European Canadians

European Canadians (also known as Euro-Canadians) are Canadians with ancestry from Europe.^[2] They form the largest group within Canada.

The French were the first Europeans to establish a continuous presence in what is now Canada. Hélène Desportes is considered the first white child born in New France. She was born circa 1620, to Pierre Desportes (born Lisieux, Normandie, France) and Françoise Langlois.^[3]

In the 2006 census, the largest European ancestry groups were English (21.03%), French (15.82%), Scottish (15.11%), Irish (13.94%), German (10.18%), Italian (4.63%). However, the country's largest self-reported ethnic origin is "Canadian" (accounting for 32.22% of the population). Since 1996, "Canadian" as an ethnic group has been added to census questionnaires for possible ancestry, which likely caused English Canadians, British Canadians and French Canadians to become severely underrepresented. The grouping is similar to that of "American" in neighbouring United States and is most commonly espoused by European Canadians whose ancestors have been some of the earliest European settlers of what is now Canada, to the point where they no longer feel a connection to their countries of origin.^[4] In the 2011 National Household Survey Profile, 10,563,805 people (32.1%) chose "Canadian" as their ethnic group, making it the single largest group in the country.^[5]

Number of European Canadians

The table shows the European-Canadian population showing a gradual increase from the 1871 Census, however, their proportion of the total Canadian population has been decreasing gradually since the mid-twentieth century to the most recent census in 2011. Canada enumerated its population by race between 1871 and 1971 and ethnic origins.

Today

Europeans are still the largest ethnic group in Canada. Elements of Aboriginal, French, British and more recent immigrant customs, languages and religions have combined to form the culture of Canada and thus a Canadian identity. Canada has also been strongly influenced by its linguistic, geographic and economic neighbour, the United States.

Cultural icons

George Stanley designer of the current Canadian flag.

Flag

• Canadian flag - In 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson formed a committee to resolve the issue, sparking a serious debate about a flag change to replace the Union Flag. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by George Stanley,^[12] based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was selected. The flag made its first official appearance on February 15, 1965.

Music

Scottish-Canadian Robert Stanley Weir wrote the lyrics to O Canada.

Another area of cultural influence are Canadian Patriotic songs:

• Canadian National Anthem - Two Canadians of French descent Adolphe-Basile Routhier wrote the lyrics and Calixa Lavallée composed the music in 1880.^[13][14] The English lyrics which is the official and most popular version were written in 1908 by Scottish-Canadian Robert Stanley Weir.^[15]

• The Maple Leaf Forever - is an older but unofficial national anthem written by Scotsman Alexander Muir in 1867.^[16] It was in consideration for official national anthem, however, no French version was ever written, so, it was never popular with Francophones.^[17]

Sport

• Ice Hockey - British soldiers and immigrants to Canada and the United States brought their stick-and-ball games with them and played them on the ice and snow of winter. Ice hockey was first played in Canada during the early nineteenth century, based on similar sports such as field hockey that were played in Europe.^[18] The sport was originally played with a stick and ball, but in 1860 a group of English veterans from the Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment played a game in Kingston, Ontario, utilising a puck for what is believed to be the first time. This match, played on the frozen harbour by the city, is sometimes considered to be the birth of modern ice hockey.^[19]

European ethnic origins table

Origins	18711	%	19513	%	2006	%	20114	%	Change 2006-2011
Albanian					22,395		28,270
Armenian					50,500		55,740
Austrian			32,231		194,255		197,990
Belgian			35,148		168,910		176,615
Bosnian					21,045		22,920
British Isles					403,915		576,030
Other British	7,773	0.2%	92,236
Bulgarian					27,255		30,485
Canadian					10,066,290	32.22%	10,563,805	32.1%
Croatian					110,880		114,880
Czech					98,090		94,805
Czech and Slovak			63,959
Danish			42,671		200,035		203,080
Doukhobor
Dutch	29,662	0.85%	264,267		1,035,965	3.32%	1,067,245	3.2%
English	706,369	20.3%	3,630,344	25.9%	6,570,015	21.03%	6,509,500	19.8%
Estonian					23,930		23,180
Finnish			43,745		131,040		236,215
French (incl. Acadian)	1,082,940	31.07%	4,319,167	30.83%	4,941,210	15.82%	5,077,215	15.4%
Georgian					2,200		3,155
German	202,991	5.82%	619,995		3,179,425	10.18%	3,203,330	9.7%
Greek	39	0.0%	13,966		242,685		252,960
Hungarian			60,460		315,510		316,765
Icelandic			23,307		88,875		94,205
Irish	846,414	24.3%	1,439,635		4,354,155	13.94%	4,544,870	13.8%
Italian	1,035	0.03%	152,245		1,445,335	4.63%	1,488,425	4.5%
Jewish			181,670	1.30%
Latvian					27,870		27,355
Liechtensteiner
Lithuanian			16,224		46,690		49,130
Luxembourger					3,160		3,790
Macedonian					37,055		36,985
Maltese					37,120		38,780
Moldovan							8,050
Monégasque
Montenegrin					2,370		2,970
Norwegian			119,266		432,515		452,705
Polish			219,845		984,565	3.15%	1,010,705
Portuguese					410,850		429,850
Romanian			23,601		192,170		204,625
Russian	607	0.02%	91,279		500,600	1.60%	550,520
Scandinavian2	1,623	0.0%
Scottish	549,946	15.8%	1,547,470		4,719,850	15.11%	4,714,970	14.3%
Serbian					72,690		80,320
Slovak					64,145		66,545
Slovene					35,935		37,170
Sammarinese
Spanish					325,730	1.04%	368,305
Swedish			97,780		334,765	1.07%	341,845
Swiss	2,962	0.1%			137,775		146,830
Ukrainian			395,043		1,209,085	3.87%	1,251,170	3.8%
Welsh					440,965	1.41%	458,705
Yugoslav			21,404		65,305		48,320
Other European	3,791	0.0%	35,616		35,795		48,760
Total British	2,110,502	60.6%	6,709,685	47.89%
Canada	3,433,315	98.49%	13,582,574	96.83%			20,157,9654	N/A
^1 First census of the Canadian federation.[11] The figures for 1871 are for the four original provinces only. ^2 Includes Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish.^3 Canada 1951 Census[20][21]2006 Canada Census[22] ^4 Canada 2011 Census National Household Survey: Data tables[23] An extra 32% or 10,563,805 people identified as "Canadian" as their ethnic group, many are of European origins.

See also

• European diaspora
• Métis people (Canada)
• Ethnic origins of people in Canada
• European Americans

References

Further reading