The Polish pioneers and the unexpected hardships of migrating to Canada

1898 Canadian advertisement to attract immigrants to the wheat belt. Photo: (CC) commons.wikimedia.org

George Biedrawa stopped going to school at the age of nine at his parents’ request. Up to the age of 21 he helped them on the farm. He fell in love and wanted to marry but his parents did not approve. Biedrawa decided to take matters into his own hands. He and his fiancée boarded a ship to Canada to start a new life together. Unfortunately, the woman died on the ship.

It was also sometimes fun on the ship, with games arranged together in the evenings. In Poland, Frank Andreychuk led a folk music band with his brother and father. In the evenings, they would take out their instruments and play music for their fellow passengers to forget the sorrows and suffering they had been experiencing.

Canada opens up

In the late 19th century, Canada opened up to immigrants from Europe outside the United Kingdom. The first Poles arrived in the country in 1858. Many found employment in the construction of the Trans-Canada Railway, the largest construction project in Canadian history. The railway connects Montreal in the east with Vancouver in the west and stretches over 20,000 kilometres.

On the construction site, everyone knew their place. Canadians and immigrants of British origin earned the most and did the safest work. The Chinese earned the least and had the dangerous job of clearing paths and blowing up rocks with dynamite. Many died by the hundreds. Poles and Italians were somewhere in the middle of this hierarchy. When the railway was completed in 1885, Canada’s Wild West was open and ready for conquest. The country needed able-bodied people who were ready to populate and seed the wild prairies of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta. The railways were also prepared to carry grain east – which meant they needed farmers to provide a steady supply of wheat.

Those willing to take on this challenge were promised 160 acres of land per family. Polish peasants from the Prussian and Austro-Hungarian partitions boarded ships to conquer the Wild West. Most Poles did not leave to pursue romantic, pioneering fantasies. They were fleeing poverty, hunger and unemployment. They were dreaming of their own land. Those sent to recruit them were promised golden mountains – land so fertile that no work was required, a mild climate and high wages. The Poles’ naivety was exploited. Most of them knew very little about Canada, only that they would be provided with bread and milk there. Thus, a great wave of emigrants moved from Poland in 1896. Peasants were selling off all their possessions to buy the boat ticket. Frank Andreychuk, along with his parents and brother, slept on benches in the harbour for five days, waiting for enough people to gather so that the ship could set sail without loss.

Wild West even wilder

Despite assurances from the Canadian government envoys, there was no paradise waiting for the pioneers when they arrived. In order to receive the 160 acres of land from the government, the settlers first had to cultivate and harvest at least ten acres per year for the first three years. The settlers were forced to clear the forest themselves, remove logs and stones, and dig up the land to make it fertile enough for cultivation. Men who came to the prairies with their families had it a little easier. But every pair of hands was needed, and children began working for the family around the age of four.

Single men, who made up the vast majority, were first forced to work for a few years to save up for the tools they needed, and to hire the necessary farm machinery to prepare the land. Many worked in the logging industry, on farms and ranches, in construction and in coal mines around Crowsnest Pass (in south-western Alberta). However, most of these jobs were seasonal. In the off-season, unemployment and even homelessness were rampant. Even if Poles wanted to return home, they did not have the money for a ticket.

The immigrants often said: “death to the first generation, dearth to the second, and bread to the third.” They did not dream of a career or fulfilment. They aspired to give a better life to their descendants. To save as much as possible, many of the men lived together, on bunk beds, in cramped buildings in the slums. They had no access to water. It was difficult to maintain even basic hygiene, so disease was common. There was a high mortality rate among the settlers. When the Poles finally managed to save enough money, they claimed their 160 acres. Most often they chose land in the forests, resembling their native landscape. They were given plots far from the settlements and very often had to travel miles to the nearest village to buy or sell anything. To save themselves from the mosquitoes that tormented them, they walked with a smoky piece of wood on their backs.

Initially, they pitched a tent on their piece of land. Over the next few days they would build a shelter out of peat, and when it was finished they would start building a log house. Most of the settlers did not realize how empty and difficult the prairies would be. Many did not know much about farming and eventually died of exhaustion and starvation. To avoid such situations, the Canadian government recruited people from villages who were used to primitive living conditions and poverty.

Each pair to the glory of the new homeland

The life of the pioneers was full of hardships. The new settlers were constantly haunted by forest fires and floods. Every day, endless chores awaited them to manage the farm, care for the animals and fight the forest. Every member of the family had to join in the work. Men worked on the land but often earned money outside the home as well. Women took care of the animals and housekeeping. Children were left to look after the chickens. The younger ones collected stones, while the older ones brought firewood and grazed sheep. To earn money, the Poles dried fruit and mushrooms gathered in the forest, cured meat, made sausages and sold wool.

When single men felt that their financial situation was already good enough to get married, they contacted girls from Poland or someone from their home village to help them find a suitable match. If an interested party was found, they would send her money for the ticket. The Canadian government helped make sure the women would reach their new homes. From the port of Halifax, the women were led straight to the train and padlocked into compartments. At stations, they were not allowed to leave the carriage lest they were kidnapped by lusty single men.

The women who came to conquer the Wild West were not numerous. If they did arrive on their own, it was usually to work as servants. They also employed themselves in shops, hoping to meet a future husband there. Living alone on the prairies was very difficult, especially for women. Even married women had to face difficulties. For example, when the husband went away for six months for seasonal work. Most gave birth at home, as it was usually a long way to a doctor. They relied on the help of their neighbours.

During the Great Depression in the 1930s, immigrants suddenly appeared to be a potential burden on the government. In some cases when they applied for financial or material assistance, which Canadians received, they were deported. Thousands were also thrown out of the country under the pretext of being “radicals”.

The wave of Polish migration which arrived in Canada after the Second World War was very different. Previously, immigrants were recruited only for simple jobs. After the war, the government allowed educated people to come, which until then had only been possible for people of British origin. In 1946, family sponsorship (first-degree kinship) and orphaned nephews were allowed. An organized Polish community began to form, functioning mainly around the Catholic Church.

Polish soldiers instead of German prisoners of war

After the Second World War, there was a shortage of labour in Canada to grow sugar beet. During the war, many men went to work in factories, mines or joined the army. As long as the conflict lasted, sugar beet was handled by free labour in the form of German prisoners of war.

The Second World War was a period of prosperity in Canada. It was feared that there would be a crisis after its end and that there would be no jobs for Canadians themselves. Nevertheless, the Canadian government decided to help the Polish veterans who had fought side by side with them. As a result, Canada issued 4,527 visas for soldiers who fought in Anders’ Army. More than 7,000 men applied, mainly from Italy. Those who were not fully healthy, had wives and, above all, those who had no experience of farm work were rejected. This was the most important requirement, as they had to first have worked for two years as farm help in order to be granted immigrant status.

The veterans, expecting a royal reception in Halifax harbour, were met with protests from Canadians who feared they would encourage unrest. The Poles were suspected of communist sympathies or covert Nazism. There was a rumour that they were going to regroup in Canada and ignite another international conflict. Half of the veterans were transported to Ontario, while the rest were sent to the prairies. For two years they worked in nightmarish conditions. They slept in barns or chicken coops. They worked in uniforms because they were not given money or clothes. Sometimes the farmers left them alone on the farm. They lived in complete isolation.

According to the contract, the veterans should have worked a maximum of 65 hours a week and 45 hours in the off-season, but in reality they worked every day, from dawn to dusk. The government promised them a minimum wage of 45 Canadian dollars per month. This was below the official minimum wage (in Ontario it was 70 dollars), but even so, many failed to meet even these minimum conditions. A farmer could tell a veteran that he would not pay him without any consequence. Meanwhile the Poles had nowhere to return. They often came from places that were no longer a part of the country, and in communist Poland those who fought in Anders’ Army were stripped of citizenship.

Siberia on the prairies

In order to fulfil his two-year duty, veteran Anatoly Nieuwierzycki was taken to Lethbridge prison, where German prisoners of war had previously been imprisoned: “That’s when I realized that by signing a contract to work on the land, I was supposed to replace a German prisoner of war.” By accepting almost 5,000 Polish veterans, the Canadian government planned to plug the hole created by the release of the Germans. Freedom for the Germans meant captivity for the Poles.

Canadian veterans received a generous aid package from the government after the Second World War. Not only were they eligible for free education at universities and vocational schools, they were also entitled to free health insurance and benefits. “Veteran preference” – priority for veterans – was introduced. Through financial allowances, employers were encouraged to hire them first.

Polish veterans, who until recently had fought shoulder to shoulder with Canadians, received next to nothing. Many had previously been sent to labour camps in Siberia. They compared living conditions in the new country to the Gulag. Those who were refused payment by the farmers very often could not count on legal assistance. They were seen primarily as cheap or free labour and were not informed of their rights in advance.

Today, those who declare Polish ancestry in Canada reach nearly 1.1 million, many of whom are descendants of those first migrants who faced such hardship. Unlike 100 years ago, those who wish to migrate to Canada can now do so by simply filling out a few documents online and travelling by plane (which is much safer than spending a month on a ship). At the same time, Canada continues to be a country of migrants. In recent years, Canada has welcomed around half a million immigrants a year; not counting those who come here to study. That is more than 2,700 people a day.

This text was first published in Polish at Nowa Europe Wschodnia online: www.new.org.pl

Małgorzata Sidz is a Polish author and travel writer specializing in Scandinavia and East Asia.

Małgorzata Sidz