Haitian boomers arrive
The acceleration of Haitian immigration to Montreal in the 1970s, seen through the eyes of those who lived it: the Haitian boomers. A look back at the lives of some of them.
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Translated transcript
In Quebec, the arrival of Haitian immigrants accelerated in the 1970s. Today, the Haitian community numbers over 140,000 in the province. There are as many reasons to leave Haiti as there are Haitians.
For André, it was the desire to change careers. At the time, he was a young school principal caught up in a conflict with a business partner. He was also in a job he didn't like, and on top of that, his dream of becoming a lawyer seemed out of reach. "With the 2-3 year internship I'd have to do in a law firm, my school about to close and my job at the bank not really appealing, I decided to take a trip abroad. And the form I had available was the Canadian one."
For others, what drives them to leave is the impression that the grass is greener elsewhere. Talk to Raphael, who arrived in Montreal in the fall of 1974, at the end of his bachelor's degree. "When you see a whole bunch of friends leaving the country and changing their situation, you'd like to improve your life too.
Before his departure, Raphael received many gifts from his family in the United States. He had an older brother and an uncle in Miami, and thanks to them, he and his mother lacked for nothing. "When I saw them showering us with beautiful things, I said to myself that I had to get out too. I didn't have any problems as such in Haiti, but growing up, everyone dreams of a better life. That's more what drove me to emigrate."
The quest for a better life is a recurring theme in the community. For Marie-Ange, it was a cousin living in Canada who encouraged her to come. "My mother had dealt with an agency. She paid for us to do all the paperwork. They enrolled me in the Cégep du Vieux-Montréal.
For her part, Edith felt trapped by the favoritism she had heard about in the Haitian education system. "I was really afraid to take the rhetoric exam because you needed a piston, as they say, a teacher or someone who loves you to go further [...] So I wrote to my late brother who was already here [in Montreal, editor's note] to tell him [...] that I wouldn't like to stay in Haiti to finish my studies and that I'd like him to help me come to Quebec."
Arrival in the country
Let's talk about arriving in Quebec. The landscape, the accent, the climate, the smells, the sounds, everything is new. It's easy to feel disoriented and disorienting, but you have to find your bearings quickly.
Take Marie-Ange, for example. Barely out of the airport, she's already being warned of the dangers that await young women like her. "My cousin who lived here told me to take a cab when I got to Montreal-Mirabel airport. But a couple who had flown with me insisted on taking me. He made arrangements with my cousin on the phone and then drove me to her. Later, the man of the couple explained to me that he wanted to avoid cabs for fear that men would take me away, force me to become a nude dancer and bring them the money."
But never mind the shock of novelty: once you've unpacked your bags, you've got to start thinking about how to earn a living. André can testify to this. "By the time I got here, I was already married, and when I left the country, I also knew that she was pregnant. So I had to find a job as quickly as possible, so I could earn an income and start helping her with her own homecoming."
Fortunately, Quebec was in dire need of workers in the 70s. So finding work was child's play. "I went to a company without being called. I said I'd brought my CV, but they hadn't called me. They asked me what my name was and if I wanted to start right away. I said OK."
Marie-Ange, on the other hand, came across a real windfall of jobs in the manufacturing sector. "Sometimes, I could end the week with two or even three different paychecks. Sometimes I'd find a job, leave it because I didn't like it, and find another in the same building. There was a lot of work. It didn't pay, but it was there. We were hiring everywhere."
For some new arrivals, the role of student is added to that of worker. André: "I decided to go to HEC, but as I had to remain available for work, I worked during the day and went to school at night." Édith: "I started working in my 3rd semester as a student. They were student jobs . I remember working at Pingouin Laine, where I made wool samples." Raphaël: "I told my bosses I could work evenings. I started working from 11pm to 7am. Sometimes I had an 8 a.m. class. Just imagine: I had to leave from Ville-Saint-Laurent to go to Cégep du Vieux-Montréal. Sometimes I took a shower at the Cégep. Anyway, it wasn't easy, but when you want it, you work for it."
Legal deposit, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 2024
