PEOPLE OF FINNISH HERITAGE living in Canada today number just under 100,000 with over 65 percent living in Ontario. Emigrating from the cold, rugged Scandinavian landscape, Finns were well prepared for the harsh environment many chose in northern Ontario, the prairies, and British Columbia. Over the last century, 90,000 Finns settled in Canada during three different periods of immigration. Between 1890 and 1914, Finns arrived, encouraged by Canadian Pacific Railway recruiters, from the western coastal regions of Ostrobothnia and the industrializing southern provinces of Finland mainly to pursue work opportunities. Later, after the civil war of 1919-1930, many left-wing Finns came to Canada to avoid the new right-wing regime. Among them was the former socialist Prime Minister, Oskari Tokoi. This phase ended with the introduction of new Canadian immigration laws and then World War II. Between 1947 and 1967, a third group of Finns from the southwestern region of Finland came to find work but they were now accompanied by eastern Finns who had been dislocated by the Soviet annexation of Karelia.

Finns who arrived in Canada before World War II were predominantly working class. Initially, it was mostly males who immigrated to work in the British Columbia forests, Thunder Bay, or Sault Ste. Marie in lumbering, mining, farming or construction. The gender imbalance gradually changed with the arrival of female domestics.

Today, 53 percent of Finns in Canada are female as compared to 35 percent in 1911. Even today, Finns are employed in lumbering, mining, and construction, although the number of educated professional and business people is rapidly increasing.

Displaying a strong egalitarian conscience and historical linkages with the socialists in Finland, Finns have been active in such labour movements throughout the century as the Western Federation of Mine Workers, Lumber Workers Industrial Union of Canada, and the Women's Labour League. Numerous newspapers and social clubs encouraged mutual aid and cooperation. Social life also thrived around various Finnish Lutheran, Pentecostal, and United Church of Canada congregations. These early organizations influenced second generation Finns such as Paul Siren, Order of Canada recipient and influential leader of the UAW during World War II and later ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) until the mid-1980s.

Finns have organized seniors’ centres in Vancouver, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, Sudbury, and Toronto. These have become hubs of community activity. Finnish language instruction is now taught beyond Finnish summer camps and is available through Ontario's International Languages Program. Moreover, the University of Toronto offers a comprehensive Finnish Studies program and publishes an academic Journal of Finnish Studies. Finnish can also be studied at Lakehead University.

Several prominent Finnish Canadians have caught the attention of the broader Canadian society in the last several years. Peter Nygård, the clothing designer in Toronto and Winnipeg, has become a well-known businessman.

Recently, the arrival of Jukka-Pekka Saraste as conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra has caused excitement. In popular culture, Finnish hockey players such as Teemu Selänne formerly of Winnipeg Jets and Saku Koivu of Montreal Canadians have become celebrated icons within Canada's most popular of winter sports, hockey.