Cornish Canadians

Cornish Canadians
*Canadien cornouallais*
Total population
	20,000+
Regions with significant populations
	The Maritimes, Ontario and British Columbia
Languages
	Canadian English and Cornish
Religion
	Protestantism, Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
	Cornish, English Canadians, Welsh Canadians, Breton Canadians

Cornish Canadians are Canadians of Cornish descent, including those who were born in Cornwall. The number of Canadian citizens of Cornish descent cannot be determined through census statistics, though speculative estimates place the population as high as 20,000.

History

Early arrivals

It is recorded that the first Cornish to reach what is now Canadian soil did in the 16th century, reaching the coast of Newfoundland, part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.^{[citation needed]}

Bruce Mines

Cornish emigrants settled the area around Bruce Mines starting in 1842. Located on the north shore of Lake Huron, the area had been associated with the native copper used by indigenous people, whose copper working in the upper Great Lakes dates back to the Old Copper complex. With the spread of knowledge of copper in the area among Europeans, a copper mine opened in 1846, with many local Cornish settlers being recruited to work there. This was the first copper mine in Canada.^[1]

Around this time, there was a depression in the Cornish mining industry, which contributed to the volume of people participating in the Cornish "Great Migration", the outflow of emigrants primarily to English-speaking colonies such as Canada and Australia. In 1848, a barque carrying fifty Cornish emigrants, mostly from the Hayle area, along with a stationary steam engine (built in a foundry at Copperhouse) and assortment of Cornish ore processing equipment, left the Port of Hayle bound for Montreal. The arrival of Cornish skilled workers and industrial equipment allowed the owners of the Bruce Mines to rapidly scale up mechanization of their operations.^[2]

Notable people

Frank Andrews (1854-after 1890), member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly
Elizabeth Arden (1878-1966), businesswoman
Arthur James Bater (1889-1969), MP for The Battlefords
Truman Smith Baxter (1867-1931), mayor of Vancouver
Rick Blight (1955-2005), hockey player
Marie Bottrell (born 1961), country music singer
Frederick Buscombe (1862-1938), Mayor of Vancouver
Dick Cherry (born 1937), hockey player
Don Cherry (born 1934), hockey player and commentator
Dean Chynoweth (born 1968), hockey player
Ed Chynoweth (1941-2008), hockey owner
H. P. P. Crease (1823-1905), member of the British Columbia Supreme Court
William Dennis (1856-1920), member of the Senate of Canada
Claude Ernest Dolman (1906-1994), scientist
John Eyre (1824-1871), member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly
Thomas Greenway (1838-1908), Premier of Manitoba
Wilfred Grenfell (1865-1940), Episcopal missionary
W.O. Hamley (1818-1907), civil and naval officer
Derek Holman (born 1931), composer
Arthur Lobb (1871-1928), member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly
Samuel A. Mitchell (1874-1960), astronomer
R. J. M. Parker (1881-1948), Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan
Robert Parkyn (1862-1939), member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly
James Pascoe (1863-1931), member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly
J. Ernest Pascoe (1900-1972), Member of Parliament for Moose Jaw—Lake Centre
Nigel Pengelly (1925-2010), member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly
Robert Terrill Rundle (1811-1896), Methodist missionary
John Teague (1833-1902), architect and mayor of Victoria
Francis W. Thomas (1834-1900), banker and philanthropist
John Tucker Williams (1789-1854), naval officer
Victor Williams (1867-1949), general
James Yeo. Sr. (1789-1868), member of the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly
James Yeo, Jr. (1827-1903), Member of Parliament for Prince County
John Yeo (1837-1924), Member of Parliament for East Prince

References

^ "Remember This? Bruce Mines was kind of a big deal". SooToday.com. 11 December 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
^ Schwartz, Sharron P. (2022). "Bruce Mines, Ontario, Canada". Cousin Jack's World. Retrieved 28 November 2022.

Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples. "Cornish.". Multicultural Canada.