A small unit of Swiss soldiers and officers in the service of the French Crown was encamped in 1604 on the island of St Croix in ACADIA. A drawing published by Samuel de CHAMPLAIN in 1613 shows a small settlement established by Pierre DuGua de MONTS, including a barracks for Swiss soldiers. The most prominent Swiss immigrant in 17th-century NEW FRANCE was Jacques Bizard (1642-92), a mercenary who in 1672 arrived as aide-de-camp to the Comte de FRONTENAC. In 1678 he was made seigneur of what is now known as "Île Bizard."

From the 16th to the mid-19th century, the Swiss were sought after because of their military skills and discipline, honed during centuries of bloody struggle for independence. Swiss mercenary units were distinct from other armies; commanded by members of Swiss patrician families, they formed their own regiments. Thus the de Meuron and de Watteville regiments were allied but not integrated with the British army in North America.

The de Watteville regiment played a prominent role in the WAR OF 1812, capturing Fort Oswego from the Americans. The DE MEURON regiment saw its first action near Fort Champlain, later in PLATTSBURG, NY. When it was disbanded in 1816, 353 officers and men stayed behind in Canada. The new settlers were directed to settlements at Perth and Drummondsville. Unused to the hardships of pioneer life, many de Meurons left for the US or returned to Europe.

Sir Frederick HALDIMAND is pre-eminent among the Swiss soldiers serving in Canada. Haldimand, being of French-speaking origin, had great empathy with the preoccupation of French-speaking colonists not to be submerged under British dominance. He managed to keep a majority of them on the side of the emerging Canada.

Sir George PREVOST, who in 1811 assumed double duties as governor general of the Canadas and commander-in-chief of the British troops in North America, was born in New Jersey to a Swiss officer. He was instrumental in persuading the British colonial office in London to recognize previous French institutions.

Early Swiss settlers, merchants and pioneers include Pierre, François and Jacques Miville, who were granted lands in 1665 at Le Grand Anse, now LA POCATIÈRE, Qué, still popularly known as "Le canton des Suisses." Laurenz Ermatinger arrived in Montréal around 1761 and later became one of 9 partners in the new North West Company. Charles Oakes Ermatinger, a son of Laurenz, contributed decisively to extending the fur trade around SAULT STE MARIE, Ont. Sebastian Fryvogel (1791-1873) is a Swiss-born pioneer credited with helping to open up the Huron Tract, the vast lands east of Lake Huron. The founding of Zurich, Ont, in 1856 is credited to Frederick Knell, who bought land southeast of Lake Huron and named it after the capital of his home canton.