Icelandic Immigration Agent Report, 1889

“Some who came out during the past summer have already sent remittances to their relatives and friends in the Mother Country to assist in their Emigration to Canada during the coming year. This alone is sufficient to shew the improved condition of the industrious and frugal Immigrants who comes to this country. It acts as an incentive to further Immigration, and is in my opinion the best payment that the Government can expect or wish for, in return for the comparatively small expenditure incurred in their Immigration and Settlement here.”

Immigration agents across Canada in the late 19th century were obliged to submit annual reports that detailed their activities and accomplishments. The originals of these reports are held by Library and Archives Canada, and some have been digitized for easy access.

This example of an Immigration Agent’s report was written by Baldwin Larus Baldwinson, himself an Icelandic settler in Canada who went on to become a Manitoba MLA and public servant. The report offers a glimpse into the priorities and mindset of the Department of Agriculture’s agents at a time of significant immigration to the Canadian west.

The original report, written in longhand, is followed by a transcription for easier reading.

Baldwin Larus Baldwinson
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Legislative Assemblies,
11th Session, 1903-1907