1867-1914: Background / Fitful Growth / Changing Conditions / First Wave / Laurier Boom

Fitful Growth: Block Settlements

Economy

Policy Foundations

Block Settlements

Icelandic bloc settlements were also established by the 1870s. Leaving after volcanic eruptions threatened their farming economies, Icelanders received land reserves and reduced passage to Canada and free rail service to Winnipeg. Hardship, poor crops, and disease in "New Iceland," established on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg, forced many of the first settlers to go to the United States.

But recruitment from Iceland continued to augment the colony's population, which rose to around 1,500 by 1884. Immigrants from Iceland established settlements in Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, and their numbers grew within Winnipeg. By 1893, some 10,000 Icelanders lived in the West.

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Changing Conditions