Norwegian Canadians () refer to Canadian citizens who identify themselves as being of full or partial Norwegian ancestry, or people who emigrated from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and reside in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Norwegians are one of the largest northern European ethnic groups in the country and have contributed greatly to its culture, especially in

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 ...

. According to the

Canada 2016 Census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial censu ...

there were 463,275 Canadians, or 1.3%, who claimed Norwegian ancestry, having an increase compared to those 452,705 in the 2011 Census. Significant Norwegian immigration took place from the mid-1880s to 1930.Multicultural Canada

History

Viking exploration

Norwegians have played important roles in the

history of Canada The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. The lands encompassing present-day Canada have been inhabited for millennia by Indigenous peoples, with d ...

. The first Europeans to reach North America were Icelandic

Norsemen The Norsemen (or Northmen) were a cultural group in the Early Middle Ages, originating among speakers of Old Norse in Scandinavia. During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a Viking expansion, large-scale expansion in all direc ...

, who made at least one major effort at settlement in what is today the Canadian province of

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 ...

(

L'Anse aux Meadows L'Anse aux Meadows () is an archaeological site, first excavated in the 1960s, of a Norse colonization of North America, Norse settlement dating to approximately 1,000 years ago. The site is located on the northernmost tip of the island of Newf ...

) around 1000 AD. Snorri Thorfinnsson aka Snorri Guðriðsson, the son of Thorfinn Karlsefni and his wife Guđriđ, is thought to be the first white baby born in Canada and North America. In 1960 archaeological evidence of the only known Norse settlement in North America (outside of

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

) was found at

on the northern tip of the island 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 ...

, in what is now the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

. Although this proved conclusively the

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

discovery of North America, whether this exact site is the

Vinland Vinland, Vineland, or Winland () was an area of coastal North America explored by Vikings. Leif Erikson landed there around 1000 AD, nearly five centuries before the voyages of Christopher Columbus and John Cabot. The name appears in the V ...

of the Norse accounts is still a subject of debate. There is a consensus among scholars that the Vikings did reach North America, approximately five centuries prior to the voyages of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

. The main sources of information about the Norse voyages to Vinland are two Icelandic

saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

s, '' The Saga of Eric the Red'' and the '' Saga of the Greenlanders''. These stories were preserved by oral tradition until they were written down some 250 years after the events they describe. The existence of two versions of the story shows some of the challenges of using traditional sources for history, because they share a large number of story elements, but use them in different ways. For example, both sagas feature a mariner called Bjarni, who is driven off course on a voyage to Greenland, and whose authority is subsequently called into question; in "Greenlanders" he is Bjarni Herjolfsson, who discovers the American mainland as a result of his mishap, but in "Eric" he is Bjarni Grimolfsson, who is driven into an area infested with shipworms on the way home from Vinland, with the result that his ship sinks. A brief summary of the plots of the two sagas shows many more examples.

Organized immigration

The major reason for Norwegian migration appears to be one of economics. Farms in Norway were often small and unable to support a family. Added to that was the lack of other employment to augment the family income. Between 1850 and 1910 approximately 681,011 Norwegians made their way to North America. Very few originally stayed in Canada but some, after a stay in the

American Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern c ...

, made their way across the border and settled in the present provinces of

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. One of the earliest Norwegian parties to America in the nineteenth century sailed from

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

. This party was led by Kleng Pedersen (

Cleng Peerson Cleng Peerson (17 May 1783 – 16 December 1865) was a Norwegian emigrant to the United States; his voyage in 1824 was the precursor for the boat load of 52 Norwegian emigrants in the following year. That boat load was a precursor for the main wav ...

). The ship, ''Restauration'', of 45 tons, master being Helland, was a rebuilt sloop carrying 52 passengers. To that number was added baby Larson, who was born on the voyage. Many of this party were Quakers, leaving Norway for religious reasons. The voyage took 97 days and they arrived in New York on October 9, 1825. In 1836 the ''Norden'' and ''Den Norske Klippe'' sailed to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with 167 passengers. Another two vessels sailed the following year. The British Government repealed the navigation laws in 1849 and from 1850 on, Canada became the port of choice as Norwegian ships carried passengers to Canada and took lumber back to Britain. The Canadian route offered many advantages to the emigrant. "They moved on from

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, ...

by rail and by steamer for another thousand or more miles for a steerage fare of slightly less than $9.00. Steamers from Quebec brought them to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, then the immigrants often traveled by rail for 93 miles to Collingwood on

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 ...

, from where steamers transported them across

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

to Chicago,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

and Green Bay." In 1855 there were eight vessels reported from Norway to Canada in the immigration report, averaging a 45-day crossing. These vessels carried 1,275 passengers. The following year, 14 vessels made the voyage averaging 54 days, and carrying 2,821 passengers. One of these vessels, the ''Orion'' from

, was said to carry 50 paupers all heading for the American West but, due to a lack of funds were sent to Buffalo. The passengers of the ''Gifion'', all proceeded to

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. There were a considerable number of deaths among the Norwegians in 1857. Of the 6,507 immigrants who arrived in that year there were 100 deaths. In 1859, however, emigration dropped off with only 16 vessels arriving from Norway carrying 1,756 passengers. Of the over 28,460 Norwegians who came to Canada in the 1850s it is estimated that only 400 remained in Canada the majority moved on into the American west. A small settlement of Norwegians was begun at Gaspe Peninsula,

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

, in 1854. A report in 1859, stated that 25 families, totaling 126 persons, were settled in the Gaspe. They were joined in 1860 by another 50 persons. However, the Norwegians were not content, and after a very hard winter in 1861-2 they began to make their way to the American Midwest. About 14 families who arrived on the ship ''Flora'' from

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

in 1856 went to the Eastern Townships, near present-day

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

. They were following in the footsteps of two other

Norwegians Norwegians () are an ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the Norsemen, Norse of the Early ...

who settled in this area in 1853. Johan Schroder, who travelled in the United States and

in 1863, reported that a group of Norwegian immigrants, led by an agent, settled in Bury in the Eastern Townships in 1856. One of the first settlers in this area was Captain John Svenson who died in 1878.

Settlements

Norwegian Canadians are found throughout the entire country but with a major concentration in

. The Prairies were the hub of the Norwegian settlement in Canada. Settlements in Canada which were primarily created by Norwegian immigrants: * Birch Hills, Saskatchewan * Rose Valley, Saskatchewan * Hagensborg, British Columbia * Tallheo, British Columbia *

Delta, British Columbia Delta is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and part of Greater Vancouver. Located on the Fraser Lowland south of Fraser River's south distributary, arm, it is bordered by the city of Richmond, British Columbia, R ...

* Quatsino, British Columbia * Pemberton, British Columbia (originally Agerton) * New Norway, Alberta * Norway, Ontario (now Upper Beaches, but probably named after Norway Pines not Norwegian immigrants)

Culture and traditions

Language

Most second or third generation Norwegian Canadians today are

anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

, others are

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

(particularly in Quebec). Older generations or recent arrivals from Norway may still be

allophone In phonology, an allophone (; from the Greek , , 'other' and , , 'voice, sound') is one of multiple possible spoken soundsor '' phones''used to pronounce a single phoneme in a particular language. For example, in English, the voiceless plos ...

( Norwegian as their mother tongue).

Today

Canada is also the home of Little Norway and Camp Norway, both Norwegian military training facilities, during the Second World War, and the port of Halifax was a refuge for the Norwegian merchant marine and

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy () is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for navy, naval operations of Norway, including those of the Norwegian Coast Guard. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 i ...

during the same conflict.

Norwegian population in Canada (2016)

According to

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

figures from the 2016 census, 463,275 Canadians reported themselves as being of Norwegian descent (multiple responses were allowed). The figures are also broken down by provinces and territories for

Norwegian language by province (2016)

List of Canadians of Norwegian descent

Actors

* Melody Anderson, social worker and public speaker specializing in the impact of addiction on families; also known as an actress * Earl W. Bascom, actor who worked with cowboy singer Roy Rogers * Devon Bostick, actor, known for playing Rodrick Heffley in the first three ''

Diary of a Wimpy Kid ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' is an American illustrated children's novel series and media franchise created by American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. The series follows Greg Heffley, a middle-schooler who illustrates his daily life in a dia ...

'' films * Melyssa Ford, model/actress * Nathan Fillion, actor * Christopher Heyerdahl, actor, plays a Norwegian on the AMC TV series ''Hell on Wheels'' * Natassia Malthe, Norwegian model and actress who grew up in Canada * John Qualen, actor, born Johan Mandt Kvalen in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1899, the son of Norwegian immigrants
"He was Hollywood's stock Scandinavian character actor but could also play just about any other ethnic type imaginable. He was born Johan Mandt Kvalen in Vancouver, British Columbia on December 8, 1899, the son of Norwegian immigrants. His father, a Lutheran minister, changed the spelling of their name to Qualen." * Rachel Skarsten, actress *

Vlasta Vrana Vlasta may refer to: *Vlasta (given name) Vlasta is a woman’s name. The Slavic base of the word, vlast, means ''homeland''. It is also the short form of the masculine names Vlastimil and Vlastislav. Name Day *In the Czech calendar: ''Decembe ...

, actor

Artists

* Earl W. Bascom, western artist, sculptor, "Cowboy of Cowboy Artists"

Athletes

* Glenn Anderson, retired professional hockey player * Earl W. Bascom, rodeo pioneer, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame inductee, "Father of Modern Rodeo" * Jeff Friesen, retired professional hockey player *

Kristina Groves Kristina Nicole Groves (born December 4, 1976) is a Canadian retired speed skater. She is Canada's most decorated skater in the World Single Distances Championships with 13 career medals in this event.http://vancouver.sportingnews.com/wolympics/ ...

, Olympic speed skater * John Halvorsen, Olympic Track and Field Distance Runner * Rick Hansen, wheelchair celebrity and philanthropist * Anne Heggtveit, alpine skier * Ryder Hesjedal, professional road cyclist * George Knudson, CM, professional golfer; along with Mike Weir holds the record for the Canadian with the most wins on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

, with eight career victories * Johann Olav Koss, former Norwegian speed skater, Toronto, ON * Karen Magnussen, Olympic figure skater, North Vancouver, BC * Christine Nordhagen, Norwegian-Canadian Olympic female wrestler * Pat Onstad, professional soccer goalkeeper * Terry Puhl, former professional baseball player; currently the head coach of University of Houston-Victoria's baseball team * Ryan Rishaug, former ice hockey player; currently a sports commentator on

The Sports Network The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language discretionary sports specialty channel owned by the Sports Network Inc., a subsidiary of CTV Specialty Television, which is also a joint venture of Bell Media (70%), also owned by BCE ...

* Cliff Ronning, professional hockey player * Herman "Jackrabbit" Smith-Johannsen (1875–1987), Norwegian-Canadian cross country skier; lived to be 111 years old * Staal brothers, four ice hockey players, all currently signed with the NHL * Svein Tuft, professional road cyclist * Hans Skinstad, Norwegian-Canadian 1976 Olympic cross country skier

Explorers

* Henry Larsen, Norwegian born Canadian Arctic seaman for the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

; second to traverse Canada's

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...

in the famous '' St. Roch''

Filmmakers

* Torill Kove, Norwegian-Canadian film director and animator; Academy Award winner for the animated short film '' The Danish Poet''

Musicians

* Endre Johannes Cleven, musician/composer and founder of the Canadian Viking Regiment (197th Battalion,

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

) * Mitch Dorge, musician * Glenn Gould, pianist * Bruce Haack, Norwegian-Canadian musician and composer *

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

, singer-songwriter * Leif Vollebekk, musician

Politicians

* Aaron Paquette, politician, writer and artist * Cam Broten, Saskatchewan NDP MLA for Saskatoon Massey Place *

Ione Christensen Ione Jean Christensen, , ''née'' Cameron (born October 10, 1933) is a former Canadian Senator. The daughter of former North-West Mounted Police constable Gordon Irwin Cameron, and Dawson City born Martha Ballentine Cameron, her family moved to ...

, CM, former Canadian Senator * Nellie Cournoyea, served as Premier of the Northwest Territories from 1991 to 1995 * David Eggen, Alberta NDP MLA for Edmonton-Calder * Colin Hansen, British Columbia's Minister of Finance and Minister; responsible for the 2010 Winter Olympics * Hans Lars Helgesen, MLA for

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt () is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Jua ...

, 1878–1886; the first non-Briton to serve in the BC legislature and prominent in the establishment of the commercial fishery in

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the British Columbia Coast, northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia ...

* Chuck Strahl, MP for Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon and Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development

Writers

* Holly Nelson, poet, writer and political activist * Martha Ostenso, novelist, poet and screenwriter * Sonja Skarstedt, poet, short story, and play writer; painter and illustrator * Fred Stenson, writer of historical fiction and non-fiction relating to the Canadian West

Others

* Gerda Hnatyshyn, president and chair of the Hnatyshyn Foundation, an arts granting organization * Norman Wolfred Kittson, fur trader, steamboat-line operator, and railway entrepreneur * Peter Norman Nissen, inventor * Paul Thorlakson, physician and Chancellor of the University of Winnipeg * Jordan Peterson, professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto

References

* {{Norwegian diaspora * *