Jamaicans first entered Canadian ground by ship in July of 1796, when about 600 Maroons – the name given to groups of Black rebels against enslavement by British colonialists – landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia; exiled by the colonial government in Jamaica. This was the first large West Indian group to enter British North America (Eaton, 1999).
The Maroons held a deep resentment towards the British people for sending them into exile, and refused to comply with employment requests or offers from the government of Nova Scotia.
They longed to leave Halifax, to migrate to Sierra Leone in West Africa, following the path of former African American slaves who had settled there, migrating from Nova Scotia and also England (Eaton, 1999).
Their plea was finally granted in October 1800. After numerous appeals to London, the Maroons were given permission to leave Nova Scotia for Sierra Leone (Walker, 1984).
During the period afterwards, between 1800 and 1920, small numbers of Jamaicans trickled into Canada. Few came from abroad to work as labourers in the Cape Breton mines, while some others found work as domestics or blacksmiths (Eaton, 1999; Walker, 1984).
Making waves
It was not until the 1950’s, in response to changes in Canadian immigration policy — which put an emphasis on cheap labour-force recruitment and market strength — that the population of Jamaican Canadians increased (Eaton, 1999).
The National Act of 1948 was enacted to attract labourers from the British Colonies – many West Indians came to Canada as result of this act (although the number of Black immigrants was restricted by the Walter Act, which imposed a quota on the numbers of Black West Indians permitted to enter).
In 1955 under the West Indian Domestic Scheme, Canada began to accept annual rounds of single Black female workers to serve as domestic employees. These women, seduced by the prospect of gaining employment visas and eventual citizenship after serving a one-year term, responded in high numbers to the call. Within the first 9 years of this policy, almost 3,000 Caribbean women were granted admission (Eaton, 1999; Walker, 1984).
A large number of African Jamaicans also found entry into Canada during the 60’s through studying at Canadian Universities and staying in the city upon graduation (Walker, 1984).
But, although the percentage of Black Jamaican immigrants were increasing in Canada, in ways that benefited the general population, assimilation was not the end result for these new settlers (Walker, 1984).
Black people in Canada described experiences of racial prejudice, isolation and segregation. Discrimination against Jamaican immigrants regarding employment, housing, and even public facilities, forced them to form their own private social circles and clubs (Walker, 1984).
Disturbed by such treatment, and intolerant to it, Black individuals began protesting for their rights to be recognized. By 1961, the Black community began to lead campaigns for equitable employment, demands for equal status and policy change (Walker, 1984).
The Canadian government, feeling the pressure to reform, revised immigration policy in 1962. Regulations were enacted: training, education and skill became the conditions for admission into Canada, over ethnic origin and background (Walker, 1984).
And Canada, facing a shortage in English-speaking nurses and teachers, started looking to the West Indies to fill new job openings (Walker, 1984).
Between 1960 and 1964, 2,662 new Jamaicans gained entry into the country. Between 1965 and 1969, the number rose to 13,439 (Eaton, 1999).
The universal point system, added to Canada’s immigration policy in 1967, also contributed to the growth in numbers of Jamaican immigrants during that time (Walker, 1984). In the 1970’s West Indians were the third largest source of immigrants to Canada (Walker, 1984).
And though the stream of Jamaican Canadian migrants declined somewhat during the 1980’s, it rose again during the 90′s — influenced by landed Jamaican immigrants sponsoring family members to Canada.
References:
Eaton, G. (1999). Jamaicans. Encyclopedia of Canada’s Peoples. Toronto: Multicultural History Society of Ontario. Available: http://multiculturalcanada.ca/
Labelle, M. Larose, S. & Piche, V. (2009) West Indian. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation of Canada.
Statistics Canada. (2007). Profiles of Ethnic Communities in Canada. The Jamaican Community in Canada. 2001. Statistics Canada Catalogue number 89-621-XIE. Ottawa. August 2007. Social and Aboriginal Statistics Division. 2001 Census.
Walker, James W. The West Indians in Canada. Ottawa: Canadian Historical Association, Canada’s Ethnic Groups Series, No. 6, 1984
