[1] Austrian Canadian communities can be found throughout the country but with a higher concentration mainly in Western Canada.
Numbers increased following the passing of the Staatsgrundgesetz (constitutional law) in 1867 which allowed free migration from Austria-Hungary for civilians.
Emigration to Canada increased throughout the late 19th century and into the early 20th, until this was tightened in 1914 at the onset of World War I.
[15]Many immigrants from Austria-Hungary to Canada were interned and used for enslaved labour during World War I.
Beginning in 1914, subjects of the Habsburg Crown, especially Ukrainian-speakers from Austrian Galicia, were placed in twenty-four internment camps across Canada, the last of which closed in 1920.