Argentinian History in Canada
Argentinian migration to Canada can be dated back to the early 1900s due to economic decline and political unrest.
During the first half of the century, the number of arrivals was low. The only sizeable group consisted of mainly Welsh colonists from Patagonia, who settled in Saskatchewan (Reus-BazÁn, 1999). Between 1946 and 1955, about 97 Argentinians arrived in Canada, but 442 immigrants declared Argentina as the country of last residence.
After the passing of the Immigration Act in 1952, until 1973, there was an increased emphasis on highly trained immigrants which led to an increase in immigration. The majority of the 1,200 Argentinians who arrived between 1956 and 1963 were of European descent. Between 1964 and 1972, approximately 400 arrived each year, due to the expansion of the Canadian economy and deterioration in the political and economic conditions in Argentina. For the next decade, the number grew to approximately 1,000 per year (Reus-BazÁn, 1999).
The restoration of democracy in Argentina in 1983, which stabilized the political and economic conditions, caused the number of immigrants to Canada to decrease dramatically. At the same time, a number of earlier immigrants decided to return to Argentina due to this stabilization. However, the 1990s saw the number of Argentinians coming to Canada increase again; Argentina’s economic instability influencing this change (Reus-BazÁn, 1999).
The 1991 census recorded 11,110 individuals who declared themselves to be Argentinian-born; however, only 5,115 claimed Argentinian ethnic origin (single and multiple responses) (Reus-BazÁn, 1999).
References:
Reus-BazÁn, A. (1999). Argentinians. Encyclopedia of Canada’s Peoples. Toronto: Multicultural History Society of Ontario. Available: http://multiculturalcanada.ca
