The Swedish Press is unique in being British Columbia’s only Swedish-language newspaper, as well as the only such newspaper still in publication in all of North America. As the province that is home to Canada’s largest Swedish and Swedish-speaking immigrant community, the Swedish Press offers a rich and unique source of historical knowledge about Swedes in British Columbia, and the history of British Columbia from a Swedish-Canadian perspective. Much of the news and events focus on the primary centres of Swedish-speaking communities throughout Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, the Okanagan Valley, and Vancouver Island, offering valuable insight into the significant roles that Swedish Canadians in British Columbia have played in the development of province’s cultural, forestry, shipping, agriculture, and healthcare sectors, among others.
First published on 24 January 1929, the paper was started in Vancouver by two Finnish Swedes, Helge Ekengren and Paul Johnson, to cover news and events from the Swedish-speaking communities throughout the province, and report on noteworthy events in other Swedish immigrant communities as well as news from Sweden and Finland. Sold in 1936 to the Seattle-based Svenska Posten (the Swedish Post), a Vancouver supplement was printed as part of this paper for six months. The paper returned to publication in Vancouver as Nya Svenska Pressen (the New Swedish Press) in February 1937 and was renamed The Swedish Press in May 1941. In1943, the paper was reorganized as a private company under the name Central Press Limited.
Published as a weekly broadsheet from 1929 until 1961, the Swedish Press switched to semi-monthly editions from 1962 until 1986. Since then, it has been published monthly, in a magazine format. The current publisher and editor is Kajsa Norman.
The Swedish Press Collection contains approximately 2,500 editions of the newspaper. The digitized portion of the collection available here comprises over 1,200 editions of the paper, encompassing weekly editions published between 1932 and 1954.
The bulk of the Swedish Press Collection was generously donated by Anders and Hamida Neumüller, who purchased the Swedish Press in 1986, serving as its publisher and editor until 2012. Some editions were donated from individual subscribers, included in various family collections held by Swedish Heritage in BC.
