Canadians of Norwegian descent
| Norsk-kanadiere | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| (521,390 (by ancestry, 2011 Census)) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Canada
|
|
 Alberta
|
152,640 |
 British Columbia
|
134,430 |
 Saskatchewan
|
69,490 |
 Ontario
|
56,215 |
 Manitoba
|
20,790 |
 Quebec
|
7,490 |
 Nova Scotia
|
5,190 |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
|
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Norwegians, Norwegian Americans, Norwegian Australians, Norwegian New Zealanders, Dutch Canadians, Danish Canadians, Swedish Canadians, Flemish Canadians | |
Norwegian Canadians refer to Canadian citizens who identify themselves as being of full or partial Norwegian ancestry, or people who emigrated from Norway and reside in Canada.
Norwegians are one of the largest European ethnic groups in the country and have contributed greatly to its culture, especially in Western Canada. There are approximately 1.2 million Canadians of Scandinavian descent living in Canada, representing around 3.9% of Canada’s population. According to the Canada 2011 Census there were 521,390 Canadians who claimed Norwegian ancestry, having an increase compared to those 432,515 in the 2006 Census. Significant Norwegian immigration took place from the mid-1880s to 1930.
Norwegians have played important roles in the history of Canada. The very first Europeans to reach North America were in fact Icelandic Norsemen, who made at least one major effort at settlement in what is today the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (L'Anse aux Meadows) around 1000 AD. Snorri Thorfinnsson aka Snorri Guðriðsson, the son of Thorfinn Karlsefni and his wife Guđriđ, is thought to be the first white baby born in Canada and North America.
In 1960 archaeological evidence of the only known Norse settlement in North America (outside of Greenland) was found at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland, in what is now the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Although this proved conclusively the Vikings' pre-Columbian discovery of North America, whether this exact site is the Vinland of the Norse accounts is still a subject of debate. There is a consensus among scholars that the Vikings did reach North America, approximately five centuries prior to the voyages of Christopher Columbus.
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Wikipedia