British Juvenile Immigrants in Canada 1868 to 1939: A Study of the Relationship Between Societal Changes and the Treatment of Home Children

This paper examines the history of the British juvenile immigrants, a group of over 100,000 children who arrived in Canada between 1868 and 1939 to work on farms or as domestic workers. There was both a pressing need within Canada for farm workers, and overcrowding in British cities, therefore conditions were right for a mutually beneficial labour exchange between the two nations. British philanthropists encouraged this movement and ensured its continued success over a seventy year period. The societal changes that occurred in Canada during the same period as a result of the reform movement are also traced within this historical examination. The increase in child welfare policies, and the subsequent attitudinal changes in the Canadian public also impacted how the home children were treated and viewed. Through this research, this neglected group of immigrants will be given a more prominent position in Canadian social and immigration history.

DOI: 10.32920/ryerson.14646447.v1