From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Dutch/Herman Ganzevoort
The Dutch have generally been well regarded by other Canadians, and they have suffered little of the social or economic discrimination experienced by some immigrant groups. Being Dutch has seldom been a social, economic, or political handicap. The stereotypical view of the group as clean, hard-working, and law-abiding has been positive and reinforcing. As white, western European Christian immigrants, they did not differ racially and religiously from the dominant elements of Canadian society, therefore presented no danger to it, and were regarded as eminently suited for assimilation. Dutch immigrants, essentially conservative, have been committed to creating a solid middle-class life for themselves, and Canadians have seemed prepared to allow and even encourage them to do so. Unlike some ethnic groups, they have usually been welcomed to participate fully in Canadian society. No social barriers, quotas, or unwritten agreements have hindered their advancement.
The economic success of settlements in western Ontario, southern Alberta, and the Fraser Valley of British Columbia have occasionally aroused envy or mild expressions of nativism, but such responses have practically disappeared as succeeding generations of Dutch Canadians have been assimilated into the society around them. The immigrants, in their turn, have acquired a generally positive view of Canadians. The antagonistic, protective, or even nostalgic ethnicity that for some groups is a compensation for non-acceptance by the dominant society has never developed among the Dutch in Canada. As a result, the rate of return to the Netherlands over the past hundred years has been exceedingly low, amounting to perhaps less than 1 percent.
