Icelandic Canadian

Icelandic Canadian

Bjarni Tryggvason · Tom Cochrane · k.d. lang
Total population
88,875 0.3% of Canada's population
Regions with significant populations
Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan
Languages
Canadian English, Icelandic
Religion
Predominantly Protestant
Related ethnic groups
Icelandic Americans Faroese Canadians, Norwegian Canadians Scandinavian Canadians See Icelanders

Canada has the largest ethnic Icelandic population outside Iceland, with about 88,875 people of Icelandic descent as of the Canada 2006 Census. Many Icelandic Canadians are descendants of people who fled an eruption of the Icelandic volcano Askja in 1875.

The history between Icelanders and North America dates back approximately one thousand years. 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 (L'Anse aux Meadows) around 1009 AD. Snorri Þorfinnsson, the son of Þorfinnr Karlsefni and his wife Guðríðr, is the first European known to have been born in the New World. In 1875, over 200 Icelanders immigrated to Manitoba establishing the New Iceland colony along the west shore of Lake Winnipeg, this is the first part of a large wave of immigrants that settled on the Canadian parries.

Icelandic population in Canada

The provinces with the most reported Icelandic-Canadians in 2006 are:

• Manitoba: 30,555
• British Columbia: 22,115
• Alberta: 16,870
• Ontario: 11,140
• Saskatchewan: 6,445

Communities

Gimli, Manitoba, pop. 5,797 is home to the largest concentration of Icelanders outside of Iceland.

Settlements in Canada which are notably Icelandic by foundation or ethnicity:

• Markerville, Alberta
• Arborg, Manitoba
• Baldur, Manitoba
• Elfros, Saskatchewan
• Erickson, Manitoba
• Gimli, Manitoba
• Glenboro, Manitoba
• Lakeview, Manitoba
• Lundar, Manitoba
• Morden, Manitoba
• New Iceland
• Riverton, Manitoba
• Reykjavik, Manitoba
• Wynyard, Saskatchewan

List of Icelandic-Canadians

• David Arnason, writer
• Paul Bardal
• Walter Byron
• Konnie Johannesson
• Tom Cochrane, musician
• Sturla Gunnarsson, film director
• Christian Halldorson
• Wally Johannson
• Doug Baldwin
• Donald K. Johnson
• Haldor Halderson Ice hockey player
• Gordon Sigurjonson Ice hockey coach
• Byron Johnson, former Premier of British Columbia
• Janis Johnson, politician
• Guy Maddin, film director
• Philip Petursson
• Frank Fredrickson
• Magnus Goodman
• John K. Samson, musician
• Baldur Stefansson
• Vilhjalmur Stefansson
• Stephan G. Stephansson, poet
• William Stephenson, secret agent
• Steinn O. Thompson
• Paul Thorlakson
• Torfhildur Þorsteinsdóttir
• Gunnar Thorvaldson
• Bjarni Tryggvason
• W. D. Valgardson, writer

See also

• Winnipeg Falcons

External links

• Icelandic Immigration to Canada 1887