University of Alberta Prairie Shamrock: Irish Settlement and Identity in Western Canada, 1870s - 1930s by Allan Rowe © A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Department of History and Classics Edmonton, Alberta Spring 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-45589-0 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-45589-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada Abstract This study analyzes Irish settlement and identity in the Prairie West from the opening of the region for agricultural settlement in the 1870s through to the early 1930s. Drawing upon census data, local histories and other sources, this thesis examines the relative significance of three population movements - overseas immigration from Ireland, migration from central and eastern Canada, and continental migration from the United States - in shaping Irish settlement patterns in western Canada in both rural and urban locations. It contends that the timing and circumstances of Prairie settlement gave rise to a distinctly regional variant of Irish identity in western Canada, expressed most clearly through the activity of Irish societies. The first Irish associations were established in Winnipeg, which emerged in the late nineteenth century as the regional Irish metropolis, and spread to cities in Saskatchewan and Alberta in the early twentieth century as Irish settlement extended across the region. These associations attracted both immigrant and intergenerational Irish and publicly articulated a variety of different Irish identities; the dominant vision of Irishness that emerged, however, placed the Irish firmly in a western Canadian context, emphasizing Irish contributions to the growth and development of the Prairie region. Western Canada was also home to a small but vocal group of Irish nationalists who dominated associational activity in the Prairie West during and immediately after the Great War, as the Irish national question entered its final and most critical stage. It was however the regional variant of Irish identity, rooted in the Prairie settlement experience, that reemerged and endured through the 1920s. Acknowledgements This project has benefited greatly from the assistance of many individuals who I wish to acknowledge at the outset. First and foremost, thanks go to my supervisor Professor Frances Swyripa, whose intellectual guidance and patience have been critical to the successful completion of my Ph.D. program. I also wish to thank my other committee members, Professors Jane Samson, Paul Voisey, Yasmeen Abu- Laban and Mark McGowan for their helpful comments and suggestions. I am also grateful to Professor Rod Macleod for his valuable insights in the early stages of the dissertation. I have received critical financial support over the course of my Ph.D. program, and wish to express my appreciation to the following for grants and scholarships that made the research for this project possible: the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Province of Alberta, the Eleanor Luxton Historical Foundation, the Sir Winston Churchill Statute and Oxford Scholarship Foundation, and the Foundation to Commemorate the Chinese Railroad Workers in Canada. Sincere thanks as well to my friends and colleagues in the Department of History and Classics, particularly during the difficult final year of the program. Matthew Eisler, Roberta Lexier, Angeles Espinaco-Virseda, Theresa Mallie and Aya Fujiwara all provided much appreciated feedback and support throughout the project. Special thanks as well to Patricia Myers for her insights during our all too infrequent meetings over coffee. Finally, on a personal note, I wish to close with two expressions of deep gratitude. First, sincere thanks to my mother, for her hard work and many sacrifices. Her dedication to my education at an early age laid the foundation for my later interest in history. Second, to my wife Gail, who has lived with this project for eight years, and my daughters, Ambreyl, Chelsea and Lindsay, who have lived with it their entire lives. Without their love and support, the completion of my Ph.D. program would not have been possible. Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter One Irish Immigration, Migration and Settlement in Western Canada in the Late Nineteenth Century 29 Chapter Two "A Good and Patriotic Citizen": Irishness and Canadian Identity in Manitoba, 1874-1904 92 Chapter Three Irish Immigration, Migration and Settlement in Western Canada in the Early Twentieth Century 141 Chapter Four "The Shamrock Belongs to No One Part of Ireland": Irish Associational Culture and Identity in Western Canada, 1905-1930 189 Conclusion 247 Bibliography 253 List of Tables Table 1 Age of population, Marquette census district, 1881 35 Table 2 Ethnic origin of settlers in Dufferin North subdistrict, 1881 36 Table 3 Birthplace of Irish-origin settlers in Dufferin North subdistrict, 1881 36 Table 4 Religion of the Irish-origin population, Dufferin North subdistrict, 1881 41 Table 5 Provincial origin of Irish emigrants, 1876-1900 48 Table 6 Irish-born residents of Broadview subdistrict and Broadview subdivision by religion, 1891 53 Table 7 Irish-born residents of Macleod subdistrict and Macleod subdivision by religion, 1891 53 Table 8 Birthplace of ranchers, subdivisions within Macleod subdistrict, 1891 57 Table 9 Percentage of Manitoba's Anglo-Celtic population living in Winnipeg, 1901 69 Table 10 Religion of Irish population of Winnipeg, 1901 70 Table 11 Occupations of Irish immigrants in Winnipeg, 1881 to 1901 70 Table 12 Distribution of Winnipeg's Irish-born and Anglo-Celtic populations, 1901 72 Table 13 Occupations of Irish immigrant women in Winnipeg, 1891 77 Table 14 Occupations of Winnipeg Irish identified in both 1891 and 1901 censuses 81 List of Tables (continued) Table 15 Occupation of St. Patrick's Society of Manitoba officers compared to overall Irish Catholic group, 1874-81 96 Table 16 Irish population growth in western Canada, 1901-1916 145 Table 17 Birthplace of Irish living in western Canada, 1916 145 Table 18 Ethnic origin of Sinnett's residents, 1911 148 Table 19 Religion of Irish settlers in Macleod and Marquette, 1911 150 Table 20 Birthplace of Irish settlers in Macleod and Marquette, 1911 150 Table 21 Year of immigration for western Canada's Irish-born, 1916 155 Table 22 Sex of western Canada's Irish immigrant population, 1916 157 Table 23 Irish populations of major western Canadian urban centres, 1916 167 Table 24 Population growth in western Canada, 1916-31 172 Table 25 Irish societies established in western Canada, 1905-27 194 Introduction This thesis examines the history of the Irish in the Prairie West from the 1870s to the early 1930s, focusing primarily on two themes. First, it analyzes western Canada as a critical frontier of Irish settlement, a destination for both new Irish immigrants and for Irish-born and intergenerational Irish migrants moving to the Prairie West from elsewhere in North America. Second, it explores the evolution of Irish nationalism and identity in western Canada as projected through Irish associations which spread through the region's urban centres in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Central to the analysis of both themes is the significance of region. Put simply, the West mattered, both in terms of immigration, migration and settlement trends and in terms of the evolution of Irish nationalism and Irish Canadian identity. This thesis contends that patterns of Irish immigration and migration to the Prairie West, unique in Canada, ultimately gave rise to the development of a distinctly regional variant of Irish Canadian identity. Yet, Irishness