Early Immigration
In the meantime, the Canadian government began its push to settle the Prairies by introducing a new initiative aimed at attracting settlers. In 1872, the Dominion Lands Act was passed, granting 160 acres (647 497 m²) free to potential settlers so long as they met a number of conditions. These included building a dwelling, planting crops and living on the land for at least three years. Despite such incentives, a disappointingly low number of immigrants arrived before the late 1890s.

The largest group to take advantage of the opportunities the new region had to offer was from Ontario. After Confederation, Ontarians arrived in Manitoba in such large numbers that Winnipeg was often referred to, tongue in cheek, as Ontario West.

There were a number of groups from outside Canada that also came and settled together in the Prairie West prior to 1890. These included Mennonites and Jews from Russia, and the Mormons from America. These groups often arrived seeking varying degrees of ethnic, religious or ideological freedom, or to escape persecution. Their numbers, however, were small.

Competition with the United States
There were many reasons for Canada's limited success in attracting settlers. Among them was the fact that the American West still proved more appealing to the majority of potential immigrants. In fact, many of the immigrants who originally arrived in Western Canada during this period often eventually headed south into the United States. There they could take advantage of a more advanced economy and a more efficient transportation system.

Many immigrants also chose the American West because it had a superior international image at the time. While it was described as the frontier of golden opportunity, the Canadian West was often conversely portrayed as uninhabitable, cold and barren.

It was these negative stereotypes that the federal government, the Canadian Pacific Railway and groups of nationalist Canadians began to challenge. They distributed immigration propaganda at home and abroad that described the West as a Promised Land, an "earthly paradise" with fertile soil and "the healthiest climate" in the world. Who could resist such a place?

"Push" and "Pull" Factors
Between 1896 and 1911 the flood of immigrants Canada had been expecting finally arrived. In 1871, the Census reported 43 000 people living in the Prairie West. In 1901, the number was 414 000 and by 1911 it had risen to 1 328 000 people. A number of "push" and "pull" factors led to this dramatic increase.

"Push" factors were those that prompted people to leave another country. In many countries cultivable land was disappearing, or was being divided into smaller and smaller parcels that were not large enough to sustain a family. In other regions, industrialization was increasing, and the slums and poor living conditions left many seeking a better life. Some sought adventure, others tried to escape persecution.

At the same time, a number of "pull" factors made Canada an appealing choice to those searching for a new home. For example, some of the earlier concerns about the fertility of the Western Canadian soil were now being solved. New farming techniques and technologies and new strains of wheat allowed people to take advantage of the dry conditions and short growing season.

Perceptions of the Canadian West were also changing. This occurred in part because it was generally believed that good land in the American West was disappearing; potential immigrants now had to look to other destinations. Recognizing the opportunity, Clifford Sifton, Canada's Minister of the Interior (1896-1905), initiated an aggressive advertising campaign for the Canadian West. He flooded Europe, Scandinavia and America with travelling promoters and with reports, posters and books that described the Canadian West in glowing terms.

This propaganda was produced in order to attract one group in particular—experienced farmers. According to Sifton, the future development of the West depended on attracting them. It didn't matter if they were British, Norwegian, American, or Ukrainian so long as they were industrious.

The New Arrivals
While immigrants interested in farming came by the thousands during the Sifton years, there were many that arrived with no interest in working the land. These men and women stayed in the cities or joined work camps throughout the country. Others tried farming, but found it too difficult, too expensive or too unpredictable. More than a third of all farmers gave up their homesteads within three years.

One of the major difficulties many of these farmers faced was arriving in a country where nothing was familiar. The landscape, climate and culture were all new to them. Most left countries where they were surrounded by trees and rolling hills. The vast, flat, sparsely wooded Canadian plains consequently was a shock to them. So too were the hard cold winters. Many arrived without the ability to speak either English or French, and with different religious, cultural and political experiences than those shared by Anglo-Saxon Canadians.

Some families, including the Kitzans, solved some of these problems by travelling further north into the parkland. Here, surrounded by trees, they often settled close to family and friends from their country of origin. The trade-off was that the land they settled was usually less fertile and harder to farm than the Prairie's grassland soil.