The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2001, Page 20

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 56 #3
tion about New Iceland. His theme was
that New Iceland was much better than old
Iceland. All necessities of life were less
expensive in Canada. It required less effort
to make a living, money was worth more
than Icelandic money, food was less expen-
sive, the pay was much higher and people
in Iceland had to work four times more
than in Canada to buy the same amount of
food and other goods.
The article then deals with the opposi-
tion from the Icelandic statesmen to this
type of enticing Icelanders to immigrate
and that they even made laws to ban men
from persuading people to leave the coun-
try. Med logunum var bannad aS assa menn
til ad flytja af landi burt med ginnandi
fortolum, eda med |rvi ad halda radur og
fyrirlestra i f)a att, ad iora menn oanagda
med Jjetta land, en gylla fyrir Jjeim onnur.
The opponents to emigration stated that
it was like throwing salt in a wound when
Western Icelanders or the Canadian
Government sent out men with the inten-
tion to boost emigration from Iceland. A
report about a meeting held in Reykjavik,
at which Baldvinsson and other agents
planned to present a lecture on Canada,
states that the speakers were drowned out
by the pandemonium caused by a mob
whistling and shouting.
Baldvinsson was born in Akureyri in
1856 and came to Canada in 1873, spending
about eight years in Toronto before settling
in Winnipeg. He owned and published
Heimskringla for several years. He bought
the newspaper in 1898 and was editor until
1914. There is an article about him in the
December 20, 1917 issue of Heimskringla.
He served in the Manitoba Legislature
as a Conservative from 1899 to 1907 and
1910 to 1913. In The Icelandic People of
Manitoba, Wilhelm Kristjanson wrote,
“Much of the growing strength of the
Conservative Party in the Interlake
Communities was unquestionably due to
personal influence an political skill of
Baldwinson himself. He was instrumental
in getting the railroad built to Arborg in
1910.
There is also detailed information about
him in N¥ja Island: Saga of the Journey to
New Iceland. In this book, the idea that
although the common reasons for emigra-
tion are well-known, all were, “backed up
by the persuasive power of the salesman
and agents.” Baldvinsson, employed by the
Canadian Government, was one of those
persuasive agents who played a leading
role. Kristjanson states that, “As an immi-
grant agent, he had brought over some
seven thousand settlers, and he was at all
times solicitous for the welfare of the peo-
ple on their journey across, and he was ever
prompt in his attention to the needs of the
many who over a period of many years
sought his aid for one purpose or another.
Baldvinsson had, at first, worked on his
cousin’s Sigtryggur Jonasson’s, boat on
lake Winnipeg. He later set up a shoe store
and shoemaking
business in
Winnipeg and was
involved in busi-
ness and real
estate invest-
ments. He taught
in a school set u
for Icelandic
immigrants and
was one of the
first to stress the
idea that it would
be desirable to
Some of the Sigurdson children ready for the walk to school.
From left: Helga, Bjorn, Siggi, Torfi, John and Gudrun.