Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A Historical Geography of the Finns in the Sudbury Area

Chapter II: Geographical Pattern of Finnish Settlement in the Sudbury Area

CHAPTER II Geographical Pattern of Finnish Settlement in the SudburyArea This chapter examines the origins of Finnish settlement in the Sud­ bury area and illustrates how the Finns dispersed themselves into distinctive urban working­class "Finntowns" and agriculturally based "enclaves." Unfortunately, little census data are available regarding Finns who settled here prior to World War I. While inferences can be made from the census manuscriptsof 1891 and 1901, it was not until 1921 that consist­ ent data became available. A summary of the number of Finns in the Sud­ bury District, the Sudbury Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) and the City of Sudbury between 1921 and 1996 is given in table 7. A number of observations can be gleaned from these data. In relative terms, Finns were most important between World Wars I and II. For the ter­ ritorial District of Sudbury, they constituted the largest non­French/English ethnic group from 1921 to 1951, accounting for 5 to 8 percent of the popu­ lation. After the 1950s, the highest­ranking ethnic position was taken over by the Italians. The ranking of the Finns in the CMA fell below the Italians and the Ukrainians in 1971, but rose above the latter after 1981. In the town/city of Sudbury, Finns were the main ethnic group in the 1930s, at which time their relative proportion stood at over 7 percent. By 1941 Ukrainians had emerged as the largest ethnic group with the Italians fol­ lowing in second place by 1951. In the 1960s Germans moved into third place over the Finns.1 While the proportion of Finns had dropped to 2.4 percent by 1991, they regained their position as the second­largest ethnic group after the Italians. The rise in the ranking of the Finns from fourth to second place in the city between 1971 and 1981 can be attributed in part to the enlargement of its boundaries to include Broder and part of Dill Town­ ships after the formation of regional government in 1973. Notes to Chapter II are on pp. 281­85. 29 30 Between a Rock and a Hard Place Table 7 Number of Finns in the SudburyArea (1921­96) Sudbury District Year 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1986 1991 1996 No. 2,517 4,633 4,704 5,411 7,446 7,095 350 470* % 5.8 8.0 5.8 4.9 4.5 3.6 Rank (1) (1) (1) (1) (2) (2) Sudbury Census Metropolitan Area No. % 5,470 3.5 4,490 3.0 3,760 2.5 2,695* 3,340 2.1 3,330* 2,450 4,155* Rank (3) (2) (2) (2) Town/City of Sudbury No. 206 1,374 1,241 1,478 2,994 2,750 3,000 2,455 2,200 1,700 2,360* % 2.4 7.4 3.9 3.5 3.2 3.0 3.3 2.8 2.4 Rank (2) (1) (2) (3) (4) (4) (2) (2) (2) Note: Rank refers to ethnic ranking, excluding the British and French. This concept of ethnicity has been retained for the rest of the text. The asterisk (*) refers to multi­ ple rather than single Finnish origins. Source: Statistics Canada, Censuses of Canada (1921­96). The Finnish population reached its zenith of more than 7,400 in 1961. By 1996, however, their numbers by single origin had dropped to 2,450 for the CMA and 1,700 for the city of Sudbury. If census figures for multiple origins are included, the total number of people with links to the Finnish heritage in the Sudbury area in 1996 was approximately the same as it was in 1961. Of this total, almost all constituted Finnish­ rather than Swedish­ speaking Finns. Migration to the SudburyArea Why did Finns choose to leave Finland and the United States to come to Sudbury? A number of "push" and "pull" factors caused this movement. For those who left Finland prior to World War I, economic conditions related to overpopulation in agricultural areas, the paucity of industrial employment and the rise of a large landless rural class were of paramount importance. Since these factors were most important in Ostrobothnia, this western region of Finland served as the point of origin for most of the early immigrants. Both Pikkusaari's and Krats's studies support Kero's descrip­ tion of this region as "Emigration Finland."2 Non­economic considerations Geographical Pattern of...