American Canadian

For Americans of Canadian origin, see Canadian Americans.

American Canadians
Canadians of American origin
Canadiens d'origine américaine

Total population
(372,575 (by ancestry, 2011 Census) [~1%])
Regions with significant populations
Ontario • Western Canada • Atlantic Canada • Quebec
Languages
Canadian English · Canadian French · American English
Religion
Christianity (Protestantism · Anglicanism · Roman Catholicism) · Judaism · Atheism
Related ethnic groups
Americans

American Canadians are Canadian citizens of American descent, or Canadians who identify to some extent with American society. It is most often used to refer to Canadians who either emigrated from or have ancestry in the United States.

Demography

According to the Canada 2006 Census, 316,350 Canadians reported American as being their ethnicity, at least partially. There are also between 900,000 and 2 million Americans living in Canada, either as full-time and part-time residents.

There has not been a reliable estimate of the total number of Americans from the United States who have settled in Canada since the founding of the two countries as the United States in 1776 and Canada in 1867. Prior to the independence of the United States and the formation of Canada, the settled areas of both countries consisted of British colonies.

History of Americans in Canada

Americans have moved to Canada throughout history. During the American Revolution, many Americans loyal to the British crown left the United States and settled in Canada. These early settlers are called United Empire Loyalists. Many Black Canadians are descendants of African American slaves (Black Loyalist) who fled to Canada during the American Revolution. Similar waves of American immigration occurred during the War of 1812. The Black Refugees in the War of 1812 also fled to Canada and many American slaves also came via the Underground Railroad, most settling in either Halifax, Nova Scotia or Southern Ontario.

In the early 20th century, over 750,000 American settlers moved into the farming regions of the Prairie Provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Many of these were immigrants (of children of immigrants) from Europe or Eastern Canada who had gone to the United States looking for farm land only to find the supply of free farmsteads there exhausted. Others were old-stock white Americans, and small percentage were racial minorities, such as African Americans. In 1916, Americans accounted for of 36% of all the foreign-born residents of Alberta, 30% in Saskatchewan, and 8% in Manitoba.

In the 1930s, after World War II, and again the 1970s, waves of Americans, many from Texas and Oklahoma immigrated to Canada to work in the country's growing oil industry. During the Vietnam War era, many American draft dodgers fled to Canada to avoid the war. About 10,200 Americans moved to Canada in 2006; this was the highest number since 1977.

Notable American Canadians

For a list of notable American Canadians see Category:Canadian people of American descent. For notable American immigrants see Category:American emigrants to Canada.

See also

• Canadian Americans
• Canada–United States relations
• Immigration to Canada

References

• Statistics Canada