Figure 1.-- I am not sure, but I think this Quebec boy was photographed in his First Communion suit. Perhaps our Canadian viewers will know more. The portait is undated, but was probably taken about 1890. It was tken by A. Papillon in Nicolet, Quebec. He looks slightly older than the children now doing First Communion.

Canada has a varied religious heritage, both Catholic and Protestant. The country was founded by Catholic France. It was then conquered by the English with their Anglican religion. The Scotts with their own Prtotestant religious tradition played an important part in the early history of British Canada, both in Montreal and Nova Scotia. The Catholic Church became more diverse in the 19th entury with the arrival of Irish Catholics as a result of the Potato Famine Some French-speaking Canadians are in fact Irish. When they arrived from Ireland in 1847, many were deseased on ships. On arrival at Québec and Montréal, they were landed at Grosse-Isle in the St-Lawrence River to be kept away from giving typhus to Québec and Montréal residents. One study indicates that of 100,000 immigrants, 5,293 died at sea, 3,389 at Grosse-Isle, 1,137 at Québec, 4,021 at Montréal. [Lachine and St-Jean] They do not detail deaths in Upper Canada . Today, a memorial recalls this event at Grosse-Isle. Many immigrant children who lost their parents were adopted by other Catholics, mainly French-speakers. The children commonly kept their Irish family names like Mulroney, Murphy, and Ryan. Claude Ryan, a famous journalist at Le Devoir and Québec liberal politician. Brian Mulroney, a former Prime Minister of Canada was from Irish descent . Being Anglophone and Catholics, the Irish played a key role in Québec even if relations between Irish Bishops from Ontario where often in disputes with French-Canadian Bishops of Québec. The Irish Bishops were more open to innovation than conservative Québec. Expanded European migrantion to both America and Canada after the Americam Civil War brought with it and even more varied religious landscape. Emmigration from central and Eastern Europe in the late 19th century brought many Orthodox Christians to Canada. The first Orthodox Christians came from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but they were soon followed by immigrants from Russia.

Roman Catholic

The country was founded by Catholic France. The Catholic Church became more diverse in the 19th entury with the arrival of Irish Catholics as a result of the Potato Famine Some French-speaking Canadians are in fact Irish. When they arrived from Ireland in 1847, many were deseased on ships. On arrival at Québec and Montréal, they were landed at Grosse-Isle in the St-Lawrence River to be kept away from giving typhus to Québec and Montréal residents. One study indicates that of 100,000 immigrants, 5,293 died at sea, 3,389 at Grosse-Isle, 1,137 at Québec, 4,021 at Montréal. [Lachine and St-Jean] They do not detail deaths in Upper Canada . Today, a memorial recalls this event at Grosse-Isle. Many immigrant children who lost their parents were adopted by other Catholics, mainly French-speakers. The children commonly kept their Irish family names like Mulroney, Murphy, and Ryan. Claude Ryan, a famous journalist at Le Devoir and Québec liberal politician. Brian Mulroney, a former Prime Minister of Canada was from Irish descent . Being Anglophone and Catholics, the Irish played a key role in Québec even if relations between Irish Bishops from Ontario where often in disputes with French-Canadian Bishops of Québec. The Irish Bishops were more open to innovation than conservative Québec.

Anglican

Canada was then conquered by the English with their Anglican religion.

Prebeterians

The Scotts with their own Prtotestant religious tradition played an important part in the early history of British Canada, both in Montreal and Nova Scotia.

Orthodoxy

Expanded Europeam migrantion to both America and Canada after the American Civil War brought with it and even more varied religious landscape. Emmigration from central and Eastern Europe in the late 19th century brought many Orthodox Christians to Canada. The first Orthodox Christians came from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but they were soon followed by immigrants from Russia. The first Orthodox immigrants came from Halychyna (Galicia) and Bukovina, eastern areas of the Empire. They reached Canada in 1894. As they were farmers, their goal was the great Western prarie where immigrants could homestead. The first Orthodox immigrants settled southwest of Edmonton in Alberta. The area was known as Rabbit Hills. More Orthodox immigrants came in 1896. They settled northeast of Edmonton in the (Edna) Star and Limestone Lake area which was named Wostok. The Canadian Government granted the immigrants 160 acres of free land for a registration fee of only $10. The settklers in Alberta built log cabins finished with sod roofs. Further east the immigrants built sod houses. The communities that developed felt isolated in that there was at the time they arrived no Orthodox church in Canada.

Sources

Lachine and St-Jean, unknown title

Created: 10:59 PM 2/18/2006
Last updated: 6:34 PM 2/21/2006