Canadians of Norwegian descent

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In the 2006 census there were 432,515 Canadian citizens who claimed Norwegian ancestry, making up 1.4% of the entire Canadian population. Significant Norwegian immigration took place from the mid-1880s to 1930. ^[1]

Norway plays an important role in the Canadian history. The very first European to reach North America were in fact Norsemen, who made at least one major effort at settlement in Newfoundland (L'Anse aux Meadows) around 1000 AD. Snorri Guđriđsson, the son of Thorfinn Karlsefni and his wife Guđriđ, is thought to be the first European baby born in North America.^[2] Canada is also the home of Little Norway and Camp Norway, both Norwegian military training facilities, during the Second World War.

Contents 1 List of Canadians of Norwegian descent 1.1 Actors 1.2 Athletes 1.3 Explorers 1.4 Filmmakers 1.5 Journalists 1.6 Musicians 1.7 Politicians 1.8 Writers 1.9 Others 2 Norwegian population in Canada 3 References

[edit] List of Canadians of Norwegian descent

[edit] Actors

• Melody Anderson, social worker and public speaker specializing in the impact of addiction on families. Also widely known as an actress.
• Melyssa Ford, mondel/actress.
• Natassia Malthe Norwegian model/actress who grew up in Canada.
• John Qualen - actor [1] "He was Hollywood's stock Scandinavian character actor but could also play just about any other ethnic type imaginable. He was born Johan Mandt Kvalen in Vancouver, British Columbia on December 8, 1899, the son of Norwegian immigrants. His father, a Lutheran minister, changed the spelling of their name to Qualen."
• Rachel Skarsten, actress.

[edit] Athletes

• Glenn Anderson, retired professional hockey player.
• Jeff Friesen, professional hockey player.
• Kristina Groves, Olympic speed skater.
• Rick Hansen, wheelchair celebrity and philanthropist
• Anne Heggtveit, alpine skier.
• Herman "Jackrabbit" Smith-Johannsen (1875-1987), a Norwegian-Canadian cross country skier, who lived to be 111 years old.
• Cindy Klassen, Olympic speed skater.
• Denny Morrison, Olympic speed skater.
• George Knudson, CM, was a professional golfer, who along with Mike Weir holds the record for the Canadian with the most wins on the PGA Tour, with eight career victories.
• Karen Magnussen, Olympic figure skater, North Vancouver, BC.
• Christine Nordhagen, Norwegian-Canadian Olympic female wrestler
• Pat Onstad, professional soccer goalkeeper.
• Terry Puhl, former professional baseball player. He is currently the head coach of University of Houston-Victoria's baseball team.
• Cliff Ronning, professional hockey player.

[edit] Explorers

• Henry Larsen Norwegian born Canadian Arctic seaman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Second to traverse Canada's Northwest Passage in the famous St. Roch.

[edit] Filmmakers

• Torill Kove, Norwegian-Canadian film director and animator. Academy Awards winner for the animated short film The Danish Poet.

[edit] Journalists

• Dawna Friesen, foreign correspondent for NBC News.
• Roger Petersen, reporter for CTV Toronto.

[edit] Musicians

• Endre Johannes Cleven, musician/composer and founder of the Canadian Viking Regiment (197th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force)
• Mitch Dorge, musician.
• Bruce Haack, Norwegian-Canadian musician and composer.
• Joni Mitchell, singer/songwriter.

[edit] Politicians

• Ione Christensen, CM, is a former Canadian Senator.
• Nellie Cournoyea, former Canadian politician, who served as Premier of the Northwest Territories from 1991 to 1995.
• David Eggen, Alberta NDP MLA for Edmonton Calder.
• Colin Hansen, British Columbia's Minister of Economic Development, and Minister Responsible for the Asia-Pacific Initiative and the 2010 Winter Olympics.
• Hans Lars Helgesen, MLA for Esquimalt, 1878-1886. The first non-Briton to serve in the BC legislature and prominent in the establishment of the commercial fishery in the Queen Charlotte Islands.
• Carolyn Stewart-Olsen, press secretary to Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, part of the Communications department of the Prime Minister's Office.
• Chuck Strahl, MP for Fraser Valley East and Minister of Agriculture and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board.

[edit] Writers

• Holly Nelson, poet, writer and political activist.
• Sonja Skarstedt, poet, short story, playwright writer, painter and illustrator.
• Fred Stenson, writer of historical fiction and non-fiction relating to the Canadian West.

[edit] Others

• Gerda Hnatyshyn, president and chair of the Hnatyshyn Foundation, an arts granting organization.
• George Pedersen, academic administrator, Officer of the Order of Canada for being devoted to the cause of higher education.
• Norman Wolfred Kittson, was variously a fur trader, steamboat-line operator, and railway entrepreneur.
• Paul Thorlakson, was a Canadian physician and Chancellor of the University of Winnipeg.

[edit] Norwegian population in Canada

According to Statistics Canada figures from the 2006 census, 432,515 Canadians, or 1.38% of the population, reported themselves as having Norwegian ethnic background (multiple responses were allowed). The figures are also broken down by provinces and territories:

• British Columbia: 129,425 (3.18%)
• Alberta: 144,585 (4.44%)
• Saskatchewan: 68,650 (7.20%)
• Manitoba: 18,395 (1.62%)
• Ontario: 53,840 (0.45%)
• Quebec: 6,350 (0.09%)
• New Brunswick: 2,625 (0.36%)
• Nova Scotia: 4,675 (0.52%)
• Prince Edward Island: 390 (0.29%)
• Newfoundland and Labrador: 1,510 (0.30%)
• Yukon: 1,340 (4.44%)
• Northwest Territories: 670 (1.63%)
• Nunavut: 55 (0.19%)

It is important to note that because so many Norwegian women married men of other nationalities, and thus by census rules are not counted as having children of this ethnic origin, this tends to reduce the number in the statistics.^[3]

[edit] References

• Statistics Canada (2003). Ethno-Cultural Portrait of Canada, Table 1. Retrieved on 2006-01-04, 2006.