The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1920-09-24
Canada Keeps Losing
Population to U. S.

have always been disappointing. Can
adams are not an unprolific race, and
when in the decade 1901 to 1911 UNI
immigration figures were
proclaiming it was a great
disappointment to find the 1911 census
gave population of only 7,204,SSS.
Those who predict 100000 for the
1921 census are likely to get similar
shock. We will be lucky to have 81
100000.
The fact is that Canada may have
learned to attract population, but it
has not learned how to keep it from
going over to the United States ). And
all governments have persistently con-
cealed the facts by giving immigration
figures yearly and monthly, but ne
glecting to give emigration figures at
all.
No one expected Canada to make
much population during the war period.
European immigration was all cut off.
Sixty thousand Canadians went to
overseas graves, certain number OF
soldiers, former Britishers, remained
overseas, and since the war there has
been considerable movement to Eu-
rope to look up friends after the
storm and perhaps to invest war earn
ings. But the immigration Depart.
ment's figures coming out month after
month showed, as more than offsetting
all these things, a considerable move
ment into Canada from the United
States. Even in 1919, the year of the
low ebb in immigration, 40,715 persons
came from the United States to Can
ada. And nearly everyone thought
that, even for the war period Canada's
population increase on the right side.
The Grain Growers Guide. organ Of
the Western Agrrarian movement,
with figures from Washington to back
it up, has been revealing the other
side of the shield. Instead Of modest
gain the figures for the last five years
show that Canada has actually suffered
a net loss to the United States of not
less than 1881 persons. That is to
say, immigrants to Canada from the
United States between March 81, 1914,
and March 81, 1919, numbered 27O,135.
while the number of persons shown
by the United States records as leav-
ing Canada for permanent residences
in the United States between June 80,
1914, and June 80, 1919, totalled
604, sos:
Canada's total immigration from all
countries, including Great Britain and
the United States, in the five-year per-
iod was O5,476, so that the number of
persons leaving Canada for the States
was 198,585 in excess of the total i'm
migration. 1t is fairly safe to assume
that in addition to Canada's losses in
the war this country has lost 100000
people by the excess Of emigration
over immigration in the five-year COR
responding approximately to the war
and rehabilitation period. Natural in
crease will compensate for this loss.
This drag to the United States has
always been Canada's bane. Even in
the boom year, when 1887 persons
came from the United States to Can
ada no less than "a, 496 went from Can
ada to the United States, leaving a
net gain to Canada of less than $4,000.
Tens of thousands of immigrants
grants have come to Canada from
Europe and have subsequently moved
south, but the great loss to the coun-
try has been of the native born Can
adams, who find the allurements of
rich prizes to be had in the United
States too strong for their innate love
of native land.
But immigration to Canada is reviv-
ing. For the year ending March 81,
1920, it reached total Of 100000, ap-
half British and half
American. Almost every ship that
docks or train that crosses the border
is bringing complement of new citi-
zens that promise to be the vanguard
of new wave of immigration greater
than any that came before.