The Belgians in Ontario chronicles more than 300 years of Belgian presence in Ontario, beginning with Father Louis Hennepin, the Recollet missionary who accompanied La Salle on his explorations. This book examines the contributions of the Belgian community in a diverse range of activities including agriculture, sports, and the arts. Magee offers a detailed analysis of reasons and methods of immigration (including a study of the pioneering agricultural labourers who participated in the swallow migration). Of special interest to students of social and ethnic studies is the extensive survey of Belgian Canadians, reflecting their attitudes and experiences. Lavishly illustrated with more than 50 rare photographs culled from private and public collections, The Belgians in Ontario is a visually-interesting look at the many contributions of a determined people.

Joan Magee previous publications include Loyalist Mosaic and A Dutch Heritage. She is a librarian at the University of Windsor and taught Scandinavian Studies there from 1971 to 1981.

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Provides a sketch — often interesting, and well illustrated with over 50 photographs and four maps — of a rural immigrant community that for a century was regularly reinfused by a steady flow of newcomers seeking a better economic life in South Western Ontario.

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