Origin, birthplace, nationality and language of the Canadian people

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1794974814

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-182133

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Origin, birthplace, nationality and language of the Canadian people

Place of publication:: Ottawa

Publisher:: Acland

Year of publication:: 1929

Scope:: 224 S.; Diagramme

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter VI. Origins and intermarriage in the registration area in Canada

Collection:: Economics Books

RELATION OF SEX DISTRIBUTION TO INTERMARRIAGE 127 men intermarrying and a surplus of 370 p.c. adult males, furnish a second illustration. Other similar cases are the Bulgarians, Japanese, Serbo-Croatians and Italians All of those peoples are characterized by large surpluses of males. Generally speaking, where the surplus of males is great, the proportion of males intermarrying is large as compared with the proportion for the women. Conversely, where the inequality in the numbers is not marked, the proportions of men and women marrying outside the group usually tend to be more nearly equal. But there appears to be yet another factor involved, quite apart from differences in the relative numbers of the sexes. If one selects the 7 non-British and non-French peoples with the smallest surpluses of males 21 years and over in Canada, they are found to be the following: Icelandic, Indian, Hebrew, Dutch, German, Negro and Hungarian; the Ice- landers with only 2 p.c. surplus males being the lowest, and the others mentioned in ascend- ing order. Now in 5 out of those 7 cases, larger proportions of the women have contracted exogamous marriages than of the men. This points to the conclusion that when sex inequalities are eliminated women are less conservative than men in crossing the line in marriage. However, before dwelling on that point, the two exceptions should be dealt with, viz. the Jews and the Dutch. The first case, that of the Jews, is readily explained by the rigid attitude of the Jews with regard to intermarriage acting as a greater deterrent to a daughter contemplating an exogamous marriage than to a son. While other factors may be involved, it is probable that the one mentioned is the most important. At least it seems adequate to explain the situation. With the Dutch the explanation is more difficult. The pecularity may be a distinct characteristic of the group in respect to marriage preferences, but other factors are involved in terms of which at least a plausible explanation may be found. The Dutch in the eastern provinces are, as a group, the oldest non-British and non-French residents in Canada, and they show the largest proportions marrying with the British. Indeed in the East the Dutch have already intermarried with the British to so great an extent that they are almost indistinguishable from those appearing on the census records as of British stock. Conse- quently, it tends to be a matter of indifference to one of Dutch origin in Ontario whether he marries a wife of British or Dutch stock. The same tends to obtain with the women. Since there is no barrier in the case of either sex, no occasion arises for the women to appear less conservative than the men in crossing the line. Further, that the men appear to intermarry to a greater extent, can be explained by the fact that men move about and meet more people than do the women. In the West the situation as to barriers to inter- marriage is entirely different. The majority of those classified as Dutch in the three prairie provinces in 1921 are Mennonites, who have intermarried to no great extent with the British or French nor indeed with any other stock in Canada. They live in more or less isolated communities and are entirely agricultural people. The women rarely leave the farms or villages, but the men are able to move about the country, and although they do not congregate in the cities in the West, the young men are seen very frequently in the towns and villages adjacent to their communities. So with the Mennonites also one would not be surprised to find the men, because of the opportunity of meeting people of other origins, marrying outside their group to a greater extent than the women. Having disposed of the two exceptions, one again puts forward the suggestion and with greater confidence, that the tendency among women of most stocks other than British and French to marry outside their respective groups is greater than that among the men. If further research establishes the existence of such a tendency, it may prove to be the result of a true sex difference or it may bez largely a matter of residence. In Chapter V it was shown that in the case of immigrants from virtually every foreign country, larger percent- ages of females than males live in urban districts. Urban life is more cosmopolitan, and with large proportions of women of a given origin living in incorporated cities, towns and villages, it is natural to expect, other things being equal, that they would show a large pro- portion marrying into other stocks. Thus, in examining Table 70 both the difference in

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