A History of Migration from Germany to Canada, 1850-1939

Human migration figures prominently in modern world history, and has played a pivotal role in shaping the Canadian national state. Yet while much has been written about Canada's multicultural heritage, little attention has been paid to German migrants although they compose Canada's third largest European ethnic minority. A History of Migration from Germany to Canada, 1850-1939 addresses that gap in the record. Jonathan Wagner considers why Germans left their home country, why they chose to settle in Canada, who assisted their passage, and how they crossed the ocean to their new home, as well as how the Canadian government perceived and solicited them as immigrants. He examines the German context as closely as developments in Canada, offering a new, more complete approach to German-Canadian immigration. This book will appeal to students of German Canadiana, as well as to those interested in Canadian ethnic history, and European and modern international migration.