Hello, my name is Ephraim and I am sixth generation Canadian. That means my family has been in Canada for a long time! Approximately 209 years! And today I am going to tell the story of how my family came to Canada. 

Introduction

It all started in 1815 when in Scotland there were the highland clearances. The highland clearances were when a lot of Scottish people were kicked out to make room for sheep. They were forced to be evicted from their homes or just live on the land and not own it. At the time there was a potato famine which was one of their main sources of food.  

Why they left

Why Canada was appealing

Canada was really appealing to a lot of people because everybody wanted to populate it. That meant free land, free passage, and for the Scots there was a growing Scottish community 

Moving to Canada

Free passage doesn't mean good passage. It would take weeks to travel across the atlantic, let alone in a disease filled ship with hundreds of people. But my ancestors survived and made it to Canada. They made it to where Manitoba is in some point of the winter. Back then that would have been the worst time to have arrived because of how cold it was compared to Scotland. 

The ship would look something like this

Thankfully an indigenous tribe helped them and they made it through the harsh Manitoba winter. They finally got settled with a community into their own land which it wouldn't have been in Scotland. They were part of the great migration of Canada which spanned from 1815 to 1850 where over 800,000 people moved to Canada.

Moving to Canada

Scottish culture

Scottish people have lots of culture some include traditional music, traditional dancing and cuisine. 

Traditional Scottish music encompasses a wide range of styles and genres, reflecting the country's diverse cultural heritage.

Traditional music

Bagpipes

Accordion