Belgian Canadians (; ) are

Canadian citizen Canadian nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Canada. The primary law governing these regulations is the Citizenship Act, which came into force on February 15, 1977 and is applicable to all provinces and t ...

s of Belgian ancestry or

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

-born people who reside in Canada. According to the 2011 census there were 176,615 Canadians who claimed full or partial Belgian ancestry. It encompasses immigrants from both

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and Dutch-speaking parts of Belgium.

History

People from the

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the ...

(present-day

) first arrived in the 1660s. A trickle of artisans came to

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

before the 1750s. In the mid-19th century there were enough arrivals to open part-time consulates in Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax. After 1859 the main attraction was free farm land. After 1867 the national government gave immigrants from Belgium preferred status, and encouraged emigration to the Francophone

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

communities of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Édouard Simaeys Édouard is both a French given name and a surname, equivalent to Edward in English. Notable people with the name include: * Édouard Balladur (born 1929), French politician * Édouard Boubat (1923–1999), French photographer * Édouard Colonne ...

became a part-time paid Canadian agent in Belgium to publicize opportunities in Canada and facilitate immigration. The steamship companies prepared their own brochures and offered package deals to farm families. By 1898 there was a full-time Canadian office in Antwerp which provided pamphlets, lectures and specific travel advice. By 1906 some 2,000 Belgians a year were arriving, most with skills in agriculture. A third wave of immigration took place after 1945, with urban areas the destination. The 1961 census counted 61,000 Canadians of Belgian ancestry. Belgian Club 002

Belgian immigration to

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

in the late 19th and early 20th century attracted the attention of the Belgian government. It enacted laws and regulations to protect the emigrants and guarantee adequate travel conditions. Provision was made to assist emigrants who decided to return to Belgium. Starting in the 1860s consular officials made on-site visits to inspect conditions in Canada, which eagerly welcomed the new arrivals. The Catholic church was likewise welcoming, and a number of priests emigrated. The Walloon immigrants discovered they could continue to speak French in Canada, while the

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

quickly learned English. The Belgians formed no national organizations but they were active in local affairs. Some settled in towns such as

Saint Boniface, Manitoba St. Boniface (or Saint Boniface) is a Ward (electoral subdivision), city ward and neighbourhood in Winnipeg. Along with being the centre of the Franco-Manitoban community, it ranks as the largest Francophone Canadian, francophone community in Wes ...

, but most became farmers who specialized in dairy farming, sugar beets and market gardening. After 1920 there was a move to western Alberta, with an economy based on ranching, horse breeding, and sugar beets. During the Second World War, Belgian émigrés from Canada and elsewhere in the Americas were formed into the 2nd Fusilier Battalion of the

Free Belgian Forces The Free Belgian forces (, ) were soldiers from Belgium and its colonies who fought as part of the Allied armies during World War II, after the official Belgian surrender to Nazi Germany. It is distinct from the Belgian Resistance which exist ...

, which was based in Canada.

Demographics

Belgian Canadians by Canadian province or territory (
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
)

Notable people

* Johan Beetz (1874–1949), Belgian-born naturalist and namesake of

Baie-Johan-Beetz Baie-Johan-Beetz is a municipality located near the mouth of the Piashti River on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in the Côte-Nord region, Minganie RCM, Quebec, Canada. History In 1854, Joseph Tanguay, originally from Berthie ...

, Quebec * Gustave Francq (1871–1952), Belgian-born printer and trade unionist * Berthe Chaurès-Louard (1889–1968), Belgian-born Canadian businesswoman *

Maurice Baudoux Maurice Baudoux (July 10, 1902 – July 1, 1988) was a Canadian priest and the Archbishop of Saint Boniface, Manitoba, Canada. Born in La Louvière, Belgium, he came to Canada when he was nine. He studied at Collège universitaire de Saint ...

(1902–1988), Belgian-born Catholic priest and Archbishop of Saint Boniface, Manitoba *

Alexis Nihon Alexis Louis Nihon, (15 May 1902 – 8 April 1980) was a Belgian-born Canadian inventor and businessman. Biography Alexis was born in Liège, Belgium, the son of Alexis Laurent Nihon and Marie Florentine Thiry, he moved to Canada whe ...

(1902–1980), Belgian-born industrialist *

Marcel Lambert Marcel Joseph Aimé Lambert (August 21, 1919 – September 24, 2000) was a Canadian politician and Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 1962 to 1963. Life and career Lambert was born in St. Albert, to a French Canadian father and a ...

(1919–2000), politician and

Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada The speaker of the House of Commons () is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. A member of Parliament (MP), a speaker is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow MPs. The speaker's role in pre ...

Michael DeGroote Michael George DeGroote (August 13, 1933 – September 12, 2022) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist from Hamilton, Ontario, who resided in Bermuda. Aside from his business career, he was best known as a major private donor to local ...

(1933–2022), businessman and philanthropist *

Émilie Heymans Émilie-Joane Heymans (born December 14, 1981) is a Canadian diver. She was born in Brussels, Belgium and raised in Greenfield Park, a suburb of Montreal. Heymans has won four Olympic medals, two bronze and two silver. She was the first female ...

(1981–), Belgian-born Olympic diver *

Lance Stroll Lance Strulovitch (; born 29 October 1998), commonly known as Lance Stroll (), is a Canadian racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin. Born and raised in Montreal, Stroll is the son of billionaire businessman Lawrence Stroll ...

(1998–),

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

driver

References

External links

Belgian Canadians
at ''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

''. {{Portal bar, Belgium, Canada Belgian diaspora Belgian * *

History

Demographics

Notable people

See also

References

Further reading

External links