jea's ad

http://www.civilization.ca/educat/oracle/modules/ckitzan/page01_e.html
The vast territory was hard to live in. In those areas where wood was scarce. It was hard to make crops because of drought, dust storms, hail, floods, frost, and blizzards were just some of the natural disasters a farming family might face. It was to leave their homes because of ambushes or wild animals.
http://manitobia.ca/cocoon/launch/en/themes/bom
One of the major difficulties many of these farmers faced was arriving in a country where nothing was familiar. The landscape, climate and culture were all new to them. Most left countries where they were surrounded by trees and rolling hills. The vast, flat, sparsely wooded Canadian plains consequently were a shock to them. So too were the hard cold winters. Many arrived without the ability to speak either English or French, and with different religious, cultural and political experiences than those shared by Anglo-Saxon Canadians.