Czech Canadian
Encyclopedia
According to the 2006 Canadian census
, there are 98,090 Canadians of full or partial Czech descent.
immigration to Canada
can be divided into four phases: 1880–1914, 1919–39, 1945–89, and 1990-2008. The first two phases were dominated by strong economic incentives for immigration
. In contrast, Czech immigrants who arrived in Canada between 1945 and 1989 were mostly political refugees, who left their homeland to avoid both the economic turmoil of post–World War II reconstruction and the subsequent the Communist regime which was established in 1948.
Prior to the 1880s, Czech immigrants to the New World settled primarily in the United States, where they established numerous settlements in Nebraska
, Texas
, Oklahoma
, Minnesota
, and Illinois
. The city of Chicago
, in particular, received a large number of Czech immigrants, including one Mayor
, Anton Cermak
.
The majority of the first Czech immigrants to Canada were farmers who settled in the prairie provinces. These early Czech pioneers tended to go first to settlements such as Esterhazy
in southeastern Saskatchewan, where there were already a number of Slovaks and Hungarians. Newer Czech settlements radiated outwards from these established colonies wherever land was available.
After 1880 many Czechs, coming both from the Czech homelands as well as from the newer Czech settlements in the Midwestern United States
, began immigrating to western Canada
drawn by plentiful and inexpensive land. Many of the migrants from the Czech lands
were recruited by various agencies offering resettlement plans. These plans appealed to families and large groups, who were invited to establish entire settlements. The Canadian government, in conjunction with the Canadian Pacific Railway
, sponsored a number of similar colonization schemes, promising that upon arrival the immigrant could begin work on a selected piece of land. These colonization schemes usually involved partial payment for transport overseas and by rail across the continent, and offered attractive, but not obligatory, land-purchase plans. These initiatives often failed, with many immigrants having to working on others’ farms or in the railway and mining industries. As a result, many immigrants continued to work in their first field of employment in Canada, rather than becoming farmers. In time, many such migrants adapted to their new life and decided to stay in Canada
, eventually arranging for their wives and children to join them in their new home.
By the turn of the century, several Czech communities had developed south of Esterhazy. The settlement at Kolin was established in 1884, followed by settlements at Derdard, Glenside
, and Dovedale. Most of these communities were settled by Czechs from Europe. Others, however, such as Prague (Viching) in Alberta
, which was founded in 1900, were settled initially by Czech Americans from the United States
. There were also small Czech urban communities, particularly in Edmonton
, which by 1900 boasted several Czech doctor
s, lawyer
s, and artisan
s.
As the availability of land diminished in the west, Czech communities were established progressively farther east. Between 1910 and 1912, a large group of Czech Baptists settled in the city of Winnipeg
, Manitoba, which became the nucleus of the Czech community in Canada before World War I
. Between 1927 and 1939, another colony of Czech Baptists settled among the German
and Mennonite
communities at Minitonas
in the Swan River
valley of central Manitoba
.
There were also small groups of Czechs in Ontario
, mostly miners, at Haileybury in the Temiskaming region
, Kirkland Lake and Fort William
. Before 1914, southern Ontario, which would subsequently become the major centre of Czech settlement in Canada, had only small communities in Windsor
and Kingston
. A few Czechs worked as industrial labourers, and others worked at odd jobs in Toronto
while waiting to receive farm land. The entire pre–World War I immigration remained small; in 1911 the Canadian census recorded only 1,800 Czechs in Canada.
After World War I, there was a marked change in the profile of Czech immigrants. The relatively stable and industrialized economy of the new Czechoslovakia
, especially in Bohemia
, the availability of work, and a good standard of living made emigration less attractive. Those who did immigrate were often sojourners who found employment as factory workers, artisans or farm laborers, and were primarily interested in opportunities for personal economic improvement. The field of agriculture remained attractive to Czech immigrants. An arrangement between the Sugar Beet Grower’s Association of Canada and the Czech International Institute provided for the arrival and settlement of many sugar-beet farmers, mainly from Moravia
, to help develop the industry in Canada. These new Czech arrivals, while not numerous, established communities in southern Alberta
, particularly near Lethbridge, and around Chatham, Ontario
. During this period, the number of Czechs immigrating to Canada increased dramatically in relation to those immigrating to the United States. This was due in part to several restrictive immigration laws passed in the United States during the 1920s that curtailed the growing influx of central and eastern European immigrants.
In the interim between the two World War
s, new Czech immigrants significantly altered the demographic distribution of Czechs in Canada. More Czech immigrants settled in urban communities, especially in Ontario and Quebec, such that Montreal
and Toronto now became the primary Czech centers, in place of Winnipeg
. As the principal port of entry, Montreal increased its Czech and Slovak population from virtually nothing to 3,700 during the 1920s, and similarly Toronto
’s Czech and Slovak communities grew to about 2,500 during the same decade. Czechs also formed communities in the thriving Ontario cities of Hamilton
, Kitchener
, Oshawa
, and Ottawa
, and in Calgary, Alberta. After 1929 immigration from Czechoslovakia
declined from several hundred to fewer than eighty a year, although increasing slightly just prior to World War II
. According to the 1931 census, there were approximately 30,000 residents from Czechoslovakia
in Canada
.
In 1939, under the auspices of Moravian-born shoe magnate Thomas J. Bata
, roughly one hundred Czechs, mostly personnel from the Bata
shoe factories in Zlín
, Moravia
, established the town of Batawa near Frankford, Ontario. Responding to the threat of Nazi German
annexation, the Bata corporation relocated some of its existing material and staff to Canada
. It established a new shoe factory there, which became its corporate headquarters during the war.
The Munich Pact, followed by the rapid partition and subsequent annexation of Czech lands
by Nazi Germany
, caught many Czechs by surprise. Because the borders were closed once Nazi rule was imposed, direct Czech emigration from the homeland was virtually impossible between March 1939 and May 1945. When the war ended in 1945, Czech refugee
s began to come to Canada, some leaving their homeland because of difficult post-war economic circumstances, while others left in fear of the developing Communist influence in their newly reconstituted republic. In 1948 thousands of Czechs fled their homeland, some leaving spouses, families, and businesses behind, when the Communist state of Czechoslovakia was officially established.
Unlike previous immigrants who had sought financial gain, the post–World War II arrivals were mostly political refugees fleeing potential or actual persecution because they did not sympathize with the communist regime. Known as Displaced Persons (DPs), they first hastily built refugee camps in Germany
and Austria
. In 1948 Canada accepted over 1,400 of the estimated 4,000 predominantly Czech refugees, primarily from the camps near Nürnberg (Schwabach
), Bad Orb
(Wegscheid
), and Regensburg
(Dieburg
). Overall, over 10,000 Czechoslovaks immigrated to Canada between 1948 and 1952, with the number of immigrants reaching an annual high of over 3,000 in 1951, following which the number of annual immigrants dropped to very low levels. The 1951 Canadian census recorded 63,959 Czechs and Slovaks in Canada.
The Czech refugees who arrived between 1948 and 1951 were predominantly white-collar and clerical workers, professionals in various fields, and students, all relatively well educated. They included doctors, legal secretaries, lawyers, artisans, and legislators. All displayed willingness to accept underemployment
. Individuals with multiple university degrees became primary-school teachers or office clerks. Skilled workers and professionals found employment as farmer
s, and domestic servants, often working wherever available in order to enter and stay in Canada.
Underemployment had a particularly negative impact on Czech women
. Many of them were equal in educational levels and skills to the immigrant men, but at best they found employment as domestic servants or semi-skilled food-service workers. Their rapid flight from Czechoslovakia often left these immigrants without educational and professional certification or work documents, and even those who did have such documentation often had trouble gaining equivalent standing or certification in Canada to what they had enjoyed at home. One reason for this was that most Czech immigrants had limited or no knowledge of the English language
. Despite this, the high education levels of many of these immigrants often aided them to return to or exceed their former employment status at home, quickly acquiring language skills and work experience.
In order to help their countrymen, many Czech-owned businesses, particularly in Ontario, offered the new arrivals employment, sometimes with the assistance of the federal government through the Ministry of Labour
, as well as the now-defunct Ministry of Mines and Resources. Notable among the Czech firms involved were Bata Shoes
, Hamilton Carhart, the Czechoslovak National Alliance, Opal Manufacturing, Staruba Industrial Corporation, and Hesky Flax Products.
The situation for Czech immigrants who came to Canada after the Prague Spring
in 1968, a devastating and extremely destructive surprise invasion by Soviet troops, was similar to that faced by the post-1948 group. An estimated 21,000 Czechs and Slovaks entered Canada as refugees between 1968 and 1969. Although they experienced employment and language problems, government-funded language classes and other programs for immigrants had become available, and this, combined with the now much larger Czech community in Canada, helped to help smooth the process of transition. Many of the post-1968 refugees were younger than the post-1945 immigrants, had been exposed to Western culture
, and had some knowledge of English
and sometimes French
, which aided them in functioning within the larger urban centers where they predominantly settled.
In the 1991 Canadian census, 47,175 persons claimed that they were wholly (21,190 persons) or partially (25,985 persons) of Czech ethnicity. Nearly 80 percent of Canadian Czechs (single and multiple responses combined) live in the three Canadian provinces of Ontario
(18,025), British Columbia
(10,430), and Alberta
(8,975). Within those provinces, Czechs live primarily in urban areas, with metropolitan Toronto
(7,655), Vancouver
(5,400), Edmonton
(2,420), and Montreal
(2,350) having the largest concentrations. In addition to persons who claimed Czech ethnicity (single and multiple responses) in 1991 there were another 54,030 persons who claimed that they were wholly (21,990) or partially (32,040) of “Czechoslovakian” ethnicity. Therefore, a reasonable estimate of the number of persons of Czech ancestry in Canada would be between 50,000 and 60,000.
Since the 1960s, Vancouver and Toronto have replaced Montreal as the primary destination for newly arriving Czechs. After 1968–69 only a few hundred Czechs have arrived each year, often enfranchised business people and young people looking for economic opportunities. More recently, some Czechs have chosen to return to their European homeland, in order to take advantage of new business opportunities, or to be reunited with their families and ancestral homes.
- http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/Encyclopedia/A-Z/c15/2
Canada 2006 Census
The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
, there are 98,090 Canadians of full or partial Czech descent.
History
CzechCzech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
immigration to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
can be divided into four phases: 1880–1914, 1919–39, 1945–89, and 1990-2008. The first two phases were dominated by strong economic incentives for immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
. In contrast, Czech immigrants who arrived in Canada between 1945 and 1989 were mostly political refugees, who left their homeland to avoid both the economic turmoil of post–World War II reconstruction and the subsequent the Communist regime which was established in 1948.
Prior to the 1880s, Czech immigrants to the New World settled primarily in the United States, where they established numerous settlements in Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The city of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, in particular, received a large number of Czech immigrants, including one Mayor
Mayor of Chicago
The Mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of Chicago, Illinois, the third largest city in the United States. He or she is charged with directing city departments and agencies, and with the advice and consent of the Chicago City Council, appoints department and agency leaders.-Appointment...
, Anton Cermak
Anton Cermak
Anton Joseph Cermak was the mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1931 until his assassination by Giuseppe Zangara in 1933.-Early life and career:...
.
The majority of the first Czech immigrants to Canada were farmers who settled in the prairie provinces. These early Czech pioneers tended to go first to settlements such as Esterhazy
Esterhazy, Saskatchewan
Esterhazy is a town in the southeastern portion of the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, located 83 km southeast of Yorkton along Highways 22 and 80. The town is located within the rural municipality of Fertile Belt No...
in southeastern Saskatchewan, where there were already a number of Slovaks and Hungarians. Newer Czech settlements radiated outwards from these established colonies wherever land was available.
After 1880 many Czechs, coming both from the Czech homelands as well as from the newer Czech settlements in the Midwestern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, began immigrating to western Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
drawn by plentiful and inexpensive land. Many of the migrants from the Czech lands
Czech lands
Czech lands is an auxiliary term used mainly to describe the combination of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. Today, those three historic provinces compose the Czech Republic. The Czech lands had been settled by the Celts , then later by various Germanic tribes until the beginning of 7th...
were recruited by various agencies offering resettlement plans. These plans appealed to families and large groups, who were invited to establish entire settlements. The Canadian government, in conjunction with the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
, sponsored a number of similar colonization schemes, promising that upon arrival the immigrant could begin work on a selected piece of land. These colonization schemes usually involved partial payment for transport overseas and by rail across the continent, and offered attractive, but not obligatory, land-purchase plans. These initiatives often failed, with many immigrants having to working on others’ farms or in the railway and mining industries. As a result, many immigrants continued to work in their first field of employment in Canada, rather than becoming farmers. In time, many such migrants adapted to their new life and decided to stay in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, eventually arranging for their wives and children to join them in their new home.
By the turn of the century, several Czech communities had developed south of Esterhazy. The settlement at Kolin was established in 1884, followed by settlements at Derdard, Glenside
Glenside, Saskatchewan
Glenside is a village in Rudy No. 284, Saskatchewan, Canada. The population was 86 at the 2006 Canada Census a 36.5% increase from the 2001 Canada Census. The village is located on Highway 219 approximately 10 km east of the Town of Outlook....
, and Dovedale. Most of these communities were settled by Czechs from Europe. Others, however, such as Prague (Viching) in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, which was founded in 1900, were settled initially by Czech Americans from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. There were also small Czech urban communities, particularly in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, which by 1900 boasted several Czech doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s, lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
s, and artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
s.
As the availability of land diminished in the west, Czech communities were established progressively farther east. Between 1910 and 1912, a large group of Czech Baptists settled in the city of Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba, which became the nucleus of the Czech community in Canada before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Between 1927 and 1939, another colony of Czech Baptists settled among the German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
and Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
communities at Minitonas
Minitonas, Manitoba
Minitonas is a community in Manitoba. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Minitonas and the Swan Valley. It is 15 km east of Swan River. The town is close to the Duck Mountain Provincial Park. According to the 2001 census, the town had a population of 538, with an additional 1,152...
in the Swan River
Swan River, Manitoba
-Economy:The economic base of the town lies in agriculture and forestry along with support industries for same.Almost fifty percent of the surrounding area is under cultivation, most of which is seeded to cereal grain, oilseeds, and other specialty crops. Wheat, rye, barley, oats, flax, and canola...
valley of central Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
.
There were also small groups of Czechs in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, mostly miners, at Haileybury in the Temiskaming region
Timiskaming District, Ontario
Timiskaming is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The district was created in 1912 from parts of Algoma, Nipissing, and Sudbury districts. In 1921, Cochrane District was created from parts of this district and parts of Thunder Bay...
, Kirkland Lake and Fort William
Fort William, Ontario
Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Ever since then it has been the largest city in Northwestern...
. Before 1914, southern Ontario, which would subsequently become the major centre of Czech settlement in Canada, had only small communities in Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
and Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
. A few Czechs worked as industrial labourers, and others worked at odd jobs in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
while waiting to receive farm land. The entire pre–World War I immigration remained small; in 1911 the Canadian census recorded only 1,800 Czechs in Canada.
After World War I, there was a marked change in the profile of Czech immigrants. The relatively stable and industrialized economy of the new Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, especially in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, the availability of work, and a good standard of living made emigration less attractive. Those who did immigrate were often sojourners who found employment as factory workers, artisans or farm laborers, and were primarily interested in opportunities for personal economic improvement. The field of agriculture remained attractive to Czech immigrants. An arrangement between the Sugar Beet Grower’s Association of Canada and the Czech International Institute provided for the arrival and settlement of many sugar-beet farmers, mainly from Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, to help develop the industry in Canada. These new Czech arrivals, while not numerous, established communities in southern Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, particularly near Lethbridge, and around Chatham, Ontario
Chatham, Ontario
Chatham is the largest community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario. Formerly serving as the seat of Kent County, the governments of the former city of Chatham, the county of Kent, and its townships were merged into one entity known as the Municipality of Chatham-Kent in 1998.Located on...
. During this period, the number of Czechs immigrating to Canada increased dramatically in relation to those immigrating to the United States. This was due in part to several restrictive immigration laws passed in the United States during the 1920s that curtailed the growing influx of central and eastern European immigrants.
In the interim between the two World War
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
s, new Czech immigrants significantly altered the demographic distribution of Czechs in Canada. More Czech immigrants settled in urban communities, especially in Ontario and Quebec, such that Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and Toronto now became the primary Czech centers, in place of Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
. As the principal port of entry, Montreal increased its Czech and Slovak population from virtually nothing to 3,700 during the 1920s, and similarly Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
’s Czech and Slovak communities grew to about 2,500 during the same decade. Czechs also formed communities in the thriving Ontario cities of Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, Oshawa
Oshawa
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
, and Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, and in Calgary, Alberta. After 1929 immigration from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
declined from several hundred to fewer than eighty a year, although increasing slightly just prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. According to the 1931 census, there were approximately 30,000 residents from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
In 1939, under the auspices of Moravian-born shoe magnate Thomas J. Bata
Thomas J. Bata
Tomáš Jan Baťa, , also known as Tomas Bata Jr. and Tomáš Baťa ml. and "Shoemaker to the World", ran the Bata Shoe Company from the 1940s until the '80s. His last name pronounce baht-ya....
, roughly one hundred Czechs, mostly personnel from the Bata
Bata Shoes
Bata Shoes is a large, family owned shoe company based in Bermuda but currently headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, operating 3 business units worldwide – Bata Metro Markets, Bata Emerging Markets and Bata Branded Business. It has a retail presence in over 50 countries and production...
shoe factories in Zlín
Zlín
Zlín , from 1949 to 1989 Gottwaldov , is a city in the Zlín Region, southeastern Moravia, Czech Republic, on the Dřevnice River. The development of the modern city is closely connected to the Bata Shoes company...
, Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, established the town of Batawa near Frankford, Ontario. Responding to the threat of Nazi German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
annexation, the Bata corporation relocated some of its existing material and staff to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It established a new shoe factory there, which became its corporate headquarters during the war.
The Munich Pact, followed by the rapid partition and subsequent annexation of Czech lands
Czech lands
Czech lands is an auxiliary term used mainly to describe the combination of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. Today, those three historic provinces compose the Czech Republic. The Czech lands had been settled by the Celts , then later by various Germanic tribes until the beginning of 7th...
by Nazi Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, caught many Czechs by surprise. Because the borders were closed once Nazi rule was imposed, direct Czech emigration from the homeland was virtually impossible between March 1939 and May 1945. When the war ended in 1945, Czech refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s began to come to Canada, some leaving their homeland because of difficult post-war economic circumstances, while others left in fear of the developing Communist influence in their newly reconstituted republic. In 1948 thousands of Czechs fled their homeland, some leaving spouses, families, and businesses behind, when the Communist state of Czechoslovakia was officially established.
Unlike previous immigrants who had sought financial gain, the post–World War II arrivals were mostly political refugees fleeing potential or actual persecution because they did not sympathize with the communist regime. Known as Displaced Persons (DPs), they first hastily built refugee camps in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. In 1948 Canada accepted over 1,400 of the estimated 4,000 predominantly Czech refugees, primarily from the camps near Nürnberg (Schwabach
Schwabach
Schwabach is a German town of about 40,000 inhabitants near Nuremberg, in the center of the region of Franconia in the North of Bavaria. The city is an autonomous administrative district . Schwabach is also the name of a river which runs through the city prior joining the Rednitz.Schwabach is...
), Bad Orb
Bad Orb
Bad Orb is a spa town in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 32 east km of Hanau. Bad Orb is between forested hills in the Nature Park Spessart, one of the largest forested areas in Germany. The canyon-side donkey path that runs to Großheubach in Miltenberg Kreis passes Bad...
(Wegscheid
Wegscheid
Wegscheid is a municipality in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany....
), and Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
(Dieburg
Dieburg
Dieburg is a town in southern Hessen, Germany. It was formerly the seat of the district of Dieburg, but is now part of the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg.-History:...
). Overall, over 10,000 Czechoslovaks immigrated to Canada between 1948 and 1952, with the number of immigrants reaching an annual high of over 3,000 in 1951, following which the number of annual immigrants dropped to very low levels. The 1951 Canadian census recorded 63,959 Czechs and Slovaks in Canada.
The Czech refugees who arrived between 1948 and 1951 were predominantly white-collar and clerical workers, professionals in various fields, and students, all relatively well educated. They included doctors, legal secretaries, lawyers, artisans, and legislators. All displayed willingness to accept underemployment
Underemployment
Underemployment refers to an employment situation that is insufficient in some important way for the worker, relative to a standard. Examples include holding a part-time job despite desiring full-time work, and overqualification, where the employee has education, experience, or skills beyond the...
. Individuals with multiple university degrees became primary-school teachers or office clerks. Skilled workers and professionals found employment as farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s, and domestic servants, often working wherever available in order to enter and stay in Canada.
Underemployment had a particularly negative impact on Czech women
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
. Many of them were equal in educational levels and skills to the immigrant men, but at best they found employment as domestic servants or semi-skilled food-service workers. Their rapid flight from Czechoslovakia often left these immigrants without educational and professional certification or work documents, and even those who did have such documentation often had trouble gaining equivalent standing or certification in Canada to what they had enjoyed at home. One reason for this was that most Czech immigrants had limited or no knowledge of the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Despite this, the high education levels of many of these immigrants often aided them to return to or exceed their former employment status at home, quickly acquiring language skills and work experience.
In order to help their countrymen, many Czech-owned businesses, particularly in Ontario, offered the new arrivals employment, sometimes with the assistance of the federal government through the Ministry of Labour
Minister of Labour (Canada)
The Minister of Labour is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for setting national labour standards and federal labour dispute mechanisms...
, as well as the now-defunct Ministry of Mines and Resources. Notable among the Czech firms involved were Bata Shoes
Bata Shoes
Bata Shoes is a large, family owned shoe company based in Bermuda but currently headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, operating 3 business units worldwide – Bata Metro Markets, Bata Emerging Markets and Bata Branded Business. It has a retail presence in over 50 countries and production...
, Hamilton Carhart, the Czechoslovak National Alliance, Opal Manufacturing, Staruba Industrial Corporation, and Hesky Flax Products.
The situation for Czech immigrants who came to Canada after the Prague Spring
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...
in 1968, a devastating and extremely destructive surprise invasion by Soviet troops, was similar to that faced by the post-1948 group. An estimated 21,000 Czechs and Slovaks entered Canada as refugees between 1968 and 1969. Although they experienced employment and language problems, government-funded language classes and other programs for immigrants had become available, and this, combined with the now much larger Czech community in Canada, helped to help smooth the process of transition. Many of the post-1968 refugees were younger than the post-1945 immigrants, had been exposed to Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
, and had some knowledge of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and sometimes French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, which aided them in functioning within the larger urban centers where they predominantly settled.
In the 1991 Canadian census, 47,175 persons claimed that they were wholly (21,190 persons) or partially (25,985 persons) of Czech ethnicity. Nearly 80 percent of Canadian Czechs (single and multiple responses combined) live in the three Canadian provinces of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
(18,025), British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
(10,430), and Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
(8,975). Within those provinces, Czechs live primarily in urban areas, with metropolitan Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
(7,655), Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
(5,400), Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
(2,420), and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
(2,350) having the largest concentrations. In addition to persons who claimed Czech ethnicity (single and multiple responses) in 1991 there were another 54,030 persons who claimed that they were wholly (21,990) or partially (32,040) of “Czechoslovakian” ethnicity. Therefore, a reasonable estimate of the number of persons of Czech ancestry in Canada would be between 50,000 and 60,000.
Since the 1960s, Vancouver and Toronto have replaced Montreal as the primary destination for newly arriving Czechs. After 1968–69 only a few hundred Czechs have arrived each year, often enfranchised business people and young people looking for economic opportunities. More recently, some Czechs have chosen to return to their European homeland, in order to take advantage of new business opportunities, or to be reunited with their families and ancestral homes.
Notable Czech Canadians
- Alex BaumannAlex BaumannAlexander "Sasha" Baumann, OC, O.Ont is a Canadian athlete, who won two gold medals and set two world records in swimming at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.Born in Prague , Baumann...
, swimmer - Václav ChvátalVáclav ChvátalVáclav Chvátal is a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, where he holds theCanada Research Chair in Combinatorial Optimization....
, professor at Concordia UniversityConcordia UniversityConcordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction... - Vlastimil ČernýVlastimil CernyVlastimil Černý is a former international butterfly and freestyle swimmer, who competed for Canada at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. There he finished in 12th position in the 100m Butterfly, and in ninth place with the Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay Team.- References :...
, swimmer - Lucy DecoutereLucy DecoutereLucy Decoutere is a Canadian actress known for her role as the character Lucy in the hit television series Trailer Park Boys.She grew up as the youngest sibling of four from British and Czech parents. She attended grad school in Montreal and has held various jobs, including as a kindergarten...
, actress - Hana GartnerHana GartnerHana Gartner is a Canadian television investigative journalist, best known as the host/interviewer of several programs for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation....
, multiple award-winning investigative journalist - Karla HomolkaKarla HomolkaKarla Leanne Homolka, also known as Karla Leanne Teale , is a Canadian serial killer. She attracted worldwide media attention when she was convicted of manslaughter following a plea bargain in the 1991 and 1992 rape-murders of two Ontario teenage girls, Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, as well as...
, serial killer - Tammy HomolkaTammy HomolkaTammy Lyn Homolka was the younger sister and victim of Canadian murderer Karla Homolka and her partner, Paul Bernardo.Tammy grew up in the city of St. Catharines, Ontario...
, sister and victim of Karla HomolkaKarla HomolkaKarla Leanne Homolka, also known as Karla Leanne Teale , is a Canadian serial killer. She attracted worldwide media attention when she was convicted of manslaughter following a plea bargain in the 1991 and 1992 rape-murders of two Ontario teenage girls, Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, as well as... - Jan HudecJan HudecJan Hudec is a Canadian alpine skier. On February 11, 2007, he won the silver medal in downhill at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. In the November of the same year he won his first World cup victory, a downhill in Lake Louise...
, alpine skier - Otto Jangl, businessman
- Otto JelinekOtto JelinekOtto John Jelinek, PC is a businessman, former figure skater, and Canadian politician. Jelinek's family fled to Canada from Czechoslovakia in 1948 at the beginning of the Cold War.-Figure skating career:...
, businessman, former figure skater and politician - Kate KeltonKate KeltonKate Kelton is a Canadian artist, model and actress, notable for appearing as the "Tic Tac girl" in television advertisements for Tic Tac mints for almost a decade throughout Canada, Australia, South America and Israel....
, artist, model and actress - Vit KlemesVit KlemesVit Klemes was a Canadian hydrologist of Czech origin. He received a Civil Engineering degree from the Technical University in Brno , a CSc degree in hydrology and water resources from the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava and a DrSc degree from the Czech Technical University in Prague...
, hydrologist - John KuceraJohn KuceraJohn Kucera is a World Cup alpine ski racer, a member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team. He races in all five alpine disciplines, focusing on the speed events of downhill and Super-G. He is the current world champion in the downhill, but has been sidelined due to injury since November 2009...
, alpine skier - Vladimir KulichVladimir KulichVladimir Kulich is a Czech-Canadian actor.He is best known for his roles as Buliwyf in the film The 13th Warrior and as The Beast in the television series Angel. In 1995 he appeared as Olafsson in the X-Files episode "Død Kalm."...
, actor - Jacob LenskyJacob LenskyJacob Lensky is a Canadian-born Czech professional soccer player who currently plays with Utrecht in the Dutch Eredivisie.-Youth career:Lensky was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and attended Vancouver College...
, soccer player - Deb MatejickaDeb MatejickaDeb Matejicka, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is a sports journalist formerly working for The Score, a Canadian sports television network.http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Francis/2008/02/11/4839913-sun.html After launching her journalism career in Brandon, Manitoba, she worked for the CTV network...
, sport journalist - Lubo Masner, entomologist
- Petr NedvědPetr NedvedPetr Nedvěd is a Czech Canadian professional ice hockey player who spent 15 seasons in the National Hockey League. He currently plays centre for HC Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czech Extraliga.- Biography :...
, hockey player - Jana NejedlyJana NejedlyJana Nejedly is a professional Canadian tennis player.Nejedly's highest WTA singles ranking is 64th, which she reached on October 2, 2000. Her career high in doubles was at 227 set at August 12, 1996....
, tennis player - David NyklDavid NyklDavid Nykl is a Czech Canadian actor of film, television, commercials and theater.After the Soviet invasion in 1968, he and his family left then-Communist Czechoslovakia for Canada...
, actor - David ScheffelDavid ScheffelDavid Z. Scheffel is professor of anthropology at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. Scheffel is the author of numerous scholarly articles and books, including In the Shadow of Antichrist , a work on the Russian Orthodox breakaway Old Believers sect in Alberta.-...
, associate professor of anthropology at Thompson Rivers UniversityThompson Rivers UniversityThompson Rivers University is a comprehensive university located in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. It offers students a broad range of courses, career streams, and the ability to ladder credits from diploma programs into full degrees... - Josef ŠkvoreckýJosef ŠkvoreckýJosef Škvorecký, CM is a leading contemporary Czech writer and publisher who has spent much of his life in Canada. He and his wife were long-time supporters of Czech dissident writers before the fall of communism in that country...
, writer - Vlasta VranaVlasta VranaVlasta Vrána is a Canadian actor of Czech descent, known for playing Jack Richards in A Year in the Death of Jack Richards. His surname means "crow" in Czech and several other Slavic languages.-Career:...
, actor - Lubor J. ZinkLubor J. ZinkLubor J. Zink was a Czech-Canadian writer and columnist known for his anti-Communism.Zink was born in Klapý, Czechoslovakia. He was a student at Prague University in March 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded and occupied the country. A member of the Czech underground movement, Zink fled to Britain and...
, journalist
See also
Original source Article from "Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples"- http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/Encyclopedia/A-Z/c15/2
- Demographics of the Czech RepublicDemographics of the Czech RepublicThis article is about the demographic features of the population of the Czech Republic, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.-Population:...
- Canadian-Czech relations
- Czech peopleCzech peopleCzechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
- Czech AmericanCzech AmericanCzech Americans are citizens of the United States who were born in, or who descended from, the territory of the historic Czech lands, , or succession states, now known as the Czech Republic...
- Czech BrazilianCzech BrazilianCzech Brazilians refer to Brazilians of Czech descent who were born in or who trace their ancestry to the territory of the historic Czech lands or succession states, now known as the Czech Republic, and are residents and/or citizens of Brazil....