The boom period of Canadian immigration that began in 1896 came abruptly to a halt
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 most
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.
|
This digital collection was
produced with financial assistance from Canada's Digital
Collections initiative, Industry Canada.