Heritage Community Foundation Presents
Alberta Online Encyclopedia
Albertans
HOME ABOUT PARTNERS SEARCH SITEMAP

   
Interwar Period

The boom period of Canadian immigration that began in 1896 came abruptly to a halt St. Paul's Church with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. During the war years immigration dropped to all-time low levels and by the end of the war in 1918, Canada was mourning the loss of the more than 60,000 who died in the war effort. Additionally,  a significant number of Canadians of European origins chose to remain in Europe after the fighting ceased.

With the end of the war, immigration began to rise, only to be obliterated again by the advent of the Great Depression of the 1930s. For the mostReturning First World War soldiers part, the migrants who did arrive in Alberta during the interwar period located themselves in rural areas developing what was left of the agricultural frontier. The majority of these migrants were from Europe and helped solidify the ethnic communities of earlier settlers of the same origin. A combination of British and Canadian immigration policies meant that Britons were still the single largest ethnic group to come to Alberta at this time. However, a combination of American and Canadian immigration policies also resulted in a considerable number of eastern and central Europeans immigrating to the province.
Back |  Top
 
Visit Alberta Source!
Heritage Community Foundation
Canada's Digital Collections

This digital collection was produced with financial assistance from Canada's Digital Collections initiative, Industry Canada. timeline » 

Albertasource.ca | Contact Us | Partnerships
            For more on Alberta’s cultural diversity, visit Peel’s Prairie Provinces.
Copyright © Heritage Community Foundation All Rights Reserved