How the Irish Arrived in Montreal

According to Wikipedia, “Irish immigrants arrived in large numbers in Montreal during the 1840s and were hired as labourers to build the Victoria Bridge, living in a tent city at the foot of the bridge.  Here, workers unearthed a mass grave of 6,000 Irish immigrants who had died at nearby Windmill Point in the typhus outbreak of 1847–48.”

Irish Canadians (Irish: Gael-Cheanadaigh) are Canadian citizens who have full or partial Irish heritage, including descendants who trace their ancestry to immigrants who originated in Ireland.  1.2 million Irish immigrants arrived from 1825 to 1970, and at least half of those from 1831 to 1850.  By 1867, they were the second largest ethnic group (after the French) and comprised 24% of Canada’s population.  The 1931 national census counted 1,230,000 Canadians of Irish descent, half of whom lived in Ontario.  About one-third were Catholic in 1931, and two-thirds Protestant.

The Irish immigrants were majority Protestant before the Irish famine years of the late 1840s, when far more Catholics than Protestants arrived.  Even more significant Catholics headed to the United States; others went to Great Britain and Australia.

As of the 2016 Canada Census, 4,627,000 Canadians, or 13.43% of the population, claim full or partial Irish ancestry.

Source: Wikipedia

Have a look at this Heritage Minute  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H48gaLbJfxc.

Did you know?

As of 2016, 13.46% were Irish Canadians, representing more than 4.6 million people in Canada.