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Jul 5, 1497
First Europeans
The Europeans first started to arrive in Canada at this time. These people were mostly all white, led by John Cabot. He brought 20 other men with him that were on his ship. -
Apr 24, 1524
King Francais
King Francais sent a Florentine Navigator named Giovanni de Verrazzano who explored the Eastern Coastline of North America to give France some claim of the land. -
Aug 15, 1534
Jacques Cartier
Cartier sailed a route that was well known for the most part. This was an exploring expedition and Cartier had to report the lands he had seen and the people he had met to the French king. -
Sep 27, 1535
Cartier's Second Expedition
As the leader of a new expedition, Jacques followed a new route which led to Quebec. Here him and approximately 30 shipmates found an Indian village. The Lachine Waters were blocking their way home so they suffered a cold Winter and many of his shipmates died of cold and scurvy. -
Founding of New France
When Jacques Cartier returned with only a few crew members, Troilus de Mesgouez was sent to Canada armed with authority. He learned to interact with the Aboriginals there and traded furs with them. He sent a message back to his people that led to an immigration wave. -
First Trading Post
Carties sent the message that brought a wave of about 100-300 people, most of which were white ethnicity and adults. From here they created the first trading post which they used to trade fur and other goods with the aboriginals. -
New France
About 65,000 people arrived in New France, still Europeans. There were a few kids, but again they were mostly adults. -
Black Loyalists
About 3,000 came to Canada in 1776 to help in the American Revolutionary War. Their ethnicity was African-American, and most of them had been slaves. They joined the war for the Crown's promise of freedom. -
Loyalists from New York State
About 35,000 loyalists came to help out for the war, and they weren't promised anything, unlike the black loyalists. They were all from New York State, so basically all of them were of white nationality. -
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Scottish Canadians
About 170,000 Scots arrived in Canada to settle. The Kingdom of Scotland established one of the earliest settlements in Canada. -
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Underground Railroad
15,000 to 20,00 enslaved African-Americans moved to Canada via the underground railroad. Many were slaves in America that were in need of freedom, so they moved to Canada in secret. -
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Irish Canadians
759,245 Irish people immigrated to Canada because of their potato famine. The Irish's main food source was their potatoes, so when rain started to decrease and their potatoes stopped growing, they needed a place to go. -
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Chinese Immigrants
29,031 people of Chinese nationality moved to Canada. They were in search of gold that they had heard was there. This was around the same time the railroads were being built. -
The Japanese
From 1877-1911 Japanese were moving to Camada. It started with one man, then he contacted his family and eventually the word spread. About 10,000 Japanese people had settled in Canada permanently. -
Dutch/Dutch Americans
25,000 Dutch people immigrated to Canada from 1890-1930. These Dutch immigrants joined the migration to take up homesteads and and railway lands. Their ancestors are still in Canada today and keep their tradition. -
Ukrainians
Through the dates 1891 and 1913 170,000 Ukrainians moved to Canada. The Ukrainians are known for their farming, so when they heard Canada had good farm land they moved here. Most of them stayed, settling in southern Saskatchewan. -
Italians
120,767 Italians moved to Canada from 1901 to 1920. The Italians were one of the first people to move to Canada, but the 20th century was when they had a big wave. They had heard of the trading posts in Canada and wanted to participate. -
The Finnish
There were about 36,000 of them that arrived in 1921. They were seeking better economic opportunities than what were available in Finland. Many of them stayed, moving to places with high economies. -
Central and Eastern Europe
About 250,000 displaced people from Central and Eastern Europe arrived in Canada. This happened from 1947-1952. They moved to Canada because of the Second World War and I think most of them stayed. -
Portugese
1951-1974: 132,731 people from Portugese arrived in Canada. They moved overseas because they were mostly fishermen, and heard there was good fishing area. A lot of them stayed on the coast of Newfoundland. -
The Hungarians
37,000 refugees from Hingary arrived. The reason for this was because they started an uprising against the Soviet but it failed, so they had to get away from their country. That is why most of them arrived in just one year. -
People from Caribbean countries
This was a timespan from 1960-1969 in which 69,707 people arrived. These people were of Caribbean origin and most of them arrived for fear of being enslaved. After the threat of slavery was over most of them went back to where they were from. -
Trinidadians and Tobagonians
About 100,000 of these people arrived in Canada, only half of what immigrated to North America. Most of the other 100,000 went to America. These countries surround the Carribean Sea and are part of the Caribbean. -
Czech Refugees
11,000 people from the Czech Republic immigrated to Canada. This happened from 1968 to 1969. They started coming during the war of 1812, but the biggest wave of immigration to Canada was when America introduced a quota system for immigration. -
Latin American Canadians
Most of them arrived between 1970 and 1973. The reason they arrived was because of the overthrow of the Allende regime. There were about 7,000 Latin Americans that arrived at this time. -
Soviet Jews
There were 20,000 of these people that arrived between 1970 and 1990. They were looking for a safer environment, away from the legal discrimination, prejudice, and violence in their own neighbourhoods. -
Ismaili Muslims
7,000 muslims from Uganda moved to Canada trhough the dates 1972 and 1973. These people moved here because of the new immigration policies and economic and political problems in their own country. -
Vietnamese Refugees
There was one wave in 1975, but it was not as big as this one. These 60,000 refugees from Vietnam arrived from 1979 and 1980. It is a short timespan for that amount of people to arrive, but they were suffering the harsh conditions from the communist groups in their country. -
Baha'i Faith
The Baha'i Faith is a religion around the whole world with members in 235 countries. They immigrated to Canada from 1981 to 1989, and it is estimated that there were 2,300 people. Canada played an usually big role in Baha'i religion, so many of the people with countries that weren't so involved immigrated to Canada. -
Sri Lankans
1983-2007: 114,896 people from Sri Lanka moved to Canada. The majority of them live in Ontario.They were looking for a country that they wouldn't be involved in labor. Their country would pay them little to nothing, which is why they moved to Canada. -
Hong Kong Immigrants
Throughout the dates 1988 and 1993, 166,487 immigrants from Hong Kong moved to Canada. The people there had started to believe Hong Kong was reaching towards prosperity, and that they would not have the same freedom they used to. -
Kosovars
People from Kosovo were arriving in Canada in 1999, the date of the Kosovo War. Many of these people were refugees, others were looking for supplies that they could use in the war. For example, aircrafts, medical supplies and ammo. -
Indians
The Indians immigration to Canada was the exact same time as the Chinese (2004-2013). 310,000 of them arrived, attracted by the high Canadian wages they had heard of. Many of them stayed, which is why we have such a high population of South Asian Canadians today. -
Second Chinese Wave
This timespan lasted 9 years, 2004-2013. During this time, about 326,000 Chinese immigrants migrated to Canada. This was about the time that the Chinese were getting tired of barely any women, which is the reason they moved to Canada. -
Filipinos
Again, these people arrived at the same time as the last two groups. From 2004 to 2013, 263,000 Filipino people arrived in Canada. They had great skills and capacity, and due to overpopulation in their Canada, many of them decided to immigrate to Canada instead of staying. -
Pakistanis
Just like the others, these people arrived the same years. 105,000 immigrated from 2004-2013. Most of these people were expelled from Canada, whom Canada willingly took in. Canada took about 7,000, and from there a steady flow of refugees continued to arrive in Canada. -
Syrian Refugees
A planeload (50-75 people) arrived in Canada on December 27, carrying Syrian Refugees. These people varied from all ages. There was war going on which is why they moved to Canada. Many more planes arrived, carrying more and more refugees.
