Yugoslav Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Yugoslav ancestry. At the 2021 Census, the total number of Canadians whose origins lie in former Yugoslavia, majority of whom indicated specific ethnic origin, was 372,075 or about 1% of the total population.
On the same census, there were 30,565 people who specifically indicated Yugoslav or Yugoslav Canadian as their ethnic origin; a 37% decrease from the 2011 Census when their number was 48,320.
History
19th century The first Serbs to arrive in Canada came to British Columbia in the 1850s. Many of them came from the state of California in the United States, while others directly emigrated from the Balkans. They primarily originated from the Bay of Kotor and the Dalmatian coast which had similar climates as their destinations. The majority of these migrants came from territories controlled by Austria-Hungary for political and economic reasons, and only a small number came directly from Independent Serbia. Those who settled were typically young single men and employed in mining or forestry near such towns as Phoenix, Golden Prince Rupert and Kamloops.
The history of Bosnian arrivals to Canada dates back to as far as the 19th century.Bosnian immigration - North American Immigration
Many thousands of Aegean Macedonians emigrated to Canada in the 1890s. They settled primarily in Ontario, especially Toronto. Many early Aegean Macedonian immigrants found industrial work in Toronto. Later migrants found work as factory in abattoirs and foundries. Chatham and Windsor attracted many Macedonian immigrants who worked along the railroads. Many later settled in Detroit, Michigan.
Early 20th century In the first half of the 20th century, most of the Macedonians were largely classified as Bulgarians or Macedono-Bulgarians.South Slavic immigration in America, Twayne Publishers. A division of G. K. Hall & Co., Boston, George Prpic, John Carroll University, 1976, Chapter 18, The Bulgarians and Macedonians. p. 212 ..."The smallest of the South Slavic ethnic groups in America are the Bulgarians. One branch of them are the Macedonians."...
During the second wave of emigration, Serbs arrived in the prairies. In Saskatchewan, they took up farming. In Alberta, coal mining and road construction was a source of employment. Many Serbs worked on the construction of railway lines that now extend from Edmonton to the Pacific coast. Communities of Serbs emerged in Regina, Lethbridge, Edmonton and Calgary while significant populations formed in Atlin, British Columbia and Dawson, Yukon. In Ontario and Quebec, Serbs were drawn to work in the industry sector. By 1914, the Serbian community of the city of Hamilton, Ontario numbered around 1,000. Further Serb settlement was established in Niagara Falls, London, and Windsor. The first Serbian immigrants to the city of Toronto arrived in 1903; by 1914 there were more than 200 Serbs.
Many Macedonians emigrated to Canada as "pečalbari" (seasonal workers) in the early 20th century. Thousands of Macedonians emigrated to Canada after the failure of the Ilinden Uprising. Many early Macedonian immigrants found industrial work in Toronto, either as factory hands or labourers in abattoirs, or in iron and steel foundries. Many ended up running and owning restaurants, butchers and groceries. Macedonian entrepreneurs and their descendants eventually employed their numerical strength within the food service industry as a catapult into a variety of larger and more sophisticated ventures.
An internal 1910 census counted 1090 Macedonians in Toronto, who were principally from Florina (Lerin) and Kastoria (Kostur) then in Ottoman Empire. During the same year, they established the Sts. Cyril and Methody Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Toronto. and that church published The First Bulgarian-English Pocket Dictionary in 1913. Prior to World War I, many arriving Serbs were variously categorized under related Balkan groups, making the exact number of Serb immigrants difficult to determine.
Until World War II, most people who today identify themselves as Macedonian Canadians claimed a Bulgarian ethnic identity and were recorded as part of the Bulgarian ethnic group.Macedonian immigrants have also been subsumed under the heading of Bulgarian immigrants, especially as regards the first wave, because in that period the history and population of the two countries was not as distinct as it is today. Until World War II, most people who today identify themselves as Macedonian Canadians claimed a Bulgarian ethnic identity and were recorded as part of the Bulgarian ethnic group (Magocsi, p. 287). Hence the Bulgarian community in Canada is deeply linked to the Macedonian Canadians. The Bulgarian Diaspora in Canada: Stories of Immigration, Glavanakova, Alexandra; Andreev, Andrey, 2010, CEACS, Brno, Czech Republic; Migrating Memories: Central Europe in Canada, Volume 2 – Oral Histories. (ed.) Rodica Albu, 2010; . The term Macedonian was used as a geographic/regional term rather than an ethnic one. At that time the political organization by the Slavic immigrants from the region of Macedonia, the Macedonian Patriotic Organization, also promoted the idea of Macedonian Slavs being Bulgarians.
During the Great War, military-aged Serb males who hailed from Serbia or Montenegro were considered allies but those who were born in Austro-Hungarian territories were deemed enemy aliens by Canadian law, even though their sympathies tended to lie with the allied cause. The latter were restricted in their freedom of movements, had to wear special identity cards and had to identify themselves regularly at the police station. Several hundred were interned in prison camps throughout the country under terrible conditions. Physicist Mihajlo Pupin, Serbia's consul in New York during the war, and Antun Seferović, the honorary consul of Serbia in Montreal, advocated for the rights of the classified aliens and internees through diplomacy via the Srpska Narodna Odbrana u Kanadi (Serbian National League of Canada) which resulted in exemption, compensation and the release of many ethnic Serbs. Another advocate for the rights of Serbs of Austro-Hungarian origin was Serbian-born court interpreter Bud Protich, who enlisted in the Canadian Army and was wounded in action in 1917.
Mid 20th century After 1921, all immigrants from Yugoslavia, including Serbs, were designated as "Yugoslavs". The interwar period saw a major increase in Serbian immigration to Canada. More than 30,000 Yugoslavs came to Canada between 1919 and 1939, including an estimated 10,000 Serbs. Many of these immigrants were single, working men who settled in the northern region of the province of Ontario.
After the Second World War, Serbian political émigrés who were opposed to the newly established Yugoslav communist government sought refuge in Canada. Many of these were POWs and laborers from Austria and Germany who refused to return to their homeland. They settled in cities such as Toronto, Sudbury and Hamilton.
In Canada, the first ethnic Croatian parish was established in Windsor in 1950. Soon, parishes were established in Toronto (1951), Hamilton (1958), Vancouver (1967), Winnipeg (1968). Today there are ethnic Croatian parishes and missions in seventeen cities in Canada. One of the most prominent Croatian Catholic parishes is the Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Norval, Ontario. The establishment of the parish began in 1976 when community members, under the guidance of the Franciscan Friars, gathered for one evening to discuss the necessity and logistics of creating a place of gathering and cultural and faith building and preservation for the large Croatian immigrant population. In May 1977, 160 acres of property were purchased by the organizing committee with the specific dedication to Croatian Catholics.
Between 1957 and 1971, some 23,000 Yugoslavs arrived in Canada, of whom 10-15% were Serbs. They established organizations, newspapers and cultural events.
Late 20th century In the late 1980s, Yugoslavia's communist government was on the verge of collapse. Shortly after the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, a large group of Serbs moved to Canada, mostly to Southern Ontario. This was a major brain drain, with educated Serbs fleeing serious economic problems and an undemocratic government. Other Serbs who came during the 1990s were refugees who fled the various civil wars in Yugoslavia.
The traditional centers of residence and culture for Bosnian Canadians are located in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Calgary. The majority of Bosnian Canadians emigrated to Canada as refugees during and after the Bosnian War, which lasted from 1992 to 1995.
Serbian Canadians protested the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia which lasted from March 24 to June 10, 1999.
Demography National and ethnic origins
In 2021, the total number of Canadians whose origins lie in former Yugoslavia, majority of whom indicated specific ethnic origin was 372,075.
Demography of Yugoslav Canadians by ethnic & national origins (1996–2021)Ethnic group2021 Canadian census2016 Canadian census2011 Canadian census2006 Canadian census2001 Canadian census1996 Canadian census Croatian Canadians 130,820 133,970 114,880 110,880 97,050 84,495 Serbian Canadians 93,355 96,535 80,320 72,690 55,540 40,200 Slovene Canadians 38,595 40,475 37,170 35,940 28,910 25,875 Macedonian Canadians 39,440 43,105 36,985 37,050 31,265 30,915 Yugoslav, 30,565 38,480 48,320 65,305 65,505 66,940 Bosnian Canadians 31,260 26,740 22,920 21,040 15,720 8,975 Montenegrin Canadians 4,310 4,165 2,970 2,370 1,055 Kosovar Canadians 3,730 2,870 2,760 1,530 1,200 Total population 372,075 386,340 346,325 346,805 296,245 248,425
Geographical distribution Ethnic & national origins of Yugoslav Canadians by province/territory (2021 census)Province/territoryYugoslav totalCroatianSerbianMacedonianSlovenianBosnianYugoslavian, MontenegrinKosovar 242,605 79,240 64,415 35,925 25,080 16,885 16,400 2,650 2,010 53,715 23,750 12,660 1,240 5,340 3,990 5,585 700 450 35,065 13,720 7,415 925 3,860 4,390 4,085 300 370 22,195 6,795 5,355 680 2,390 3,780 2,315 435 445 7,810 3,080 1,335 260 990 1,095 860 75 115 5,815 2,460 1,325 95 485 600 745 50 55 2,565 1,000 430 140 225 295 315 35 125 1,125 365 280 130 80 115 125 20 10 460 130 55 20 55 30 25 0 145 305 105 50 0 25 65 60 0 0 240 130 25 20 30 0 35 0 0 80 30 15 10 10 0 15 0 0 40 20 0 0 10 0 10 0 0 Canada 372,075 130,820 93,355 39,440 38,595 31,260 30,565 4,310 3,730
See also Canada–Yugoslavia relations Bosnian Canadians Croatian Canadians Macedonian Canadians Montenegrin Canadians Serbian Canadians Slovene Canadians
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