Background to Immigration

The Dutch in Canada Before World War II

The people of the Netherlands have never been an emigrating people. Having strong ties to their land and to one another, the Dutch have always reflected long and hard before emigrating. . . . The Dutch preferred to stay in their homeland rather than emigrate in any sizable numbers.1

Yet some Dutch did come to North America, first establishing the colony of New Netherland (until the British conquest in 1664); later planting kolonies in western Michigan and Iowa (c. 1846-58). Still, the 19th-century peak Dutch immigration (1881-93) saw less than 10,000 Netherlanders arrive each year, compared to hundreds of thousands of Germans, British, and other Europeans. With the advent of immigration restrictions, the already small influx was further reduced.

Figure 1. U.S. immigration shown in blue, Canadian in red.

Immigration slowed during the Depression and nearly stopped during World War II. Immigration statistics show 116 Dutch immigrants (not counting children under 10) entering Canada from 1940 to 1945.

Unlike Dutch Catholics, Dutch Calvinists tended not to assimilate readily into existing denominations. The first Canadian Christian Reformed congregation was organized at Nyverdall, Alberta, in 1905; another was begun in Winnipeg in 1908. The first Reformed Church in America congregation in Canada was formed at Monarch, Alberta, in 1909. Although the reformed Dutch2 were not a large minority, there were already signs that they would not surrender their heritage.

Post-World War II Dutch Immigration

Following World War II the Dutch were forced to realize that many permanent changes were taking place. . . . The Depression hit, and before they could adjust . . . they were subjected to Nazi occupation.3

The Great Depression, two world wars in a generation, and the threat of communism changed Dutch attitudes on emigration. Beyond these circumstances shared with the rest of Europe, the Dutch government also had to deal with over 100,000 refugees from Indonesia, overpopulation, a housing shortage, loss of jobs, a reduction in tax revenues, and international currency problems.

Even without government policies to encourage emigration, the exodus began. This increased in 1949 when new emigration policies were announced, including subsidies to people "deemed as economic surplus."4

Dutch immigration to North America had slowed significantly by the early-1960s, as shown in Figure 1.