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This paper discusses a public history project conducted by the author for the Danish Canadians of Montreal in the 1990s. The Danish Canadian community expected that researching their community history would help them recover a more authentic ethnicity and shine a light on their group's unique ethnocultural practices. However, to the community's disappointment, historical research instead revealed a strong trend toward Anglo-conformity, to the point that many Danish Canadians were nearly indistinguishable in Montreal's Anglophone society. In the current climate where the concept of the ethnic mosaic is emphasized in Canada, the history project dealt a blow to their sense of identity and led them to question whether they were ever ethnic at all. In addition to examining the history of a rarely-studied group, this paper explores changing notions of what has constituted immigrant success, and looks at one group's struggle to adapt to the larger society's shifting visions and values surrounding ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

That immigration leads to the emergence of ethnic neighborhoods in North American cities is not a new phenomenon in urban geography. New arrivals often participate in the development of local economies by creating small businesses to serve the needs of their compatriots. They also participate in the transformation of centrally located neighborhoods in large cities. The emergence of the Polish neighborhood on Roncesvalles Street in Toronto and the Jewish neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges in Montreal exemplify this pattern. However, the importance of ethnic economies in such neighborhoods has gone largely unexplored. This paper examines the relationship between geographic location, immigrant entrepreneurs and the role of small ethnic businesses in two Canadian urban areas: Côte-des-Neiges in Montréal and Parkdale in Toronto. Data from interviews with local businesspeople in these two areas are used to examine the pertinence of the concepts of ethnic/open and ethnic/closed markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]