Several thousand Canadians are of Serbian origin. Serbs have migrated to Canada in various waves during the 20th century.
History
The first Serbs to arrive in Canada came to British Columbia between 1850 and 1870. Many were employed in mining or forestry near such towns as Phoenix, Golden, Prince Rupert and Kamloops.
By 1900, Serbs began to arrive in Alberta. Many of these early settlers had migrated north from the north-west region of the United States. Coal mining attracted them to Lethbridge, while road construction was a source of employment for those in Macleod and Cadomin. Many Serbs worked on the construction of railway lines that now extend from Edmonton to the Pacific coast.
The period between the two World Wars witnessed a major increase in Serbian immigration to Canada. As with other periods of immigration, however, the exact number arriving at this time is not known. The lack of information results from the fact that throughout the years, Serbs have been variously classified as Austrians, Hungarians, Turks, Serbo-Croats or Yugoslavs.
Over 30,000 Yugoslavs came to Canada between 1919 and 1939, this included an estimated 10,000 Serbs. Many of these immigrants were single, working men who had left families in their home country to seek work in Canada. The vast majority of Serbs arriving between the wars settled in Ontario or British Columbia.
Major changes occurred in Yugoslavia during World War II . The newly established independent communist government was opposed by some Yugoslavs. Many post war refugees refused to return to their homeland to live under a communist regime. The Serbs, emigrating to Canada at this time, came from a variety of occupational backgrounds, including military and academic professions and the skilled trades.
In the late 1980s, Yugoslavia's communist government was on the verge of collapse. Shortly after the sudden breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, a large group of Serbs moved to Canada.
The 2001 census lists 55,540 Canadians of Serbian descent although it is assumed that there are more due to the irregularities in the classification of Serbs. Approximately 3,420 live in Alberta, with Edmonton and Calgary being the major centres of settlement 1.
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