Icelandic Americans

“New Iceland” Canada

In 1875, negotiations with the Canadian government secured land along an 80-kilometer stretch of Lake Winnipeg for an Icelandic colony, dubbed “New Iceland.” This became the destination of choice for Icelandic immigrants, including 1,200 who came to Canada in 1876. Because the Canadian government was eager for European settlers in the newly opened Manitoba province, Icelanders were granted exclusive homesteading rights and a separate constitution. Most Icelanders who had settled elsewhere in Canada and the United States relocated here during that period.

These immigrants were primarily fishermen and livestock farmers, with limited experience growing grains or other produce, and they faced considerable hardships in New Iceland. The fishing conditions on Lake Winnipeg were quite different from ocean fishing in the North Atlantic, and locust plights and smallpox outbreaks caused significant loss of life. Nevertheless, the community held on, eventually numbering 1,500. In 1886, a newspaper was founded that is still in print under the title Logberg-Heimskringla. Several churches were established, and Icelandic was spoken by most residents until the 1950s. Although New Iceland eventually integrated into the Manitoba provincial jurisdiction, the towns in Manitoba bearing Icelandic names, such as the former capitol Gimli, demonstrate a distinct Icelandic identity through festivals celebrating Icelandic history, businesses with Icelandic names, a senior center catering to Icelandic speakers, and statues and other landmarks referencing Icelandic heritage. Winnipeg also has a sizable Icelandic population, and the University of Manitoba has the only Icelandic Department in North America. In the 2001 Canadian census, more than 26,000 Manitobans self-identified as Icelandic.

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