After the First World War ended in 1918, the Canadian government had high hopes that the newly-created Department of Immigration and Colonization would attract large numbers of British agricultural immigrants. And large numbers did arrive, despite the fact that the only free government land still available was in areas remote from railways (unless the immigrant was a Soldier Settler).

There were new incentives, however, for farmers to emigrate from over-populated Britain. The British government offered subsidized travel to many parts of the Empire, including Canada. Plenty of good arable land was still for sale in the Canadian west, much of it owned by the two national railways, the Canadian Pacific Railway and the newly-formed Canadian National Railways. Both national companies advertised extensively in Britain, and offered their own inducements to would-be settlers.

While the Canadian government supported the railways' initiatives, attracting immigrants to the prairies was no longer the only priority. Agricultural immigrants were needed in every part of Canada.