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Labour migration from Austria to Canada after World War II
| At the beginning of the 20th century Canada was mainly a transit country for most of the European migrants. In those days the United States of America had been the desired destination because of their better socio-economic performance. In the inter-war period the number of immigrants even decreased due to the depression and a quite restrictive Canadian immigration policy. But after 1945 the image of Canada changed completely. Canada experienced an economic upturn and became a prospering country. Labour market shortages and desired population growth became the main reasons for an active immigration policy in that context. Between 1945 and 1960 Canadian provinces absorbed about out two million immigrants and among them approximately 24.000 Austrians.
The paper wants to explore reasons and preconditions for Austrian labour migration in the 1950s by looking at push and pull factors. One main factor is the slow economic recovery of Austria in the post-war period. The lack of employment and poverty affected Austrians in some provinces more than in others (e.g. provinces of Styria, Carinthia, or Burgenland). It became attractive for residents particularly in these areas to consider - a permanent or at least a temporary – migration to Canada to escape poverty and to gain better economic conditions.
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