History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 249

Even when the push and pull factors have been strong, Belgians have not emigrated
to Canada in large numbers. A governor of the province of Luxembourg once opined
that when Walloons left their homeland, it was usually “to become rich, or because of
a sense of adventure. Even so, they rarely leave ... without a desire to return.” His
counterpart in East Flanders commented that Flemings possessed “an extreme,
almost exaggerated parochialism” and “decide to leave their native land only as a last
resort.” Within Belgium, various factors led to increased emigration in the nineteenth
century. Throughout most of the century, the country experienced an annual increase
in population of more than 9 percent. A commission du travail, established by the
government in 1886, reported on appalling labour conditions and recommended
emigration for the impoverished. Belgians left Flanders for northern France or the
industrial centres of Wallonia. However, the small Belgian community in Montreal
vehemently opposed the arrival of such “mendicants, vagabonds and fugitives from
justice.” In any event, Canada was not a first choice of those who decided to go
abroad, and the United States was considered much more attractive.
In the early twentieth century, the agricultural Flemish provinces experienced a
population explosion and a shortage of arable land. The industrialized Walloon region
still offered employment opportunities, although not under the most favourable
conditions. Some Belgians chose to leave for personal reasons, such as to escape
family tensions, avoid military service, satisfy a desire for adventure, improve their
financial circumstances, or join family or friends abroad. The dominance of clerical
influence in Flemish political and social life and bitter struggles between socialists,
trade unionists, and the partisans of communal schools versus ultra-Catholics in
Wallonia were also influences on emigration in this period.
What may be called the first significant wave of Belgian immigration to Canada began
in 1906 with the liberalization of immigration criteria under Sifton’s successor, Frank
Oliver. About 13,000 arrived during the next eight years – miners, navvies, artisans,
and a wide spectrum of agriculturalists, including dairymen, market gardeners, fruit
growers, and beet and tobacco cultivators. Another fourteen thousand followed in the
decade after World War I, constituting the second wave. Among the active recruiters
of these immigrants were the railway companies, sugar-beet manufacturers in Ontario
and Alberta, and tobacco companies.
Economic pressures after World War II forced more Belgians than ever before to look
abroad for a better life. The decline of the coal, iron, and steel industries centred in
Wallonia, as well as the loss of the Belgian Congo in 1960 and the return of many
professionals and technicians to a depressed economy, provided strong incentives for
emigration. However, it is noteworthy that it was the Flemish-speaking region, which
was now becoming industrialized, that provided the majority of the emigrants.
In terms of numbers, the third wave of Belgian immigration to Canada from 1945 to
1975 was the most significant: 16,278 immigrants arrived in 1951–60, 6,941 in 1961–
70, and 3,534 in 1971–80. However, this immigration did not result in new Belgian
settlements. Most of those who arrived went either to urban centres or to the
settlements already established by their predecessors. In keeping with shifts in
Canadian immigration policy in the 1960s from preferred groups to individuals with
desirable education, trainin r