The public school systems of the three prairie provinces felt the strain of foreign immigration. Anglo-Canadians, such as John W. Dafoe, editor of the Manitoba Free Press, believed that the schools existed to create "a national sense of responsibility. . . from the great mixture of races within our gates" (1914). Opposition to this ideal came from ethnic groups who were determined to retain their cultural identity within Canadian society. They asked provincial authorities to allow greater use of languages other than English and French in the classrooms.
