Agricultural Delegates From UK to Canada

In 1879 the Honorable J H Pope, the Agriculture Minister of Canada, invited tenant farmers' delegates from the UK to visit the Dominion of Canada for the purpose of examining its resources, and reporting back to their group what farming is like, encouraging tenant farmers to immigrate to Canada.

The delegates then reported back to their constituents, and these reports were published and handed in to the Department of Agriculture of Canada.

I found this while researching my Bruce family of Aberdeenshire. There is a young farmer named James Bruce from Gartly that was chosen as a delegate, my line were from Fyvie. 

Tenant farmer delegates

James Bruce reports on the cost of a farm and running it in the good Ontario neighbourhood of Guelph.

A farm in Guelph

Conclusions of delegate Colonel Francis Fane who toured Canada in 1890

Visit of tenant farmers 1890, page 54

It seems not all delegates took their task seriously and made headlines as far away as Australia!

But you can see from the report that most did a thorough job of it. The reports of later visits have illustrations.

Relevant Links

Reports of tenant farmers' delegates on the Dominion of Canada 1879

Reports of tenant farmers' delegates and other informations on Manitoba North-west Territory and other parts of the Dominion of Canada 1879

Reports of tenant farmers' delegates on the Dominion of Canada, 1880 visit

The Visit of the tenant-farmer delegates to Canada in 1890,incl Maritimes

Scotch tenant-farmers visit to Canada in 1893

An Irish agricultural delegate on the agricultural resources of Canada 1893

Welsh tenant-farmers on the agricultural resources of Canada 1893