Cornish Canadians are

Canadians Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

of Cornish descent, including those who were born in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. The number of Canadian citizens of Cornish descent cannot be determined through census statistics, though speculative estimates place the population as high as 20,000.

History

Early arrivals

It is recorded that the first Cornish to reach what is now Canadian soil did in the 16th century, reaching the coast of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, part of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Bruce Mines

Cornish emigrants settled the area around Bruce Mines starting in 1842. Located on the north shore of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

, the area had been associated with the

native copper Native copper is an uncombined form of copper that occurs as a natural mineral. Copper is one of the few metallic elements to occur in native form, although it most commonly occurs in oxidized states and mixed with other elements. Native coppe ...

used by indigenous people, whose copper working in the upper

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

dates back to the

Old Copper complex The Old Copper complex or Old Copper culture is an archaeological culture from the Archaic period of North America's Great Lakes region. Artifacts from some of these sites have been dated from 7500 to 1000 BCE. It is characterized by widesprea ...

. With the spread of knowledge of copper in the area among Europeans, a

copper mine Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, loca ...

opened in 1846, with many local Cornish settlers being recruited to work there. This was the first copper mine in Canada. Around this time, there was a depression in the Cornish mining industry, which contributed to the volume of people participating in the Cornish "Great Migration", the outflow of emigrants primarily to English-speaking colonies such as Canada and Australia. In 1848, a

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...

carrying fifty Cornish emigrants, mostly from the

Hayle Hayle ( kw, Heyl, "estuary") is a port town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River (which discharges into St Ives Bay) and is approximately seven miles (11 km) northeast of Penzance. ...

area, along with a stationary steam engine (built in a foundry at Copperhouse) and assortment of Cornish ore processing equipment, left the

Port of Hayle The Port of Hayle ( Cornish: ) is an important mining port, harbour and former industrial centre located in the town of Hayle, on the north coast of Cornwall. The Port is within the area of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Herita ...

bound for Montreal. The arrival of Cornish skilled workers and industrial equipment allowed the owners of the Bruce Mines to rapidly scale up mechanization of their operations.

Notable people

* Frank Andrews (1854-after 1890), member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly *

Elizabeth Arden Elizabeth Arden (born Florence Nightingale Graham; December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966) was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. By 1929, s ...

(1878-1966), businesswoman *

Arthur James Bater Arthur James Bater (29 December 1889 – 5 April 1969) was an English-Canadian politician and farmer. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1949 election and defeated in the 1953 election. External links * 1889 births ...

(1889-1969), MP for The Battlefords *

Truman Smith Baxter Truman Smith Baxter (November 24, 1867 – October 27, 1931) was the 16th mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia. He was born on a farm near Carlingford, Ontario, part of Fullertown Township in Perth County. He was the son of Richard and Elizab ...

(1867-1931), mayor of Vancouver *

Rick Blight Richard Derek Blight (October 17, 1955 – April 3, 2005) was a professional hockey player. A native of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Blight had a long and varied hockey career as a Right wing for teams in the National Hockey League (NHL), Ce ...

(1955-2005), hockey player *

Marie Bottrell Marie Diane Bottrell (born 1961) is a Canadian country music singer and songwriter. Bottrell released many singles which appeared on Canadian country music charts, and has received multiple Country Female Vocalist of the Year nominations. Early ...

(born 1961), country music singer *

Frederick Buscombe Frederick Buscombe (September 2, 1862 – July 21, 1938), was the 11th Mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He served from 1905 to 1906. A glassware and china merchant, he was a President of the Vancouver Board of Trade in 1900. Bus ...

(1862-1938), Mayor of Vancouver *

Dick Cherry Richard John Cherry (born February 28, 1937) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers between 1956 and 1970. He is the brother of media pe ...

(born 1937), hockey player *

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

(born 1934), hockey player and commentator *

Dean Chynoweth Dean E. Chynoweth (born October 30, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League for the New York Islanders and the Boston Bruins. Drafted 13th overall by the Islanders in the 1987 NHL En ...

(born 1968), hockey player *

Ed Chynoweth Edward Chynoweth (December 14, 1941 – April 22, 2008) was a Canadian ice hockey executive. He served as president of the Western Hockey League and the Canadian Hockey League for over 20 years each. He was also a league director, team own ...

(1941-2008), hockey owner * H. P. P. Crease (1823-1905), member of the British Columbia Supreme Court * William Dennis (1856-1920), member of the Senate of Canada * Claude Ernest Dolman (1906-1994), scientist *

John Eyre John Eyre may refer to: Politicians *John Eyre (died 1581), Member of Parliament for Wiltshire and Salisbury *John Eyre (died 1639), MP for Cricklade * John Eyre (1659–1709), MP for Galway Borough, son of the above *John Eyre (died 1745), MP for ...

(1824-1871), member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly *

Thomas Greenway Thomas Greenway (March 25, 1838 – October 30, 1908) was a Canadian politician, merchant and farmer. He served as the seventh premier of Manitoba from 1888 to 1900. A Liberal, his ministry formally ended Manitoba's non-partisan government, al ...

(1838-1908), Premier of Manitoba *

Wilfred Grenfell Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell (28 February 1865 – 9 October 1940) was a British medical missionary to Newfoundland, who wrote books on his work and other topics. Early life and education He was born at Parkgate, Cheshire, England, on 28 Febr ...

(1865-1940), Episcopal missionary * W.O. Hamley (1818-1907), civil and naval officer *

Derek Holman Derek Holman, (16 May 1931 – 20 May 2019) was a choral conductor, organist and composer. Life and work Born at Illogan, Cornwall, UK, Holman attended the Royal Academy of Music from 1948 to 1952 and studied with Sir William McKie, E ...

(born 1931), composer *

Arthur Lobb Arthur John Lobb (July 26, 1871—July 4, 1928) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1915 to 1920, as a member of the Liberal Party. Lobb was born in Cornwall, United Kingdom, the son of J ...

(1871-1928), member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly * Samuel A. Mitchell (1874-1960), astronomer * R. J. M. Parker (1881-1948), Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan * Robert Parkyn (1862-1939), member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly *

James Pascoe James Pascoe (November 29, 1863 – September 7, 1931) was a British-born farmer and political figure in Saskatchewan. He represented Moose Jaw City in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 1921 to 1925 as an independent Conservative. B ...

(1863-1931), member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly * J. Ernest Pascoe (1900-1972), Member of Parliament for Moose Jaw—Lake Centre * Nigel Pengelly (1925-2010), member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly * Robert Terrill Rundle (1811-1896), Methodist missionary *

John Teague John Teague (June 3, 1833 – October 25, 1902) was a Canadian architect and politician who served as mayor of Victoria, British Columbia from 1894 until 1895. Born in Redruth, Cornwall, United Kingdom, Teague left the UK in 1856 spending som ...

(1833-1902), architect and mayor of Victoria * Francis W. Thomas (1834-1900), banker and philanthropist *

John Tucker Williams John Tucker Williams (1789 – September 9, 1854) was a British naval officer and political figure in Canada West. Early life and military career Williams was born at Penryn, Cornwall in 1789, a member of the Williams family of Caerhays ...

(1789-1854), naval officer *

Victor Williams Victor L. Williams (born September 19, 1970) is an American actor best known as Doug Heffernan's (Kevin James) best friend Deacon Palmer on ''The King of Queens.'' He has also appeared on several other hit TV shows, including '' Homicide: Life o ...

(1867-1949), general * James Yeo. Sr. (1789-1868), member of the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly * James Yeo, Jr. (1827-1903), Member of Parliament for Prince County *

John Yeo John Yeo (29 June 1837 – 14 December 1924) was a Canadian farmer, ship builder and parliamentarian. Yeo was born in Port Hill, Prince Edward Island, the son of James Yeo and Damaris Sargent, and educated in England.English Canadian English Canadians (french: Canadiens anglais or ), or Anglo-Canadians (french: Anglo-Canadiens), refers to either Canadians of English ethnic origin and heritage or to English-speaking or Anglophone Canadians of any ethnic origin; it is use ...

* Cornish people#Canada

References

* Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples
"Cornish."
Multicultural Canada.

History

Early arrivals

Bruce Mines

Notable people

References

Further reading