Cornish Canadians are

Canadians Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

of Cornish descent, including those who were born in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. 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 is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, part of the

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

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

Bruce Mines

Cornish emigrants settled the area around

Bruce Mines Bruce Mines is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located on the north shore of Lake Huron in the Algoma District along Highway 17. The town of Bruce Mines had a population of 582 residents in 2016. The current mayor of Bruce Mines is ...

starting in 1842. Located on the north shore of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

, 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 spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

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 6500 to 1580 BCE. It is characterized by widespre ...

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

copper mine Copper extraction is the multi-stage process of obtaining copper from its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ...

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 of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

carrying fifty Cornish emigrants, mostly from the

Hayle Hayle (, "estuary") is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River (which discharges into St Ives Bay) and is approximately northeast of ...

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 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 (December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966), also known as Elizabeth N. Graham, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. Backg ...

(1878-1966), businesswoman * Arthur James Bater (1889-1969), MP for The Battlefords * Truman Smith Baxter (1867-1931), mayor of Vancouver * Rick Blight (1955-2005), hockey player * Marie Bottrell (born 1961), country music singer * Frederick Buscombe (1862-1938), Mayor of Vancouver * Dick Cherry (born 1937), hockey player *

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. He played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins. After concluding a playing career in the A ...

(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 owne ...

(1941-2008), hockey owner * H. P. P. Crease (1823-1905), member of the British Columbia Supreme Court *

William Dennis William Dennis (4 March 1856 – 11 July 1920) was an Independent Conservative member of the Senate of Canada. He was born in the English county of Cornwall and became an editor, journalist and publisher. Biography Introduction William Dennis ...

(1856-1920), member of the Senate of Canada * Claude Ernest Dolman (1906-1994), scientist * John Eyre (1824-1871), member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly *

Thomas Greenway Thomas Greenway (25 March 1838 – 30 October 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 F ...

(1865-1940), Episcopal missionary * W.O. Hamley (1818-1907), civil and naval officer * Derek Holman (born 1931), composer * Arthur Lobb (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 (1863-1931), member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly * J. Ernest Pascoe (1900-1972), Member of Parliament for Moose Jaw—Lake Centre *

Nigel Pengelly Nigel Ian Pengelly (May 29, 1925 – July 3, 2010) was a provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1979 to 1989. He sat in the back benches of the governing Progressive Co ...

(1925-2010), member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly *

Robert Terrill Rundle Robert Terrill Rundle (18 June 1811 – 4 February 1896) was a Cornish Methodist minister missionary from Cornwall, England. His most noteworthy activities relate to his missionary work in Western Canada between 1840 and 1848. Early life ...

(1811-1896), Methodist missionary * John Teague (1833-1902), architect and mayor of Victoria * Francis W. Thomas (1834-1900), banker and philanthropist * John Tucker Williams (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 ...

(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 (1837-1924), Member of Parliament for East Prince

References

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

History

Early arrivals

Bruce Mines

Notable people

See also

References

Further reading