Canadians of German ethnicity

German Canadians ( or ) are Canadians of ethnic German ancestry. The 2006 Canadian census put the number of Canadians of German ethnicity at 3,179,425. Only a small fraction of German Canadians are descendants of immigrants from what is today Germany. Far more have come from German populations in Eastern Europe and Russia with significant number of Germans coming from Switzerland and the Low Countries; some have also come from Austria. Another large group was those of German descent who came to Canada after spending a significant amount of time in the United States.

History

A small number of Germans came to New France and mixed with the French-Canadians. However, the first major round of German immigration to Canada began after the British conquest of Nova Scotia. Many Germans had served in the British army and elected to settle in the new lands. Far more arrived as some of the Foreign Protestants. These were continental Protestants encouraged to come to Nova Scotia to counter balance the large number of Catholic Acadians. This influx began in about 1751 and to this day the South Shore of Nova Scotia is filled with German town names, surnames, and Lutheran churches.

The American Revolution saw an even larger group of German migrants to Canada. Those of German descent made up a significant percentage of United Empire Loyalists. To defeat the revolution, and later to defend British North America from it, the British used large numbers of German mercenaries. ...
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