Austrian Canadians (german: Österreichischekanadier, ) are Canadian citizens who are of

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

ancestry or

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n-born people who reside in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. According to the 2016 Census there were 207,050 Canadians who claimed either full or partial Austrian ancestry. Austrian Canadian communities can be found throughout the country but with a higher concentration mainly in

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

History

In the 17th century, soldiers from Austria settled in

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by 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 Great Britain and Spa ...

. Numbers increased following the passing of the ''Staatsgrundgesetz'' (constitutional law) in 1867 which allowed free migration from

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

for civilians. Emigration to Canada increased throughout the late 19th century and into the early 20th, until this was tightened in 1914 at the onset of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

.Many immigrants from Austria-Hungary to Canada were interned and used for enslaved labour during World War I. Beginning in 1914, subjects of the Habsburg Crown, especially Ukrainian-speakers from Austrian Galicia, were placed in twenty-four internment camps across Canada, the last of which closed in 1920.

Demographics

Austrian Canadian population by province and territory in Canada in 2011:

References

* {{Portal bar, Austria, Canada *

History

Demographics

See also

References