Immigrant Families’ Experiences in Canada

The number of participants is limited to 14 so that we can all see each other on the Zoom screen. Past participants have said that this is a friendly environment. Everyone reads the designated texts – two per session – before each workshop. The readings bring us first-person stories of immigrants, ranging from soul-searching to light-hearted, points of view that might be new to us. We’ll then discuss them together for about a half hour.

There will be two speakers, each with a background presentation for one text, per session. Presentations, about 20 minutes long, should be well-prepared but don’t need to be rigorously academic. Possible topics are:

• emigration from the country of the text’s author: statistics and reasons
• parenting styles of the author’s culture
• other cultural differences between Canada and the home country of the author’s family
• settlement issues of the ethnic group in Canada
• biography: challenges in the life of the author and their family
• immigrant family cohesion issues, etc.

The facilitator may be able to help with finding resources for background talks.

The schedule will be developed in consultation between participants and facilitators during the summer and fall. Most important is that the presenter decide on a text well in advance so that the facilitator can send it out to the group at least one week before the presentation date. Options are given in the Readings list.

The texts below portray immigrant writers’ points of view, usually in short essays (up to three pages). They range from deeply thoughtful to light-hearted. The one you choose will be read by all participants, so you need to select it at least three weeks before your presentation date so that we all have a chance to read it. The texts will then be discussed among the whole group.

If you find your own short, first-person immigrant essay, please connect with the facilitator (joanbartel@OfficeSoftSkills.com) about it.

Presenters will also research and lead a discussion (about 15-20 minutes) about some kind of background information that helps us appreciate the essay. Basic sources of such information are listed at the end of this document, but you’ll want to find more.

(A few of the following links can only be accessed by Globe and Mail subscribers. If you can’t get one you want, the facilitator can give you a pdf of it.)

1. The points of view of children: Trying to manage the cultural divide between home and school/friends

• • I grew up at a cultural crossroads and I’m still trying to find my wayRonald Leung, a second-generation immigrant, writes about Cantonese and English and his two names. Math was done in Cantonese with parents, but “I love you” wasn’t said.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-i-grew-up-at-a-cultural-crossroads-and-im-still-trying-to-find-my-way/ Dec. 10, 2019Hong Kong, China
  • Moving provinces helped me see what it took for my parents to move across the world“Growing up as a child in Canada was confusing at times,” writes Vaidehee Lanke. She sometimes had to do “identity mental gymnastics”: English or Indian this time?https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/moving-to-canada-as-a-child-1.7423906  (part of the Welcome to Canada series) Jan. 14, 2025India
  • Each sari tells a story – that’s how I learned to embrace my ownJanani Suthan was born in Canada and grew up with two cultures. She often felt she was two different people, depending on who she was with.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-each-sari-tells-a-story-thats-how-i-learned-to-embrace-my-own/ Apr. 27, 2018Sri Lanka
  • My overprotective, omnipresent parentsThe author, Rula Alwan, understands her parents better now that she’s older.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/facts-and-arguments/my-parents-are-overprotective-but-the-older-i-get-the-more-i-understandthem/article35435522/ June 26, 2017Iraq
  • What no one talks about being an immigrant kid (video, 9 mins.)Hidden burdens of first-generation Canadians, like “Parenting your parents.” By Jenny.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8dsME9UWjM2022Korea
  • I was a high school student with a full-time job. My financial goal came at a cost.When sixteen-year-old Bryle Socito came to Calgary with his family, he was used to making some money to help out. He had to figure out if he could do that here, too.https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/bryle-hector-socito-first-person-1.7413825(part of the Welcome to Canada series) Jan. 18, 2025Philippines
  • … My grandmother – a true Armenian hoserThe author, Monique Montgomery, writes with humour about growing up with Armenian food and her grandmother’s many recipes, languages and bingo games.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-bob-and-doug-mckenzie-have-nothing-on-my-grandmother-a-true-armenian/ July 1, 2020Armenia
  • My piano has a story?Her pragmatic immigrant parents couldn’t afford a piano for Madeline Li until she was a teen. Should she follow her mother’s advice or choose a career in music? Read to find outhttps://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-my-piano-has-a-story/July 28, 2021China
  • Son of Elsewhere, excerpt(s)Teenaged Elamin Abdelmahmoud resented his parents’ wish to protect his Sudanese and Islamic identity by limiting his exposure to Canadians; that meant no social life. See, e.g., pp. 139-141 and 251-257 for excerpts on his relationship with his immigrant parents.Elamin Abdelmahmoud, Son of Elsewhere. 2022. McClelland & Stewart. In the Toronto Public Library.Sudan
  • As the Andes Disappeared, excerpt(s)The author’s family immigrated to Quebec when she was seven. She had trouble fitting in.Caroline Dawson, As the Andes Disappeared. 2023. Book*hug Press, Toronto. See, e.g., pp. 52-53 and the chapter Furor, pp. 161-162. In Toronto Public Library (no e-book).Colombia
  • As an immigrant, I longed for family. Now neighbours have become that kin for meIn Saskatoon, nine-year-old Vaidehee Lanke’s neighbours became like grandparents.https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/first-person-neighbours-kindness-immigrant-family-1.6541211 (part of the Welcome to Canada series) Aug. 8, 2022India

2. The points of view of young adults: Going their own way?

• • Gilt v. Guilt: The financial folly of the Big Indian WeddingGlobe reporter Rita Trichur didn’t want the 600-guest wedding her parents dreamed of.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-why-canadas-indian-community-should-forgo-big-weddings/ 11 Jan. 2020India
  • How my conservative, immigrant Asian parents came to better understand racial injusticePia Co’s parents had bad memories of protests but she became an activist student. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/first-person-racial-injustice-understanding-1.6036823  May 31, 2021Philippines
  • I swapped a life of comfort in Bangladesh for an empty fridge and blizzards in CanadaM. Akib Hossain wanted to stand on his own two feet and ended up even helping others.https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/bangladesh-student-moving-canada-1.7463924 March 16, 2025 (Part of CBC’s Welcome to Canada series)Bangladesh
  • I inherited my dad’s self-sufficient spirit but being a newcomer showed me the joy in asking for helpHassan Yahaya was surprised the Nigerian community in Edmonton was so helpful.https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/first-person-nigerian-newcomer-1.7293499 Sep. 1, 2024Nigeria
  • Neither Here or ThereThabata da Costa writes about the resilience needed by immigrants, even if it’s their own choice to leave home. She left Brazil for New York, then Vancouver.‘Neither Here or There’ is Part 2 of the essay Going Home (Twice), Chapter 20.1 in: A. Kumar, A. Triandafyllidou (eds.). 2024. Migration and Identity through Creative Writing, IMISCOE Research Series, pp. 225-228. Open access at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-41348-3_20Brazil
  • I rejected the doctor or lawyer career path so many desi kids are pressured to takeSecond-generation Punjabi Manjot Mann became a therapist against her father’s wishes.https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/first-person-desi-kids-career-path-1.6468754 May 30, 2022Indian-Canadian

Young adults managing their two-culture lives

• • I’m torn between two cultures in my life and marriageWhen an Indian woman marries an Italian man in the GTA, what’s for dinner? As a “good Indian wife,” the author thought she should cook curry but she likes pasta.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-im-torn-between-two-cultures-in-my-life-and-marriage/ Dec. 7, 2021India
  • Son of Elsewhere (Choose your own excerpt.)Elamin Abdelmahmoud resented his parents’ wish to protect his Islamic Sudanese iden-tity by limiting his exposure to Canadians. He later found his own way without anger.Elamin Abdelmahmoud, Son of Elsewhere. 2022. 280 pages. In Toronto Public Library.Sudan

3. The points of view of (young) parents:

• • Finding the right South Asian name for our baby was toughKaran Gill and his wife considered choosing a “whitened” name for their son because  of the advantages of a name that is easily pronounced by Canadians.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-finding-the-right-south-asian-name-for-our-baby-was-tough/ Jan. 21, 2020India
  • A Canadian welcome for me and my sonSpeaking English can be hard for both adults and children. But, with a positive attitude,Yoko Morgenstern found that you don’t have to speak English perfectly to make friends.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/facts-and-arguments/a-canadian-welcome-for-me-and-my-son/article4628615/ Oct. 22, 2012Japan
  • ‘Pourquoi you’re brown, maman?’ Racism from the mouths of babesDeepa Pureswaran was often ignored in Quebec City. Her son first noticed her brown skin when he attended daycare.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-mums-greatest-gift-involved-pen-paper-and-a-strong-connection-to/ Aug. 5, 2020India
  • Please stop asking my Canadian-born child ‘Where are you from?’Faiza Malik came to Canada at age 6 and feels Canadian. That question makes her feel as if her son’s “brown skin and ethnic name are inconsistent with being Canadian.”https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-please-stop-asking-my- canadian-born-child-where-are-you-from/ Sept. 11, 2020Pakistan
  • I struggled with my Chinese identity, but I’m learning to changeJudith Lam Tang wanted to fit in with her white classmates as a child. As an adult and mom, she realizes she was “racist against my own race” and is now unlearning this bias.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-i-struggled-with-my-chinese-identity-but-im-learning-to-change/ April 18, 2024China and Taiwan
  • A choice to emigrate … landed my family in a box – literallySaumiya Balasubramaniam, an author of children’s books, writes about living, and parenting, in a small place and then a big house in Canada, their new country.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/facts-and-arguments/thinking-in-and-out-of-the-immigrant-box/article19711213/ July 22, 2014India
  • I’m surprised I’ll miss taking my kids to hockey practice…A Brit discovers how hockey practice teaches Canadian children values and independencehttps://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-im-surprised-ill-miss-taking-my-kids-to-hockey-practice-just-not-the/ Aug. 22, 2024England
  • The hard lessons I learned when my mother-in-law moved inAuthor Richard Scott-Ashe is Canadian; his wife is South Korean. When their son was born, his mother-in-law moved in to help.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-the-hard-lessons-i-learned-when-my-korean-mother-in-law-moved-in/ Sept. 17, 2019(This article got some negative comments on Twitter; see https://nextshark.com/richard-scott-ashe-korean-mother-in-law)Canada and Korea

4. The points of view of mature adults: Family and work experiences

• • I gave up a comfortable life to come to Canada – and my story is common…Rashid Husain Syed is an energy consultant and journalist, writing in English. But after five years here, he still hasn’t found a job. He came here for his children’s sake.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-i-gave-up-a-comfortable-life-to-come-to-canada-and-my-immigrant-story/ Dec. 7, 2024South Asia and Saudi Arabia
  • I left my life as a doctor in Nigeria to find a better future for my children in CanadaOmowumi Iyaoromi immigrated to give her children a better future. It was a struggle but she managed to pass her licensing exams, get a job and at, age 44, start practising here.https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/first-person-nigeria-doctor-1.7418753 (part of CBC’s Welcome to Canada series.) Jan. 8, 2025Nigeria
  • Moving to Canada in my 40s helped me rediscover my strength as a womanStuck as an assistant in her husband’s firm despite her qualifications, Marwa Abu Eita applied to come to Canada. She recounts her path, successes and future plans here. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/leave-dubai-canada-woman-architect-1.7475264 (part of CBC’s Welcome to Canada series) March 8, 2025(Egypt) Dubai
  • It’s more than just food: …what we eat anchors and defines usBonny Reichert’s father became a restaurateur. “Growing up as the child of immigrants on the Canadian Prairies, food was …not just a comfort, but a signifier of survival.”https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/article-its-more-than-just-food-in-my-family-what-we-eat-anchors-and-defines/#comments Feb. 5, 2025Polish-Ukrainian-Canadian
  • So who needs an actual birth date anyway? (Celebrating my real birthday, 64 yrs later)Angelo Khoshaba is from a village in Iraq, where actual birthdates didn’t matter. But it’s a big deal in Canada, for example, for parties and for retirement. (a lighter reading)https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-so-who-needs-an-actual-birth-date-anyway/ Nov. 29, 2019Iraq

5. Families separated

• When my son left, I learned how my mom feltGu Zhenzhen left home (Beijing) at age 18. Now her son has left for Taiwan at age 28.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-when-my-son-moved-to-a-new-country-i-learned-how-my-mother-felt-when-i/ 12 Nov. 2024China and Taiwan
• Putting my longing into perspectiveSadaf Khajeh writes, “For as I long as I remember, being in Canada meant longing for Iran…” Covid eliminated the option of planning to go home. (Very short text)Chapter 23.3 in: Migration and Identity through Creative Writing. A. Kumar & A. Triandafyllidou (eds.). 2024. IMISCOE Research Series, pp. 275-276.Open access at: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-41348-3Iran
• Seven steps to reuniting with your teenage daughter, Resume of a husband in loveTwo selections in Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio’s book of linked stories of sacrifice, hurt and hope in Filipino families reunited in Canada. Based on true stories the author heard.Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio, Reuniting with strangers. 2023. 224 pages. (Stories are long: 18 and 23 pages.) In the Toronto Public Library as both hard copies and e-booksPhilippines
• I was 11,163 kilometres from my dad when he diedThe death of a family member “on the other side of the world” is hard to accept, writes Ife Adekoya. She was able to return to Nigeria for the funeral.  (Welcome to Canada series) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/i-was-11-163-kilometres-from-my-dad-when-he-died-it-s-taken-a-year-for-my-heart-to-accept-that-1.7135572 14 Mar. 2024Nigeria
• Ye kamSahar Golshan’s paternal grandparents’ lives were in Iran but her father couldn’t return there for political reasons. Languages of her family are central to her essay.In: Tongues: on longing and belonging through language. E. Fantetti, L. Carranza & A. Tsabari (eds.). 2021. Book*hug Press, pp. 139-146. In the Toronto Public Library.Iran (and Asia)
• At 14, I’m old enough to discover the delights of Bangladesh, my parents’ homelandArisha Islam’s grandparents choose to stay in Dhaka rather than move to Ottawa.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-at-14-im-old-enough-to-discover-the-delights-of-bangladesh-my-parents/ May 23, 2023Bangladesh
• Mum’s greatest gift involved pen, paper and a strong connection to family in IndiaAt first, Shirley Phillips didn’t like to write letters to faraway cousins she didn’t know. Later, she understood why her mother insisted on it.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-mums-greatest-gift-involved-pen-paper-and-a-strong-connection-to/ May 11, 2023India

Some basic sources for background immigration information: There are lots of sources for data and information about immigration. For country location, reasons for leaving, immigration data and trends, and ethnic groups in Toronto see, for example:

• Statistics Canada sites for data and reports:
• sometimes they are infographics, like this one on Latin America: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2024042-eng.htm)
• sometimes they are further research, such as this one on the effects of immigrants’ age at arrival and the number of their social connections in Canada: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2024012/article/00002-eng.htm
• https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/browse/people/communities-sociology
• https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage, for example, on Asian cultures:  https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/asian-heritage-month/important-events.html
• The CBC “Welcome to Canada” series From far and wide, by Aloysius Wong @ https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/immigration-survey
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_immigration_statistics
• https://www.migrationpolicy.org/
• The Cherie Mercado Podcast. A one-on-one casual chat between veteran Filipina journalist, Cherie Mercado, who just recently moved to Canada, and a featured Filipino visiting, working, or living in Canada.

For example: Episode 6. April 17, 2023: Guest Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio | one hour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx9UI2WbmPs

Ms. Austria-Bonifacio is the author of Reuniting with Strangers. She encourages Filipino students in schools in the GTA to dream bigger about their future, to avoid the common downward mobility in that ethnic group (minute 22:40 on). She’s heard many personal stories about family relationships. One project she does with kids is “Letters to Mama,” because families have often been separated (minute 31 on).

If you’re interested in academic journal articles on issues of immigrant families or youth, ask me: joanbartel@OfficeSoftSkills.com. I might know of some.