Westward Cork Migration by Sail 1815-1860 by John Sutton

PART II EMIGRANT PERSPECTIVE

Census data confirm the major population growth rate in Upper Canada (Canada West), starting in the 1830s, and culminating with 1,395,222 residents in Canada West, and 1,106,666 residents in Canada East (Lower Canada) by 1860. The major differences in growth rates between 1806 and 1860 for Upper Canada compared with Lower Canada and the other colonies is clear and was associated with the vast majority of emigrants entering through the Port of Quebec. New Brunswick, with the second most important port of St John, was a distant second to Upper Canada in growth. The sparsely populated BNA territories were discussed in the 1860 US Census, affirming minimal expansion in Labrador and British Columbia by 1860. “Concerning Labrador, and the Indian territory, the few thousands scattered over them, have increased since 1830; yet the number is small. Macgregor states that in 1850 the resident population of Labrador, for example, did not amount to 7,000 inhabitants”. “From British Columbia, on the Pacific coast, no return of population has been received. The population was estimated at 6,000, of whom about 1,000 were British, and a large proportion of the remainder were Asiatics and Negroes”. Beyond the broad strokes of regional distribution, review of the main Canadian urban centers and surrounds allows a better appreciation of the Irish diaspora . Populations of the principal cities in the Province of Canada, 1861 Census: Montreal – 90,323. Quebec – 51,109. Toronto – 44,821. Hamilton – 19,096. Ottawa – 14,699. Kingston – 13,743. London – 11,555. Three Rivers – 6,058. Maritime Colony city populations in 1860 : St John NB – 27,317. Halifax NS – 25,026. St John’s Newfoundland – 24,851. Charlottetown – 6,706. Fredericton – 5,652. Reviewing the more populous BNA cities: Quebec. Population in 1861 - 51,109 . An early census in 1825 indicated Quebec City to have had 22,101 residents, almost equal to Montreal at that time. The census of 1844 found Quebec City to have 25-30% foreign-born residents, many thought to be Irish. The censuses of 1851 and 1861 documented the City’s populations at 42,052 and 51,109, and the native-born population had increased to almost 80% in 1861, suggesting a diminishing influence of emigrant settlement in Quebec City by that date. Irish BNA emigration, as noted, declined drastically after 1847. While demographics suggest Upper Canada to have received the bulk of BNA emigrants in the first half of the 1800s, McGowan has suggested Irish Catholic settlement [in contrast to Irish Protestant settlement] was more robust in the cities and rural areas of Lower Canada than Upper Canada. Religious and ethnic intolerances were contributing factors and will receive further comment. Montreal. Population in 1861 – 90,323 . In 1800 Montreal was composed of 9,000 culturally French residents and grew to 23,000 by 1825. British emigration led to 27,000 residents and a British majority by 1832. Continued growth produced 40,000 in 1840, 58,000 in 1852 ( Britannica) and then 90,323 documented in the 1861 Census . Tension between the British Protestant and French Catholic communities in the mid-1820s was reportedly bridged by an Irish Catholic community of about 3,000.

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