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 SEGREGATION TO INTERMARRIAGE 133 In Chapter IV it was pointed out that the bulk of the Scandinavians and Ukrainians are found in the western provinces, consequently a survey of their distribution in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta is adequate for our purpose. Of all those of foreign origin in the Prairie Provinces, the Icelanders and Ukrainians show the greatest tendency to rural segregation. In Manitoba, 55 pe. of the Icelanders are in one out of the 15 electoral districts existing in 1921; in Saskatchewan, 65 pe. in one out of 16; in Alberta, though their numbers are comparatively small, a total of 55 p.c. are in two out of 12 electoral districts. The Ukrainians are much more numerous than the Icelanders in each of the three provinces and there are more cases of segregation. In Manitoba, 80 p.c. of this group is found in five electoral districts, in Saskatchewan 41 p.c- in one and 83 p.c. in five, and in Alberta 55 p.c. in one and 79 p. fn two out of the dozen districts in that province. When the analysis is carried to the smaller districts withimr the electoral areas, the tendency to segregate is even more marked. For example, 87 p.c. of the Ukrainians in Census Division I of Manitoba are located in one subdistrict of which they constitute 77 p.c. of the population. In Census Divisions 5, 12 and 13 totals of 79 p.c., 85 p.c. and 89 p.c. respectively are found in three of the subdistricts in each division. Similar cases occur in Saskatchewan and Alberta. A comparison of the Icelanders and the other Scandinavians throws further light on the subject. In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the Icelanders show as high proportions as 55 p.c. and 65 p.c. of their number in one electoral district; 23 p.c. is the highest figure shown for any of the other three Scandinavian peoples and that is for the Norwegians, for whom actual intermarriage exceeded expectation by the smallest percentage. The behaviour of the different stocks in the Scandinavian group furnishes additiona! confirmation of the thesis that segregation is an important influence in preventing intermarriage. The case of the Dutch provides a further illustration. There were about as many Dutch in the three Prairie Provinces as in Ontario. In Ontario they were widely scattered, but in Manitoba 64 p.c. were found in one and 76 pc. in two electoral districts, and in Saskatchewan 38 p.c. in one. In Alberta they are more evenly divided. The figure for the Dutch is only moderately below the expected amount of intermarriage, which seems to be consistent with their segregating in two provinces and failing to do so in the others. The Mennonites called themselves Dutch in 1921, and it is in the districts where Mennonites are settled that segregation appears. That segregation is an important influence may be illustrated in another way by the data for those of Dutch origin. The tendency to segregate becomes less marked in passing trom Manitoba west. If segregation is an important influence one would expeet a smaller percentage of intermarriage for the Dutch in the province of Manitoba than in Saskatchewan and in Saskatchewan than Alberta. The Annual report on Vital Statistics for 1925 shows the origin of parents of children born in that year. In Manitoba, 19 p.c. of the Dutch fathers had married into other stocks: 32 pc. in Saskatchewan and 57 pe. in Alberta. Segregation is not the sole explanation of these differences, but is probably a significant one. Passing to the Czechosdlovaks, it is not surprising that they exceeded expectation in respect to the amount of intermarriage, while other people from South, Eastern and Central Europe fell short. Czechs are quite different from the Russians, Austrians, Poles and Ukrainians, and appear to be much more easily assimilated. The influence of city as opposed to country residence on intermarriage Is difficult to demonstrate, as the rural and urban distribution of the various “origin” groups in Canada is not conveniently available. Other things being equal, however, people who congregate in cities would be expected to intermarry more than those who prefer rural life and follow rural occupations. On this basis, one would expect intermarriage for the Italians to far exceed expectation, because they show much larger percentages in larger cities. The failure to do so may be attributed, at least in part to the marked tendency to segregate in large cities or quarters—a tendency which also characterizes the Hebrew and other stocks. A similar examination of the data for other stocks furnishes conclusive evidence that segregation is much less marked than in the case of those stocks which are backward in

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