The first records of Estonians migrating west to Canada are from the end of the 19th century, when dissatisfied farmers moved from Estonia to Alberta, at the time part of the Northwest Territories, in search of a better life. Life in Estonia at the time was getting increasingly hard, with the cost of maintaining a farm and raising a family becoming unsustainable.
The Canadian government was simultaneously looking for a way to populate its western land, and for $10 (roughly worth $383 today), any immigrant above the age of 21 could buy 0.65 km² of land. This proposition enticed many Estonians, who heard stories of the vast North American lands and saw an opportunity to rid their oppression.
The second wave of Estonian immigration to Canada happened in the 1920s. According to data, between 1922 and 1930, 612 Estonians came to Canada. This would slow down in the 1930s as the Great Depression forced Canada to limit immigration.
… following the war, more than 14,000 Estonians immigrated to Canada. Upon arrival they usually worked terms in farms and lumber yards, but as time passed they moved to metropolitan areas like Toronto, Hamilton, Montréal, Vancouver, and many others.
The biggest wave of Estonian immigration to Canada happened in the 1940s and 1950s. When the Soviet Union reoccupied Estonia, tens of thousands fled their homeland in search of a better and safer life for themselves. Between 1945 and 1951, around 157,000 displaced persons immigrated to Canada after the Second World War. “Displaced persons” is a term used to describe anyone who was displaced due to the Second World War.
In the years following the war, more than 14,000 Estonians immigrated to Canada. Upon arrival they usually worked terms in farms and lumber yards, but as time passed they moved to metropolitan areas like Toronto, Hamilton, Montréal, Vancouver, and many others. Today, Toronto is the city with the largest number of Estonians outside of Estonia.
But how many Estonians are in Canada? And where do these Estonians mainly reside?
In total there are 23,455 Estonians in Canada; this is according to the 2021 Canadian Census, which has the most up-to-date statistics of Canadians’ ethnic origins.
The region with the fewest Estonians is unsurprisingly the three territories. Canada’s northernmost region has a total of fifty Estonians, with none in Nunavut, ten in the Yukon, and forty in the Northwest Territories. These three territories account for 0.2% of Estonians in our nation.
The Atlantic/Maritime provinces are the region with the second fewest Estonians. Newfoundland and Labrador have twenty, Prince Edward Island has twenty-five, New Brunswick has 195, and Nova Scotia has 325. These four provinces together have 565 Estonians, or 2.4% of Canada’s Estonians.
The two maritime cities that host the most Estonians are Halifax and Fredericton, which host 230 and eighty-five Estonians respectfully.
Next are Saskatchewan and Manitoba; the former inhabits 285, and the latter 320, totalling 605, or 2.6% of Canadian-Estonians.
The final province with less than 1,000 Estonians is Québec, with 885, or 3.8%, and its biggest city, Montréal, hosting 685 of those 885, or 77% of the province’s Estonians.
In the intro it was mentioned that the first Estonians to immigrate to Canada relocated to Alberta, and to this day there is still a strong Estonian presence. Canada’s second most western province has a population of 2,640 Estonians, accounting for 11.3% of the country’s total, with Calgary hosting 585 and Edmonton hosting 1,120, which is the fourth most of any Canadian city.
The penultimate province is British Columbia, which has 4,675 Estonians, or almost 20% of the country’s total. The primary Estonian hub in BC is its biggest city, Vancouver, with 2,360 Estonians, the second most of any Canadian city and over 10% of the country’s Estonians.
The biggest number of Estonians in Canada reside in Ontario. The most populated province in Canada also has the biggest portion of Estonians, with 14,025 calling it home. This number equates to almost 60% of all Estonians in Canada. There are multiple cities and regions with prominent Estonian communities within Ontario. Southwestern Ontarian cities include Hamilton, Burlington, London, Kitchener, St. Catharines, and Niagara. These six cities contain 2,495 Estonians, or 10.6% of the Canadian total. These communities also contain community hubs like the Hamilton Estonian School and Seedrioru Estonian Summer Camp in Elora, Ontario.
The city with the biggest total population of Estonians in Canada is the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), with 6,445 Estonians, or 27.5% of all Canadian-Estonians. Toronto has multiple community hubs. This includes KESKUS (the International Estonian Centre) and Tartu College (home to a student residence, VEMU Estonian Museum Canada, and Eesti Elu / Estonian Life newspaper) in downtown Toronto. Toronto Eesti Seltsi Täienduskool (the Toronto Estonian Supplementary School) and Toronto Eesti Seltsi Lasteaed (Toronto Estonian Association Kindergarten) bring Estonian education to young community members. Many Toronto-Estonians frequent Jõekääru Estonian Children’s Camp in Udora, Ontario. Toronto also hosts three Estonian congregations: St. Peter’s Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Toronto, EELK Toronto St. Andrews Congregation, and the Estonian Baptist Church.
Since the end of the 19th century, thousands of Estonians have moved to Canada in search of a better life. Today, Canadian-Estonians can proudly say that they have built one of the strongest Estonian communities outside of the homeland.
This article was written by Marc-André Perron as part of the Local Journalism Initiative.
