Serbian Canadians
Nikola Tesla statue in Niagara Falls
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 80,320 (2011) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia | |
| Languages | |
| Canadian English and Serbian | |
| Religion | |
| mainly Serbian Orthodox Church | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Serbian Americans |
The community of Serbian Canadians (Serbian: Канадски Срби/Kanadski Srbi) includes Canadian citizens of Serb ethnicity (by birth or descent), or people born in Serbia who permanently reside in Canada. Serbs (and Serbians) have migrated to Canada in various waves during the 20th century. The 2011 census recorded 80,320 people declaring as "Serbian", living in Canada.
The first Serbs to arrive in Canada came to British Columbia between 1850 and 1870. Many were employed in mining or forestry near such towns as Phoenix, Golden, Prince Rupert and Kamloops. In Dawson City and Whitehorse names like Black Mike Winage and pioneer Milos "Big Mike" Tadich (1887-1960) became legendary. During the Great War, Tadich fought overseas with The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada along with other Serbian Canadians, most of whom were born in Montenegro and Serbia. Those who were born in Austria-Hungary were incarcerated in Ukrainian Canadian internment camps throughout the country.
By 1900, Serbs began to arrive in Alberta. Many of these early settlers had migrated north from the north-west region of the United States. Coal mining attracted them to Lethbridge, while road construction was a source of employment for those in Macleod and Cadomin. Many Serbs worked on the construction of railway lines that now extend from Edmonton to the Pacific coast. Others were interned in labor camps as "enemy aliens" simply because they were born under the scepter of Austria-Hungary, an empire at war with the United Kingdom and Serbia during World War I. Luigi von Kunits, who was living and working in Toronto at the time, was one of its victims having to identify himself regularly at the police station throughout the war years.
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Wikipedia