Canadians of Finnish ancestry

According to the 2001 census number over 114,000 Canadians claim Finnish ancestry. Finns started coming to Canada in the early 1880s, and in much larger numbers in the early 20th century and well into the mid-20th century. Finnish immigration to Canada was often a direct result of economic depressions and wars, or in the aftermath of major conflicts like the Finnish Civil War. Canada was often chosen as a final destination because of the similarity in climate and natural conditions, while employment in logging or homesteading attracted landless farmers in the early 20th century. Migratory movements of Finns between Canada and the United States was very common as well.

In the early 20th century, newly arrived Finnish immigrants to Canada quickly became involved in political organizations, churches, athletic clubs and other forms of associational life. Halls and co-operatives were often erected in communities with sizable Finnish populations. "Finnish Canadians" pioneered efforts to establish co-operatives in several Canadian cities. Canada's largest co-operative, the Consumers' Co-operative Society, was started by Finns.

Canadians of Finnish ancestry often formed a large percentage of left-wing organizations during the early 1900s, as Finland had, by 1906 as a part of the Russian empire, already become one of the first nations to adopt universal suffrage. Up until the early 1940s, the so-called "Red Finns," who held deep socialist convictions, far outnumbered "White Finns," the more religious and conservative Finns. This was partially due to the number of political refugees escaping persecution after the Finnish Civil War, but also attributable to the response of several, formerly a-political Finns from rural Ostrobothnia, to harsh economic conditions. Finnish Canadians with Marxist political views aligned themselves with the Social Democratic Party of Canada and later, with the Communist Party of Canada, centered around the newspaper "Vapaus" (Freedom). Many Finns, however, were distrustful of politicians as a result of the perceived failure and reformism of the Finnish Social Democratic Party during the general strike in November 1917 and the reformist policy the party adopted after the Civil War. Finns arriving in Canada who had already faced severe class conflict and repression would line-up with the radical union, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) emphasizing anti-authoritarianism and anti-statism. The IWW would hold considerable influence in the mines and logging camps of Northern Ontario.

A decline in the Finnish-Canadian population began with the mass exodus of skilled workers and loggers to Soviet Karelia in the 1920s and 30's, and the large number of Finnish-Canadian volunteers in the Spanish Civil War. Finnish-Canadians, along with Ukrainians, formed the largest section of volunteers in the Canadian contingent of the International Brigades, Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion. Finns formed the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalions "Ilkka" machine-gun company. The period after the 1930s marks a decline in Finnish co-operative activity in Canada.

In the 1940s, Canadian immigration policy favoured admitting "White Finns" to Canada. This, combined with a fiercely anti-socialist view in the post-World War II era, marked a major shift in the political views of Finnish-Canadians. Another major wave of Finnish immigration to Canada brought even more Finns who were a generation separated from the struggles of Finnish-Canadian predecessors, and viewed anything left-wing as synonymous with Stalinism.

Today, the communities of Thunder Bay and Sudbury form the main centres of Finnish-Canadian activity. Thunder Bay boasts the largest Finnish population outside of Scandinavia, and the only Finnish cultural centre in Canada housed in the Finnish Labour Temple along with the Hoito Restaurant. The Finnish-Canadian weeklies "Canadan Sanomat" and "Vapaa Sana" publish out of Thunder Bay and Toronto respectively. Another significant Finnish-Canadian newspaper, "Vapaus", was published in Sudbury from 1917 to 1974.

Famous Finnish Canadians

Notable Finnish Canadians include Matti Kurikka, a utopian socialist who led the short lived experimental utopian community Sointula, British Columbia, labour martys Rosvall and Voutilainen, punk rock musician Joe Keithley, musicologist and specialist in the cognitive sciences Mauri Kaipainen, National Hockey League player and Calder Trophy winner Pentti Lund, politician and businesswoman Judy Erola, singer-songwriter Kate Maki and actress Pamela Anderson.