Who are the Mennonites?
The Mennonites are a Christian group with a reputation for being peaceful farmers. They immigrated to Canada in several large groups from the 1870s to the 1930s. Earlier groups were classified as the Kanadiers though they had little interest in interaction with other immigrants or in attending local schools. These groups contrast with the Russlaender group who immigrated in the 1920s following the collapse of the Russian monarchy and growing Soviet persecution.[1] Both groups originally landed on the East coast of Canada before coming to British Columbia and Abbotsford during the depression years. On arrival in Abbotsford they purchased the land of the drained Sumas Lake which had recently been stolen from the Semá:th Nation.
Mennonite migration to Abbotsford
The Russlaender came directly to the West coast on their arrival to Canada and Abbotsford quickly became a destination with a community attractive to later Mennonite immigrants.[2] This community included the quick foundation of schools and churches. Contrasting this, the Kanadier group immigrated to Abbotsford after up to 60 years of settlement in other parts of Canada to escape some of the worst effects of the drought that accompanied the Depression in the Canadian prairies. Both groups would settle in modern Abbotsford, primarily Yarrow and Clearbrook, starting in 1928 and already by 1929 there was a population of at least 500 Mennonites; a number that would increase as the depression set in with 2000 Mennonites living in Abbotsford by 1938.[3]
Mennonites purchase the lake land
The Mennonites migrating to Abbotsford wanted land to farm and they would end up being the main purchaser of what had been the Sumas Lakebed. The Sumas Lake had been drained by the middle of 1925 and at the beginning of the 1930s the government was selling the land.
The Mennonite community took advantage of this land and quickly began expanding their population. A May 1930 article from the Abbotsford Sumas Matsqui News stated that Mennonites were coming from the Canadian prairies, the United States and even from Mexico and South America to begin farming in Abbotsford.[4] The Mennonites from further abroad had often been forced to abandon farms that were no longer productive due to widespread drought and were moving to Abbotsford to start over.
Sumas Lake
Sumas Lake is part of the ancestral territory of the Semá:th people and it was one of the main sources of food for their Nation. The Colonist government forced the Semá:th from the lake onto reserves taking the land for themselves. This lake was then drained and made into farmland for the incoming immigrants. More about the effects of this can be read here.
While the Mennonite community of Abbotsford faced many of the same difficulties faced by the other European colonizers, they ultimately found success due to their focus on farming. By June of 1930, the Mennonites had purchased significant portions of Sumas Lake, including a bulk purchase of 1500 acres, and were beginning to clear the land of stumps and debris to make it suitable for farming.[5]
Reactions to the Mennonite migration
While the Mennonites are a white European colonist group and contributed to the theft and development of Sumas Lake, they also faced discrimination from the ‘original’ largely British colonists who felt ownership of the area. These colonists worried about Mennonites cultural differences and did not think they would be able or willing to assimilate into the broader Abbotsford community.[6] This concern seems to have remained as an article from the Abbotsford Sumas Matsqui News in 1937 said that the Mennonites were “clinging to strict observance of ancient beliefs, [and] are depriving themselves of so many modern advantages. The more progressive rest of us can’t help feeling a little sorry for them, as well as amused by them”.[7] These views were coupled with some of the more general fears about how immigration could deprive original colonists of land – like the unique case of an unnamed Scottish man who lost the right to buy an acreage he had been farming for years– and led to harmful perceptions of groups like the Mennonites.[8]
“Whatever our racial prejudices, we must admit… that [Mennonites] are ostensibly an industrious, orderly, cleanly people.”
Heller, Gerald H., ed. “Mennonite Colony Rapidly Expanding.” Abbotsford, Sumas, Matsqui News. May 14, 1930. (Two years into main Mennonite migration)
This negative perception began to fade quickly for many, possibly because there was a distinction made between the different types of Mennonite immigrants. Mainly that the first group of Mennonites who had settled in the Canadian prairies, the Kanadier, was inferior to the more recent immigration, the Russlaender. The distinction is made clear in an article from the Abbotsford Sumas Matsqui News where the author states that the recent Mennonites are a “useful class of settler” as they speak English and are willing to assimilate to Canadian views.[9] The author goes as far as saying that they “are not of the same race of migrants” as the original Mennonite settler.[10] This relatively positive view seems to have persisted as articles in 1938 are celebrating the Mennonite’s productivity and achievements over the last decade.[11] Though this new perception would not last into World War Two because of the Mennonites choice to be conscientious objecters.
Click here for a bibliography for this page. Click here for a full website bibliography.
[1] Epp, Frank H. “Mennonites in Canada”, Immigration & Settlement Russian Immigration Profile 2006, Notes and Information. The Reach Gallery Museum, Abbotsford.
[2] Epp, Frank H. “Mennonites in Canada”, Immigration & Settlement Russian Immigration Profile 2006, Notes and Information. The Reach Gallery Museum, Abbotsford.
[3] Heller, Gerald H., ed. “Claim 500 Population at Yarrow Mennonite Colony.” Abbotsford, Sumas, Matsqui News. May 8, 1930. and Heller, Gerald H., ed. “Ten Year Mennonite Anniversary.” Abbotsford, Sumas, Matsqui News. March 2, 1938..
[4] Heller, Gerald H., ed. “Mennonite Colony Rapidly Expanding.” Abbotsford, Sumas, Matsqui News. May 14, 1930.
[5] Heller, Gerald H., ed. “Matsqui: Three Fourths of Scottish Families….” Abbotsford, Sumas, Matsqui News. February 6, 1930.
[6] Heller, Gerald H., ed. “Mennonite Colony Rapidly Expanding.” Abbotsford, Sumas, Matsqui News. May 14, 1930.
[7] Heller, Gerald H., ed. “Notion May Be Quaint.” Abbotsford, Sumas, Matsqui News. May 19, 1937.
[8] Heller, Gerald H., ed. “Notion May Be Quaint.” Abbotsford, Sumas, Matsqui News. May 19, 1937.
[9] Heller, Gerald H., ed. “Harvested $100,000 Hop Crop in Abbotsford Last Year.” Abbotsford, Sumas, Matsqui News. April 25, 1928.
[10] Heller, Gerald H., ed. “Harvested $100,000 Hop Crop in Abbotsford Last Year.” Abbotsford, Sumas, Matsqui News. April 25, 1928.
[11] Heller, Gerald H., ed. “Ten Year Mennonite Anniversary.” Abbotsford, Sumas, Matsqui News. March 2, 1938.