syh's ad

http://www.civilization.ca/hist/advertis/ads2-01e.html While it was described as the frontier of golden opportunity, the Canadian West was often conversely portrayed as uninhabitable, cold and barren.
http://www.civilization.ca/educat/oracle/modules/ckitzan/page02_e.html

There were many reasons for Canada's limited success in attracting settlers. Among them was the fact that the American West still proved more appealing to the majority of potential immigrants. In fact, many of the immigrants who originally arrived in Western Canada during this period often eventually headed south into the United States. There they could take advantage of a more advanced economy and a more efficient transportation system. While immigrants interested in farming came by the thousands during the Sifton years, there were many that arrived with no interest in working the land. These men and women stayed in the cities or joined work camps throughout the country. Others tried farming, but found it too difficult, too expensive or too unpredictable. More than a third of all farmers gave up their homesteads within three years.
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 was 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.