A block settlement (or bloc settlement) is a particular type of land distribution which allows
settlers
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area.
A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer.
Settle ...
with the same
ethnicity
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
to form small
colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
. This settlement type was used throughout
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 ...
between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some were planned and others were spontaneously created by the settlers themselves. As a legacy of the block settlements, the three Prairie Provinces have several regions where ancestries other than British are the largest, unlike the norm in surrounding regions.
The policy of planned blocks was pursued primarily by
Clifford Sifton
Sir Clifford Sifton, (March 10, 1861 – April 17, 1929), was a Canadian lawyer and a long-time Liberal politician, best known for being Minister of the Interior under Sir Wilfrid Laurier. He was responsible for encouraging the massive amount o ...
during his time as
Interior Minister of Canada. It was essentially a compromise position. Some politicians wanted all ethnic groups to be scattered evenly though the new lands to ensure they would quickly assimilate to Anglo-Canadian culture, while others did not want to live near "foreign" immigrants (as opposed to British immigrants who were not considered foreign) and demanded that they be segregated. At the time, Canada was receiving large numbers of non-British, non-French, immigrants for the first time, especially
Italians
, flag =
, flag_caption = The national flag of Italy
, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, region2 ...
,
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
,
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
ns, and
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
. The newcomers themselves wanted to settle as close as possible to people with a familiar language and similar customs. The government did not want the West to be fragmented into a few large homogeneous ethnic blocks, however. So several smaller colonies were set up where particular ethnic groups could settle, but these were spaced across the country.
American
African American
Mormon
Cardston
Cardston is a town in Alberta, Canada. It was first settled in 1887 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who travelled from Utah, via the Macleod-Benton Trail, to present-day Alberta in one of the century' ...
founded in 1887 was the first Latter-day Saint settlement in Alberta.
Anabaptist
Hutterite
Hutterites
Hutterites (german: link=no, Hutterer), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptism, Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Refor ...
are
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
-speaking
Anabaptists
Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...
who live in communal agricultural colonies. They have 188 colonies in Alberta, 117 in Manitoba, 72 in Saskatchewan and 3 in British Columbia. These Canadian colonies began with 18 colonies founded in 1919
Map
Mennonite
The Manitoba government set aside the Mennonite
East Reserve
The East Reserve was a block settlement in Manitoba set aside by the Government of Canada exclusively for settlement by Russian Mennonite settlers in 1873 (although settlement did not occur until 1874). Most of the East Reserve's earliest settlers ...
now in the
Rural Municipality of Hanover
The Rural Municipality of Hanover is a rural municipality (RM) in southeastern Manitoba, Canada, located southeast of Winnipeg in Division No. 2.
It is Manitoba's most populous rural municipality and fourth-most populous municipality overall (be ...
and the Mennonite
West Reserve The West Reserve was a block settlement plot of land in Manitoba set aside by the Government of Canada exclusively for settlement by Russian Mennonite settlers in 1876.
After signing Treaty 1 with the Anishinabe and Swampy Cree First Nations, the C ...
now in the
Rural Municipality of Rhineland
The Rural Municipality of Rhineland is a former rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Since 1876, the area made up part of the Mennonite West Reserve. The R.M. of Rhineland was originally incorporated as a rural municipality ...
and the
Rural Municipality of Stanley
Stanley is a rural municipality (RM) in the province of Manitoba in Western Canada. It is located in the southern part of the province, along its border with the state of North Dakota in the United States. Since 1876, the area made up part of the ...
for the new
Russian Mennonite
The Russian Mennonites (german: Russlandmennoniten it. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire occasionally Ukrainian Mennonites) are a group of Mennonites who are descendants of Dutch Anabaptists who settled for abo ...
immigrants coming to the province beginning in 1874.
Most spoke
Mennonite Low German.
Map
Mennonite communities originally part of the
East Reserve
The East Reserve was a block settlement in Manitoba set aside by the Government of Canada exclusively for settlement by Russian Mennonite settlers in 1873 (although settlement did not occur until 1874). Most of the East Reserve's earliest settlers ...
, Manitoba include:
Mennonite communities originally part of the
West Reserve The West Reserve was a block settlement plot of land in Manitoba set aside by the Government of Canada exclusively for settlement by Russian Mennonite settlers in 1876.
After signing Treaty 1 with the Anishinabe and Swampy Cree First Nations, the C ...
, Manitoba include:
Mennonite communities originally part of the Scratching River Settlement, Manitoba include:
Saskatchewan settlements
Map
Early Alberta settlements began in
La Crete
La Crete ( ), also spelled La Crête, is a hamlet in northern Alberta, Canada, within Mackenzie County. It is located on Highway 697, approximately southeast of High Level and north of Edmonton.
The hamlet is located in Census Division No. ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
and
Didsbury, Alberta
Didsbury is a town in central Alberta, Canada at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It is located next to Alberta Highway 2A, near the Queen Elizabeth II Highway. Didsbury is within the Calgary-Edmonton corridor. Didsbury is approximately th ...
1901
Early British Columbia settlements began in
Yarrow, British Columbia and
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a city located in British Columbia, adjacent to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser River. With an estimated population of 153,524 people it is the largest municipality in the province outside metrop ...
1911
British
Meaning: people coming directly from the United Kingdom, not English-speaking people from Ontario or Atlantic Canada.
British Canadian
Meaning: settlers from
Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrador, ...
, primarily Ontario, and mostly of British and Irish origins.
Dutch
Eastern European
Ashkenazi
Many of the Jewish immigrants to Canada came from settlements in Eastern Europe, including
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 ...
and the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
(later the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
).
Doukhobor
In Saskatchewan Doukhobors, numbering 7,500, settled in three blocks in the
North-West Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
(now in Saskatchewan) from 1899 to 1918. They established 61 communal villages on .
Map
British Columbia (1908-1938)
Map
Alberta
Finnish
Hungarian
Old Believers
Romanian
Ukrainian
Ukrainian settlements with approximate date of founding
Map:
*
Edna-Star, Alberta (1892). Founded by the original
Ukrainian Canadian
Ukrainian Canadians ( uk, Українські канадці, Україноканадці, translit=Ukrayins'ki kanadtsi, Ukrayinokanadtsi; french: Canadiens d'origine ukrainienne) are Canadians, Canadian citizens of Ukrainians, Ukrainian desce ...
pioneers
Iwan Pylypow
Iwan Pylypiw or Ivan Pylypow ( uk, Іван Пилипiв, September 28, 1859 – October 10, 1936) and Vasyl Eleniak were the first Ukrainian immigrants to Canada in 1891–93.
Pylypow was born in the village of Nebyliv in Kalush county (''povi ...
and
Wasyl Eleniak, this is the oldest and largest of the Ukrainian block settlements and was once considered the largest Ukrainian community in the world outside Eastern Europe. It is now the world's largest eco-museum, called
Kalyna Country
The Kalyna Country ecomuseum is a heritage and eco-tourism district in East Central Alberta, Canada, named after the highbush cranberry plant, pronounced (Ka-lyn-na) in the Ukrainian language. The Ukrainian folklore states: "Without Kalyna, ther ...
, which includes
Sturgeon County
Sturgeon County is a municipal district the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. It is north of Edmonton and west of the North Saskatchewan River. Sturgeon County is located in Division No. 11 and was named for the Sturgeon River.
...
,
Thorhild County
Thorhild County is a List of municipal districts in Alberta, municipal district located in the central part of northern Alberta, Canada in Division No. 13, Alberta, Census Division 13. It was incorporated in 1955. It changed its name from the ' ...
, the
County of St. Paul No. 19, the
County of Vermilion River
The County of Vermilion River is a municipal district located in the eastern part of central Alberta, Canada in Census Division No. 10. The municipal district was formerly named the County of Vermilion River No. 24 prior to an official name c ...
, the
County of Two Hills No. 21
The County of Two Hills No. 21 is a municipal district in east-central Alberta, Canada. Located in Census Division No. 10, its municipal office is located in the Town of Two Hills.
History
The County of Two Hills No. 21 was formed in 1963 ...
, the
County of Minburn No. 27
The County of Minburn No. 27 is a municipal district in east central Alberta, Canada. Its municipal office is located in the Town of Vegreville. Located in Census Division No. 10, the County of Minburn No. 27 was formed as a county on Januar ...
,
Beaver County,
Lamont County
Lamont County is a municipal district in central Alberta, Canada, located in Census Division No. 10, northeast of Edmonton. The county contains 27 Townships. Its municipal office is located in the Town of Lamont.
History
In March 1944, th ...
, and
Strathcona County
Strathcona County is a specialized municipality in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region within Alberta, Canada between Edmonton and Elk Island National Park. It forms part of Census Division No. 11.
Strathcona County is both urban and rural in ...
, and many of the neighbouring towns and cities.
Map
*Manitoba settlements included
Stuartburn, Manitoba (August 1896),
Dauphin, Manitoba
Dauphin () is a city in Manitoba, Canada, with a population of 8,457 as of the 2016 Canadian Census, with an additional 2,388 living in the surrounding Rural Municipality of Dauphin (RM), for a total of 10,845 in the RM and city combined. The ci ...
(September 1896).
Interlake, Manitoba (June 1897),
Shoal Lake, Manitoba
Shoal Lake is a locality in the southwest of Manitoba, Canada. Originally incorporated as a town, Shoal Lake amalgamated with the Rural Municipality of Shoal Lake on January 1, 2011 to form the Municipality of Shoal Lake, which became the Rural ...
(April 1899) and
Whitemouth, Manitoba
Whitemouth is a community in the Rural Municipality of Whitemouth, located in southeastern Manitoba, Canada. The community is named after the Whitemouth River. It was established in 1905 along the main Canadian Pacific Railway line.
Demographic ...
.
*Saskatchewan settlements were in the
Montmartre
Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...
-
Candiac
Candiac is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in the Canadian province of Quebec; it is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River opposite Montreal near La Prairie. The population as of the Canada 2016 Census was 21,047.
History ...
area (1895–96), the
Yorkton
Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about 450 kilometres north-west of Winnipeg and 300 kilometres south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province.
As of 2017 the census population of the ...
–
Canora–
Preeceville
Preeceville is a town in Saskatchewan, Canada. The town is 10 km (6 miles) west of Sturgis and 99 km (62 miles) north of Yorkton at the junction of Highway 49, Highway 47, Highway 9 and near Highway 755.
Demographics
In the 202 ...
area in eastern Saskatchewan, the
Rosthern
Rosthern is a town at the juncture of Highway 11 and Highway 312 in the central area of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located roughly halfway between the cities of Prince Albert and Saskatoon.
History
Mennonite settlers, led by Gerhard Ens, beg ...
–
Yellow Creek–
Cudworth area north of Saskatoon and the
Radisson–
Hafford
Hafford is a town in the RM of Redberry, Saskatchewan, Canada, consisting of 414 residents at the 2021 Canadian census. It is located near Redberry Lake, which consists of only salt water.
History
The first overseer was T.G. Bavin for the ...
–Whitkow area east of
North Battleford
North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the Town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The Batt ...
.
French
These include French Canadians from Quebec, French Americans, and Francophones from France, Belgium, and Switzerland.
![La Cathédrale, Gravelbourg, SK](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/La_Cath%C3%A9drale%2C_Gravelbourg%2C_SK.jpg)
Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
German
German settlement began in the prairie provinces in the 1890s and continued until the 1920s during the homesteading period. Some also came to the region after the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Canadians of German ethnicity remain numerous in the prairie provinces. Most of these settlers were Catholics and Lutherans, with minorities of Mennonites and Baptists.
German colonies
St. Joseph's Colony (Katharinental) was established from 1886-1904 in southern Saskatchewan.
St. Joseph's Colony (Josephstal) was established in 1905 in west-central Saskatchewan. Villages in this Saskatchewan colony included
St. Peter's Colony in Saskatchewan.
founded in 1903 in Saskatchewan was 4,662 square kilometres (1,800 square miles) in size. It included 50
townships
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
; townships 35 to 40, ranges 18 to 22, and townships 37 to 41, ranges 23 to 26 of the
Dominion Land Survey
The Dominion Land Survey (DLS; french: links=no, arpentage des terres fédérales, ATF) is the method used to divide most of Western Canada into one-square-mile (2.6 km2) sections for agricultural and other purposes. It is based on the layout ...
west of the 2nd
Meridian
Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to
Science
* Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon
* ...
.
8,000 settlers had arrived in the colony by 1910 and by 1930 it was home to 18,000 Roman Catholics. Most were German Catholics.
Between 1903 and 1925 parishes were established at
Indigenous
Métis
Some French settlements were founded by Francophone Métis from the
Red River settlement
The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assinboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay C ...
in
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 o ...
. Many began as Métis
hivernants
Hivernants was used during the North American fur trade to describe Métis who spent the winter months hunting and trapping on the Canadian prairies where they built small temporary villages. The word is French for "winterer". "Hiverner" the verb ...
buffalo hunting camps from the 1840s to the 1870s.
Scandinavian
Danish
Icelandic
* Vatnabyggd was an Icelandic settlement of about 2,000 square kilometres in Saskatchewan south of
Fishing Lake
Fishing Lake is a closed basin freshwater lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The lake is north of the town of Foam Lake, and east of the town of Wadena and is accessed from Highways 5 and 310. The northern and eastern shore ...
and the
Quill Lakes
The Quill Lakes is a wetland complex in Saskatchewan, Canada that encompasses the endorheic basin of three distinct lake wetlands: Big Quill Lake, Middle Quill Lake, and Little Quill Lake. On May 27, 1987, it was designated a wetland of inte ...
. By 1911 it had attracted over 1,600 Icelanders.
Vatnabyggd included the settlements of Kristnes, Saskatchewan (1903),
Dafoe
Dafoe is a surname. It is probably a variant of Defoe, which is of uncertain origin, it may be a variation of Foe or Fow or an Anglicized form of a French name, possibly ''Thevoz'', ''de Vaux'' or ''Devaux'', ''Dufau'' or ''Dufou''. Notable people ...
(1905),
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
(1905),
Wynyard (1904),
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
(1903),
Elfros (1903),
Leslie (1907), Holar, Saskatchewan (1905), Mount Hecla, Saskatchewan (1904) and
Foam Lake (1892).
Map
*Near
Churchbridge, Saskatchewan were the settlements of Thingvalla-Logberg and Vallar
*
New Iceland
New Iceland ( is, Nýja Ísland ) is the name of a region on Lake Winnipeg in the Canadian province of Manitoba which was named for settlers from Iceland. It was settled in 1875.
Background
In 1875, over 200 Icelanders immigrated to Manitoba es ...
(Nja Ísland) (1875-1897) was located on the southwest shore of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. The
Rural Municipality of Gimli
The Rural Municipality of Gimli is a rural municipality located in the Interlake Region of south-central Manitoba, Canada, on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg. It is about north of the provincial capital Winnipeg. The rural municipality's popul ...
and the
Rural Municipality of Bifrost
The Rural Municipality of Bifrost is a former rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was originally incorporated as a rural municipality on December 1, 1907. It ceased on January 1, 2015 as a result of its provincially m ...
are within the old settlement area. New Iceland contained the settlements of
Gimli,
Riverton,
Hnausa Hnausa which roughly translates to "uneven ground" is a small community located in the area known as New Iceland in Manitoba's Interlake Region. It is 6 miles, or approximately 10 kilometres, south of Riverton, and is situated on Breidavik (which m ...
and
Arborg.
Map
*Other Icelandic settlements in Manitoba included
Baldur
Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Baldr (Old Norse: ) is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was k ...
,
Erickson Erickson may refer to:
Places
;Canada
*Erickson, Manitoba, a town
*Erickson, British Columbia an unincorporated area
;United States
* Erickson Corner, Connecticut, an unincorporated community
* Erickson Landing, Michigan, an unincorporated communit ...
, Geysir, Manitoba,
Glenboro
Glenboro is an unincorporated urban community in the Municipality of Glenboro – South Cypress within the Canadian province of Manitoba that held village status prior to January 1, 2015. it is located about 80 km southeast of the City of B ...
, Lakeview, Manitoba,
Lundar
Lundar is an unincorporated community recognized as a local urban district situated in Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the Rural Municipality of Coldwell, in Manitoba's Interlake Region, 99 km north of Winnipeg on Hwy 6. Nearby attractio ...
,
Morden
Morden is a district and town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton to the south and Worcester Pa ...
and
Reykjavik
*
Markerville, Alberta
Norwegian
Swedish
See also
*
List of named ethnic enclaves in North American cities
*
Colonia (United States)
In the United States, a colonia is a type of unincorporated, low-income, slum area located along the Mexico–United States border region that emerged with the advent of shanty towns. These colonias consist of peri-urban subdivisions of substand ...
*
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty,
that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band."
Ind ...
References
Further reading
* Alan Anderson, "Ethnic Bloc Settlements,
''Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan'' (2006) online* Paul Robert Magocsi, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples'' (1999)
External links
provides a map of the entire province showing all major ethnic bloc settlements.
page about the history of the Ukrainian settlements in East-Central Alberta
Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Villageis a living history village 50 km east of Edmonton, Alberta which focuses on the experiences of Ukrainian immigrants and the block settlements.
Multicultural Canada (Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Block Settlement
*
*
*
Settlement schemes
Linguistic geography of Canada