SNIPPET: Although Canada came into being officially only in 1867 (comprising at that time the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia), 'Canada' in general usage refers to all of what was once British North America and New France, and which today spans the North American continent from Newfoundland to British Columbia. Although the Irish in Canada (both immigrants and later generations) have never acted with the strident ethnic assertiveness characteristic of the Irish in the urban United States, they have had a much greater impact upon the national and provincial polities than have the American Irish upon their respective jurisdiction. This is because the Irish in Canada were a 'charter group,' one of the bands of earliest settlers and thence operated from a position, not of disadvantage, but of relative privilege. Equally important, they were numerically consequential. In 1867, for example, the Irish were the largest ethnic group in the anglophone population, making up 40.1% of persons of British Isles origin to the new Canadian confederation. The Irish in Canada (meaning the multi-generational ethnic group) were roughly two-thirds Protestant in the 19th and 20th centuries. The most obvious Irish impacts upon the Canadian polity were threefold. First, the Protestant Irish strongly enforced the loyalist tradition on which English-speaking Canada was founded. ('Loyalist,' in Canadian usage, refers to those people who left the thirteen colonies at the time of the American Revolution and, being loyal to the crown, moved northward to British North America.) Second, in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, the Orange Order was the largest voluntary organization in Canada. It was tightly tied to the provincial and national Tory parties, but was also influential among the Liberals outside the province of Quebec. Third, in Ontario, the Catholics of Irish extraction spearheaded a campaign to turn the non-denominational school system, created in 1846 and modelled on the Irish national schools, into one wherein Catholic 'separate schools' received governmental funding. In matters of residence, occupation, and social mobility, Irish persons in Canada, whether Protestant or Catholic, have not been ghettoized or heavily discriminated against. From the 1850s onward (when reliable data first become available), their socio-economic profiles have equalled, or exceeded, the national norms. -- D. H. Akenson, Professor of History, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. Further reading: D. H. Akenson, "The Irish in Ontario: A Study in Rural History" (1984); D. H. Akenson, "Being Had: Historians, Evidence and the Irish in North America" (1985); C. J. Houston and W. J. Smyth, "Irish Emigration and Canadian Settlement: Partners, Links and Letters" (1990).

Remember when speaking of Canada after 1949 Newfoundland was a province...Newfoundland is actually the "oldest" colony of Great Britian and it was a country much older than United States or Canada. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> To: <IRELAND-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 12:56 AM Subject: [IRELAND] Canada > SNIPPET: Although Canada came into being officially only in 1867 > (comprising at that time the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, > and Nova Scotia), 'Canada' in general usage refers to all of what was once > British North America and New France, and which today spans the North > American continent from Newfoundland to British Columbia. Although the > Irish in Canada (both immigrants and later generations) have never acted > with the strident ethnic assertiveness characteristic of the Irish in the > urban United States, they have had a much greater impact upon the national > and provincial polities than have the American Irish upon their respective > jurisdiction. This is because the Irish in Canada were a 'charter group,' > one of the bands of earliest settlers and thence operated from a position, > not of disadvantage, but of relative privilege. Equally important, they > were numerically consequential. In 1867, for example, the Irish were the > largest ethnic group in the anglophone population, making up 40.1% of > persons of British Isles origin to the new Canadian confederation. The > Irish in Canada (meaning the multi-generational ethnic group) were roughly > two-thirds Protestant in the 19th and 20th centuries. The most obvious > Irish impacts upon the Canadian polity were threefold. First, the > Protestant Irish strongly enforced the loyalist tradition on which > English-speaking Canada was founded. ('Loyalist,' in Canadian usage, > refers > to those people who left the thirteen colonies at the time of the American > Revolution and, being loyal to the crown, moved northward to British North > America.) Second, in the second half of the 19th century and the first > half > of the 20th, the Orange Order was the largest voluntary organization in > Canada. It was tightly tied to the provincial and national Tory parties, > but was also influential among the Liberals outside the province of > Quebec. > Third, in Ontario, the Catholics of Irish extraction spearheaded a > campaign > to turn the non-denominational school system, created in 1846 and modelled > on the Irish national schools, into one wherein Catholic 'separate > schools' > received governmental funding. In matters of residence, occupation, and > social mobility, Irish persons in Canada, whether Protestant or Catholic, > have not been ghettoized or heavily discriminated against. From the 1850s > onward (when reliable data first become available), their socio-economic > profiles have equalled, or exceeded, the national norms. > > -- D. H. Akenson, Professor of History, Queen's University, Kingston, > Ontario. Further reading: D. H. Akenson, "The Irish in Ontario: A Study > in Rural History" (1984); D. H. Akenson, "Being Had: Historians, Evidence > and the Irish in North America" (1985); C. J. Houston and W. J. Smyth, > "Irish Emigration and Canadian Settlement: Partners, Links and Letters" > (1990). > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IRELAND-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.233 / Virus Database: 270.10.16/1928 - Release Date: 01/31/09 20:03:00

Hi Sharon, Another reminder is that the archives of the NFLD Lists have "lots" of surnames posted in them. Very helpful researchers there. In fact, searching the archives of all Lists for Canada that you are interested in "might" find your surname mentioned. Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sharon Ryan" <sharonryan@sympatico.ca> To: <ireland@rootsweb.com> Cc: <mrbig45@hotmail.com> Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2009 2:38 PM Subject: Re: [IRELAND] Canada > Remember when speaking of Canada after 1949 Newfoundland was a > province...Newfoundland is actually the "oldest" colony of Great Britian > and it was a country much older than United States or Canada. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jean R." <jeanrice@cet.com> > To: <IRELAND-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 12:56 AM > Subject: [IRELAND] Canada