and Legacies. University of Manitoba Press. pp. 99–114.ISBN 978-0-88755-845-0.
• Powell, John (2005).Encyclopedia of North American Immigration. Infobase Publishing.ISBN 9781438110127. RetrievedApril 20, 2013.
• Reaman, George Elmore (1957).The Trail of the Black Walnut (revised ed.). Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.ISBN 0-7710-7351-8.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Tomović, Vladislav A. (2002).Canadian Serbs: A History of Their Social and Cultural Traditions (1856-2002). Batlik.ISBN 978-0-92064-240-5.
• Vuković, Sava (1998).History of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America and Canada 1891–1941. Kragujevac: Kalenić.

• Canadian people of European descent
• European diaspora in Canada
• European diaspora in North America

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