Perspective: Urban Immigration

Rather than homesteading, many newcomers moved into Canada's rapidly growing cities. Numerous economic and social benefits attracted immigrants there. Jobs abounded in new manufacturing and industrial workplaces and in the service sector. Urban transportation systems enabled immigrants to come and go from distant job sites. Since cities fostered distinctive ethnic "enclaves" or communities, they became important social meeting places for immigrants. They served as points where chain migration exerted a significant influence on family and friends at home to immigrate.

Historian A. Ross McCormack's study of British immigrants in Winnipeg suggests the vital role that

such ethnic communities played for immigrants. Newcomers tended to choose neighborhoods where others from their own ethnic background had settled. These small communities offered forms of "mutuality," such as loans of money, shelter, food, and clothing, to needy newcomers. Visits to neighbours created closer ties among immigrants and gave a reassuring feeling of "being home." Moreover, boarding houses, immigrant hostels such as the "Girls Home of Welcome," and national churches and societies all provided sources of financial and moral support for the newcomer.

Next Page