 |
A History of Russian Mennonite
Immigration to Canada
The first Mennonites arrived
in Canada shortly after the American Revolution, in the 1780's. They traveled
north from Pennsylvania. These first Mennonites settled in the Waterloo
area of southern Ontario. They were German speaking Swiss.1 They left
the United States to establish a new colony in Upper Canada. Although
they came to Canada at the same time as the United Empire Loyalists, they
were not Loyalists. The Mennonites had been pacifists during the American
Revolution and had not fought for either side. The Waterloo settlement
became the backbone for a large German community in Ontario, which would
survive until World War I.
In the 1870's, Russia was suffering through an economic downturn. The
Mennonite villages which had been self-contained entities in Russia, did
not pledge allegiance to the Czar. They administered their own school
system, elected their own council were exempt from military service. During
the 1870's the Mennonite communities were under pressure from the Czar
to swear allegiance.
During the same period, the Canadian Government was advertising for immigrants
to settle "The Last Best West." The Mennonites were promised
land, cultural and educational autonomy and exception from military service.2
They flocked to the Canadian prairies in the thousands.
One-third, or 18,000 of the Dutch Mennonites in Russian relocated to Canada,
settling in the Canadian west during the 1870's and 1880's. A further
7,000 Russian Mennonites came to Canada during this 20 year period, settling
in Manitoba.3 They represented the largest influx of white settlers in
Manitoba's history. There were concessions made regarding political affiliation
and schooling.
Two large tracts of property were bought by the Mennonites. On this land,
they recreated two communities along the exact lines of the Russian communities
they had left. The aim of the Mennonites was to remain independent from
the rest of Canada, to elect their own leaders and not to have anything
to do with the Canadian political system.4
Mennonite settlers were poor. They were trying to establish a new community,
and worked hard at clearing the land. They wanted to create an autonomous
community, but when the Provincial Government offered them financial aide
for a school system, the community reluctantly accepted5. This led to
nearly fifty years of political fighting with the provincial government.
The opening up of homesteads during the 1890's attracted Mennonites from
the United States, Ontario, and Russia. Two new Mennonite colonies were
established in Saskatchewan. They did not participate in active fighting
during World War I, but contributed to the war effort in non-combatant
areas of the military.6
Following World War I, there was widespread public resentment amongst
the Canadians who had served in the war toward "enemy aliens,"
including the isolated Mennonite Russian-speaking colonies on the prairies.
These colonies, which refused to acknowledge the King, sing the National
Anthem or fly the flag at their schools were viewed as being subversive
to the Canadian Government.
On May 1st, 1919, the Government passed an Order-in-Council, banning all
immigration of Doukhobors, Hutterites and Mennonites. The Mennonite communities
of Ontario and Manitoba petitioned the Federal Government to lift the
ban. They did not have success until June 22, 1922, following a campaign
by three Mennonite leaders of very different backgrounds: Heinrich Ewert
of Gretna, Manitoba, Samuel F. Coffman of Vineland, Ontario and Abram
A. Friesen of Halbstadt, U.S.S.R. The combined effort of these three leaders
introduced a new period of cooperation between the different Mennonite
communities. It also brought a new period of trust between the Canadian
Government and the Mennonites.7
Following the lifting of the 1919 ban, there was an increase in Mennonite
immigration to Canada from Russia, as the economic situation worsened
following the Russian Revolution. Mennonites were being persecuted for
not showing allegiance to the new Communist Government. Twenty thousand
Mennonites settled on Canada's prairies in the 1920's. From 1929 through
to the end of World War II, the doors to immigration were closed in Canada.8
Following World War II, and prior to the "Iron Curtain" coming
down, in 1948, 12,000 Mennonites immigrated to Canada, settling in the
established Mennonite communities in Ontario and the prairies. Today,
there are an estimated 128,600 Mennonites living in Canada.9
Footnotes:
1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10,
13, 14 The Canadian Encyclopedia, Year 2000 Edition, Editor in
Chief: James H. Marsh, McClelland & Stewart Inc., The Canadian Publishers,
Toronto, Ont. cp 1999.
2, 4, 5, 11, Subjects
or Citizens? The Mennonite Experience in Canada, 1870 - 1925, by
Adolf Ens, University of Ottawa Press, 1994.
7, 12, Mennonite
Historian, Volume XIX, No. 1, March, 1993. Inter-Mennonite Cooperation
and Promises to Government in the Repeal of the Ban on Mennonite Immigration
to Canada 1917-1922 by Peter H. Rempel. http://www.mbnet.mb.ca
Previous
Page - - Next Page
|
