Olivar Asselin: I

A Switzerland of the north? The Nationalistes and a bi‐national Canada*

“…Yet, it was not the rate so much as the composition of the immigrants which concerned the Nationalistes : between 1901 and 1911 only 30,000 of some 1,500,000 were French speaking. It was only the continuing high birth rate of French Canadians that ensured that its proportion of the population did not fall below the 1867 figure of one‐third (Brown and Cook 1974: 79, 127); immigration effectively offset this higher birth rate during these years (Wade 1965: 159). The Nationalistes were increasingly concerned about the impact of non‐francophone immigration on Canada's delicate linguistic balance.…”

“…In his report, he contrasted the resources available to Canadian agents in Britain with those in France and Belgium. The evidence was revealing; while the Canadian government spent $200,000 and employed hundreds of immigration agents to attract emigrants in Britain, it allocated only $13,000 and only three agents in France and Belgium (Thério 1954: 81–2; Wade 1965: 158–9). 6 The Nationalistes were concerned that the efforts of the Canadian authorities were concentrated not only on attracting immigration from the British Isles, but also from eastern Europe and the United States, at the expense of those from Belgium and France.…”