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Swedish Canadians

Svenskkanadensare (Swedish) Suédo-canadiens (French)
Total population
349,640 (by ancestry, 2016 Census) 1.0% of Canada's population
Regions with significant populations
Western Canada Ontario Quebec
Languages
Canadian English Swedish Canadian French
Related ethnic groups
Swedes Swedish Americans Swedish Britons Swedish Australians

Swedish Canadians (Swedish: Svenskkanadensare) are Canadian citizens of Swedish ancestry or Swedes who emigrated to and reside in Canada. The Swedish Canadian community in Canada numbered 349,640 in the 2016 population census. The vast majority of them reside west of Lake Superior, primarily in Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Toronto is the most popular settlement spot for newcomers. Despite having an influential presence and distinctive cultural bond, only 14,000 Canadian persons of Swedish descent speak Swedish.

History

A few Swedes immigrated into Canada before it became a country in 1867, but the first real wave of immigration began in the late 1890s and ended with the onset of the First World War in 1914. Included in this group were a significant number of farmers who had settled first in the United States.

The first Swede, Jacob Fahlström, arrived in Canada in 1809, as an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company. He was succeeded in 1812 by another Swedish man, who was accompanied by two other men from Norway and Ireland to populate the Red River Colony in lower Manitoba. A much more substantive wave of Swedish settlers immigrated to Canada from the United States between 1868 and 1914, as land for farming became more and more scarce in America. Crop failures in their home country between 1866 and 1868 encouraged a similar exodus from Sweden.

The second and largest wave, which came during the 1920s, endured both the depression of the 1930s and the Second World War 1939–45. The third wave, although not as numerous, has been steady since the 1950s.

The immigrant pattern in Canada differs slightly from their counterpart in the United States. Whereas the majority of the earlier Swedish immigrants in America are from south-central Sweden, a significant portion of the Swedish immigrants in Canada are from the Stockholm region and Northern Sweden.

As the economic situation improved after the Second World War, the overall emigration rate of Sweden slowed considerably. Very much like recent Swedish emigrants found in other parts of the world, many of the newcomers are connected with Swedish companies, and do not intend to remain in the country permanently.

Spatial distribution

Most Swedes settled in western Canada, from Northern Ontario to British Columbia. There were only a handful of strictly Swedish communities, the earliest being Scandinavia, Manitoba, in 1885 and Stockholm, Saskatchewan, in 1886. The Census of Canada shows that Swedish immigrants could be found scattered throughout every province and territory, with pockets in rural areas and in some towns and cities.

Winnipeg acted as the Swedish capital of Canada until the 1940s when Vancouver took over this title. A significant number of Swedes live in Calgary and Edmonton and their environs, but the Toronto area is home to the largest concentration of newcomers, where it has one of the largest concentration of Swedish business in North America.

More than 175 places' names in Canada are of Swedish origin, which include Uppsala (Ontario), Stockholm (Saskatchewan) and Thorsby (Alberta).

Swedish Canadians by province or territory

Swedish Canadian population by province and territory in Canada in 2011:

Province or territory	Swedish Canadians	Percentage
Canada	341,845	1.1%
British Columbia	106,085	2.45%
Alberta	96,890	2.72%
Ontario	67,795	0.54%
Saskatchewan	32,705	3.24%
Manitoba	22,575	1.92%
Quebec	6,265	0.08%
Nova Scotia	3,815	0.42%
New Brunswick	2,640	0.36%
Newfoundland and Labrador	955	0.18%
Yukon	945	2.84%
Prince Edward Island	600	0.44%
Northwest Territories	510	1.25%
Nunavut	65	0.21%

Assimilation

Assimilation was considered by most Swedes as a primary goal to succeed. Early immigrants made every effort to master the English language while supporting a fairly large number of Swedish-language newspapers, including two weeklies. The only Swedish magazine in North America today, the Swedish Press, is published in Vancouver.

Swedes are accustomed to four distinct seasons. Although Sweden is located quite far north (in the Western Hemisphere it would lie in the middle of Hudson Bay), the Gulf Stream keeps Sweden significantly more temperate than would be expected. The reason that so many Swedes settled on the prairies, despite the very different landscape and significantly colder winters, was the availability of land.

Notable Swedish Canadians

Noteworthy Canadians of Swedish origin include former NHL Hockey star Daniel Alfredsson, who is originally from Sweden but has lived in Canada since playing 19 years for the Ottawa Senators, and he eventually acquired Canadian citizenship in September 2016; Canadian Senator Pamela Wallin; Judge Tom Berger, who headed the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline inquiry; architect Arthur Erickson, who designed Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.; singer-songwriter and recording artist Michael Saxell; Harry Strom, who was the premier of Alberta (1968–1971); naturalist Louise de Kiriline Lawrence, who was the most prolific contributor to the Audubon; and Ralph Gustafson, who won the Governor General's Award for poetry in 1974.

• Karl Agell – Canadian heavy metal singer (born 1966)
• Teal Bunbury – American soccer player (born 1990)
• Malin Åkerman – Swedish actress (born 1978)Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Daniel Alfredsson – Swedish ice hockey player (born 1972)
• David L. Anderson – Canadian politician (born 1957)
• Glenn Anderson – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1960)
• Margaret Avison – Canadian poet (1918–2007)
• Hayden Christensen – Canadian actor (born 1981)
• John Cordts – Canadian racing driver (born 1935)
• Aaron Ekblad – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1996)
• Jennifer Granholm – American politician (born 1959)
• Dean Haglund – Canadian actor (born 1965)
• Tricia Helfer – Canadian and American actress (born 1974)
• Magnus Isacsson – Canadian documentary filmmaker (1948–2012)
• Oskar Johansson – Canadian sailor (born 1977)
• Eric Lindros – Canadian ice hockey player (born 1973)
• Robert Nilsson – Canadian-born Swedish ice hockey player (born 1985)
• Lorne Nystrom – Canadian politician (born 1946)
• Peter Outerbridge – Canadian actor (born 1966)
• Ulla Ryghe – Swedish film editor (1924–2011)
• Red Berenson – Canadian ice hockey player, coach (born 1939)
• Michael Saxell – Musical artist (born 1956)
• Bria Skonberg – Canadian jazz musician
• Alexander Steen – Canadian-Swedish ice hockey player (born 1984)
• Alexander Sundström – Swedish-Canadian ice hockey player, coach (born 1987)
• Birgitta Wallace – Swedish–Canadian archaeologist (born 1944)
• Alexander Sundström – Swedish-Canadian ice hockey player, coach (born 1987)
• William Nylander – Swedish ice hockey player (born 1996)
• Alexander Nylander – Swedish ice hockey player (born 1998)
• Eric Johansson (ice hockey) – Swedish-Canadian ice hockey player
• Harry Strom – Premier of Alberta from 1968 to 1971
• George Sahlmark – Canadian politicianPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Martin Pederson – Saskatchewan politician and leader of the PC Party
• Ralph Gustafson – Canadian poet and professor
• Harold R. Johnson – Canadian lawyer and writer (1954–2022)

See also

• Canada–Sweden relations

References

1. "Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity Highlight Tables". statcan.gc.ca. October 25, 2017. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
2. ^ "Swedish". Library and Archives Canada. September 25, 2020. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
3. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (May 8, 2013). "2011 National Household Survey Profile – Province/Territory". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
4. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (July 29, 1999). "Historical statistics of Canada, section A: Population and migration – ARCHIVED". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
5. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (April 3, 2013). "Ninth census of Canada, 1951 = Neuvième recensement du Canada Vol. 1. Population: general characteristics". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
6. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (April 3, 2013). "1961 Census of Canada : population : vol. I – part 2 = 1961 Recensement du Canada : population : vol. I – partie 2. Ethnic groups". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on September 18, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
7. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (April 3, 2013). "1971 Census of Canada : population : vol. I – part 3 = Recensement du Canada 1971 : population : vol. I – partie 3. Ethnic groups". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on September 18, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
8. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (April 3, 2013). "1981 Census of Canada : volume 1 – national series : population = Recensement du Canada de 1981 : volume 1 – série nationale : population. Ethnic origin". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
9. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (April 3, 2013). "Census Canada 1986 Profile of ethnic groups". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
10. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (April 3, 2013). "1986 Census of Canada: Ethnic Diversity In Canada". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
11. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (April 3, 2013). "1991 Census: The nation. Ethnic origin". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
12. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (June 4, 2019). "Data tables, 1996 Census Population by Ethnic Origin (188) and Sex (3), Showing Single and Multiple Responses (3), for Canada, Provinces, Territories and Census Metropolitan Areas, 1996 Census (20% Sample Data)". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
13. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (December 23, 2013). "Ethnic Origin (232), Sex (3) and Single and Multiple Responses (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2001 Census – 20% Sample Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
14. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (May 1, 2020). "Ethnic Origin (247), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census – 20% Sample Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
15. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (January 23, 2019). "Ethnic Origin (264), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2011 National Household Survey". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
16. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (June 17, 2019). "Ethnic Origin (279), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age (12) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census – 25% Sample Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
17. "Migration | Multicultural Canada". Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
18. Ruprecht, Tony. Toronto's Many Faces
19. "Swedish people in Canada Research Project sponsored by the Lakehead Social History Institute – Home". www.swedesincanada.ca. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.

Further reading

• Barr, Elinor (2015). Swedes in Canada: Invisible Immigrants. University of Toronto Press.
• Hale, Christopher S. "Swedes" in Paul Robert Magocsi, ed. Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples (1999), 1218–33

External links

• Wetaskiwin local heritage – Swedish settlers
• Swedes in Canada Archived May 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
• Swedish School of Vancouver

v t e Swedes abroad and their descendants
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Asia	Japan
Americas	Argentina Brazil Canada Chile Costa Rica Mexico United States Venezuela
Oceania	Australia New Zealand
See also: Nordic diaspora and Swedes

• Canadian people of Swedish descent
• European diaspora in Canada
• Swedish diaspora in Canada
• Swedish diaspora