Welcoming Spanish Refugees from France?

On January 26, 1939, General Franco and his troops took control of Barcelona, which was a major blow to Republican forces. This victory forced thousands of Spanish republicans to weigh their options. Some could stay in Spain and face the political and military consequences of fighting Franco. Another possibility was to choose exile, as many Spaniards did by crossing the French border and living in refugee camps.  

In March 1939, the French Embassy in Ottawa reached out to the government of Canada with a proposal that it welcome some Spanish refugees. As this letter from the French ambassador states, the arrival of more than 300,000 refugees created logistical challenges to French authorities and put pressure on them. The French government looked for long-term solutions, one of which was to send some refugees to other parts of the world. French authorities believed that Canada was a good candidate for welcoming refugees.  

The response from the Canadian government was unequivocal: a resounding no. The reply, first written in English and then translated into French, invoked the state of the Canadian economy as the reason for the rejection. Also considering the ideological climate that prevailed in Quebec, however, might help us to better understand the Canadian position. 

During the 1930s, the federal government closed the doors of Canada to immigrants. This was in response to the deteriorating economic conditions. At the time, many Canadians believed that it made no sense to welcome immigrants while most Canadians were struggling with unemployment and economic insecurity. The unemployment rate was high throughout the 1930s. It peaked at 32% in May 1933 and remained above 12% until the eve of the Second World War in September 1939. 

Beside economic considerations, the federal government led by Liberal William Lyon Mackenzie King paid attention to French-speaking views in Quebec. Since the federal Liberal Party had an important contingent of MPs from that province, the Prime Minister was aware of the prevailing anti-communist sentiments among political and religious leaders and the intelligentsia in Quebec. Since many of them expressed pro-Franco views, Prime Minister Mackenzie King believed that it would have been political dynamite to welcome refugees from Spain. Some in Quebec may have feared that these political refugees would disseminate views that challenged social conservatism, which was prevalent in the province at the time.   

This was not the first time that the federal government rejected a proposal concerning Spanish refugees during the Civil War. In February 1939, Vincent Massey, Canada’s High Commissioner in London had forwarded a proposal that Canada accept a group of Spanish farmers, intellectuals, scientists, and artists. Given Canadian officials’ fondness for the argument that people from southern Europe were “unfit” for a country with such a harsh climate, this proposal was unviable. Canada would not open its doors to refugees from Spain.