The Canadian People
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VOL. 44, NO. 6 HEAD OFFICE: MONTREAL, JUNE 1963 The CanadianPeople THECENSUS OF 1961provides us witha stock-takingof a numberof birthswhich exceeded the numberin ourselvesin anticipationof Canada’sone-hundredth Quebecfor the first time in a singledecade, increased birthdayas a Confederation. by 35.6 per cent.Quebec’s growth during the ten It is convenientand interesting to divide the report yearswas 29.7per cent,made up of abouta million into sections:How many of us are there? Where by naturalincrease and 205,000by net immigration. do we live? Wheredid we comefrom ? Whatsort of Newfoundland,whose birth-rate was 34 per peopleare we ? Whatare we tryingto become? thousandof the population,considerably over the Thereare manyfigures involved in thissurvey. nationalaverage of 27.5per thousand,increased its Thatis necessary,because the only way to learnwhat totalpopulation by 26.7per cent.Manitoba popula- sortof peoplemake up the Canadiannation is through tionwent up 18.7per cent;Saskatchewan, 11.2 per figures.These figures answer many questions we ask cent; Nova Scotia14.7 per cent; New Brunswick ourselvesfrom time to timewithout having any handy 15.9per cent,and Prince Edward Island 6.3 per cent. wayof findingthe facts. The threemaritime provinces suffered net losses The firstcensus in 1666recorded a totalof 3,215 throughthe excessof emigrationover immigration. peoplein the colonyof New France.By 1763,New Theirbirth-rates varied from 31 to 27 per thousand. Francehad a populationof 60,000,and when the How many workers ? modernnation was formedthrough confederation in For statisticalpurposes the labour force in Canada 1867Canada had 3,500,000people. At the timeof the is definedas all persons14 yearsand overwho are 1961census the totalhad grownto 18,238,247,and eitherworking or lookingfor work.There are, of an estimatemade by the Bureauof Statisticsplaced course,some exclusions: those in the armedforces, thefigure at 18,767,000as we entered1963. in hospitals,jails, or otherinstitutions, or on Indian To catcha senseof the changetaking place in reservations. Canada,consider these facts: the increasein popula- In the ten yearsending in 1961nearly 1,300,000 tionhas doubledduring every decade since 1931, on peoplewere added to the labourforce, which in 1961 top of a totalpopulation that had almostdoubled averagedalmost 6,500,000. By the end of 1962 the duringthe first 30 yearsof thecentury. labourforce totalled 6,612,000. As to our future,the Bureauof Statisticssays a conservativeprojection indicates that population will The changingorder of makinga livingis seenin a riseto morethan 22 millionby 1971. comparisonbetween the first years of the centuryand 1961.In thosesixty years the numberof workers Highbirth-rates and a highlevel of immigration engagedin manufacturingrose from15 per centto werethe principalfactors accounting for thegrowth 25 percent, those in theservice businesses rose from of populationin Canadain theperiod 1951 to 1961,a 14 percent to 25 percent, and the numberof agricul- growthtotalling 4,228,818 persons. The death-rate turalworkers declined from 40 per cent to 12 per declinedfrom 9 to 8 perthousand of the population. cent. Net immigration,that is, the differencebetween the numberof personsentering the countryand those Where do we live ? leavingit, totalled 1,080,746 in theten years. Canadahas been becomingan increasinglyurban Allprovinces did not shareequally in the popula- country.At thetime of the census30 per centof our tiongrowth. The fastestrates of growthoccurred in peoplewere living in ruralareas and 70 percent were the two mostwesterly provinces, Alberta having 41.8 livingin villages,towns and citieswith more than per centincrease and British Columbia 39.8 per cent. 1,000population. The trend to citylife will continue, Ontario,which had a net immigrationof 685,000and predictedthe GordonCommission, until by 1980 theremay be 80 percent of ourpeople living in urban Variationsin the birth-ratebetween provinces are centres. narrowing,and Quebec,which once possessedmuch Amongmetropolitan areas, the greatestpercentage thehighest rate of births,has droppedclose to the increaseof populationin theten years preceding 1961 nationallevel. It fellfrom 30 per1,000 population in was in Calgary,96.1, and the smallestwas Windsor, 1951 to 26.8 in 1960 and 26.1 in 1961.Ontario’s 18.2 per cent. Otherpercentage increases were: birth-raterose from 22 to 26. Toronto50.7; Sudbury 49.9; Ottawa 46.9; Kitchener People from abroad 44.1;Montreal 43.3; Hamilton 41; Vancouverand London40.6; Halifax 37.3; Victoria 36.2; Winnipeg Immigration,the otherfactor in populationin- 33.4;St. John’s,Newfoundland 32.4; Quebec 29.4; crease,has been going on sincethe firstFrench SaintJohn, New Brunswick,22. settlerscame to thiscountry three and a halfcenturies ago.Every phase of thearts, and everystage of na- Where did we come from ? tionaldevelopment in economics,has beentouched Almostall the Canadiansof today-- or their and sometimeschanged by these immigrants.They ancestors-- immigratedto Canadaduring the past broughtwith them talents and skillswhich provided threeand a halfcenturies. Only a few,about one in a a stimulusto our growth,and theyhave been shaped hundred,are descendedfrom the earlyinhabitants by thespecial character of theCanadian environment. of NorthAmerica, and no one knowsfor surewhere Sincethe end of WorldWar II therehave been wide theirforefathers came from. These people are Indians fluctuationsin immigration.There was an upsurge and Eskimos,with their own languagesand cultures. in 1948,when shipping became available. In addition The Indiansare groupedinto 562 bandson 2,217 to thelarge movement from the British Isles, thousands reserveshaving a totalarea of 5,900,000acres. of displacedpersons were admitted.The Hungarian Significantin theimprovement of theIndians’ lot is revolutionand the Suezcrisis of 1956had a sharp theirincreasing integration in non-Indianschools. impact on immigration,and in 1957 there were About2,000 Indian teenagers are takinggrades 9 to 282,164persons admitted, including 31,643 from 12 in non-Indianhigh schools, and nearly100 are Hungaryand 108,989from the BritishIsles. takinggrade 13 and universitycourses. The Indians Just as with otherfactors in nationalgrowth, arenot a dyingrace, but are increasingmore rapidly numbersare not evenlyspread over Canada.Up to proportionatelythan any otherethnic group. They June 1st, 1961,Quebec had received247,762 immi- numbered185,000 in 1961, comparedwith 118,316 grantssince the war ended,while Ontario received in 1941.Approximately 26 per cent live offthe reserves, 833,303.All the otherprovinces combined took a andit canbe saidthat they are slowly finding a place totalof 426,051. in thelarger Canadian society. Emigrationfrom Canada reduces these gains The Eskimoshave survived in Canada’snorthland substantially.In the ten years1952 to 1961Canada for severalthousand years on comparativelymeagre lost399,542 people to the UnitedStates. Of these, resources.They are a naturallyhardy and intelligent 286,155were Canadianborn. people,and todaythey are learningnew skillsand tradesto meet changingcircumstances. There are The newcomers about 11,500 on the northernmainland and the Why do immigrantscome to Canada? Among the Arcticislands, where the governmentof Canada reasonsgiven by the lateJohn P. Kiddin his book: provideseducation, family welfare services and tech- New Rootsin CanadianSoil, published by the Cana- nicaltraining. dianCitizenship Council, Ottawa, are these:"Some TheEskimos are reachingeagerly for the tools they camebecause they felt that their children would have see in the handsof the newcomers,and are seeking greateropportunities in a new and youngcountry. newknowledge that will help them to extracta better Otherscame becausethey felt that the surging livingfrom land and water and make the old un- growthof this new nationwould providegreater certainharvest of foodricher and more stable. Their scopethan their native land for their particular skills artisticwork is receivingrecognition, andin twoyears andabilities." recentlythe CapeDorset group of talentedgraphic It is not ignobleto seek happiness,peace and artistsadded $82,000 to theircommunity’s earnings prosperity,and theseare the greatestboon Canada by thesale of collections. can offer.Canada’s willingness to receiveimmigrants Asidefrom these original dwellers in Canada,our is a defianceof the parochialismthat for agesheld gainin populationcomes from natural increase and men fearfuland suspiciousof strangers.For the immigration. immigrant’spart, his comingis a signof confidence Naturalincrease, the difference between births and in thiscountry and its people. deaths,remained steady at about20 per 1,000of the Mostnewcomers are eagerto fit intothe Canadian populationbetween 1951 and 1961.This compares community.They are proud to say that they have with16 in the precedingdecade and 11 in the years becomeCanadians, and a citizenshipcertificate is a 1931to 1941. diplomaof whichthey boast. BeforeJanuary 1, 1947,there was no suchstatus as and of 24 per centEnglish, while more than13 per Canadiancitizenship. In commonwith nationalsof cent have a mother tongue other than French or other parts of the Commonwealthand Empire, English. Canadianswere entitled to stylethemselves "British subjects".This was alteredby the CanadianCitizen- What sort of people? ship Act, which establisheda Canadiannational The firstnatural division into sorts of peopleis status.It specifiedwhat classesof personswere thatof sex.In 1961there were 9,218,893