[News article with some stories from foreign-born MPs in Canada on their early immigrant experiences.]

Foreign-born MPs recall arrival in Canada
The Canadian Press, June 29, 2006

Back when Canada was just a babe, dozens of the men who sat in the House of Commons were born in Ireland, England and Scotland, with a few Americans and French thrown in to the mix.

Fast forward 139 years, and parliamentarians hold birth certificates from countries as diverse as Uganda, Haiti and Malta, a reflection of the immigration patterns that shaped the country.

Currently, 41 of 308 MPs are foreign born. Some of their families escaped political persecution overseas. Others came to Canada for a better economic life. Here are a few recollections from MPs on coming to Canada:

Pablo Rodriguez, Quebec Liberal MP:

Rodriguez came to Montreal from Argentina in 1974 when he was eight years old.

‘My dad was fighting against the military regime, he was a lawyer and also ran for governor in a province north of Buenos Aires. At a certain point the military said they had to eliminate him. So they blew up our house, they put a bomb in the house. We were all injured, but we survived. They also put bombs in two of our cars but they missed. So we knew it was just a question of time, but they were going to get us.

‘One night we left, with five pieces of luggage. We arrived here and we knew one family. But I didn’t know the language. I didn’t know English or French, I only knew Spanish. I didn’t even know what snow was because we came from the North. Our whole life changed on that day. We had to start from scratch.

‘We stayed with a friend’s family. We didn’t have any money. And everything was decided very fast. So we left with the minimum. My mom still had the impression we could go back one day, but it took 15 years to be able to go back to Argentina.

‘At that age you adapt fast, so I started playing hockey that same year. Both my parents had university diplomas but they weren’t recognized, so (my dad) had to work night shifts in factories in Montreal, and my mom would go clean houses.’

Tony Clement, Ontario Conservative MP, Minister of Health:

Clement arrived in Toronto in 1965 from Manchester, England at age four. His father was a Greek Cypriot and his mother English.

‘We came out of Terminal One (at the Toronto airport). I always regretted when we tore down the old Terminal One we didn’t have some sort of ceremony, because hundreds of thousands of people came through Terminal One.

‘I remember it being very strange to be in another country from where you were from, even if it was just overseas from England. I remember in the first couple months of being here going into a store and asking for an ice lolly instead of a popsicle, and the store owner looking at me as if I was from Mars. I very quickly learned the word for popsicle.’

Deepak Obhrai, Alberta Conservative MP:

Obhrai was 27 years old when he came to Calgary from Tanzania.

‘What was interesting was the big roads, and open spaces and very few people around. My family and friends were around and told me to expect tough conditions in the job market and challenges coming up. There was a tremendous amount of discrimination during the time I came into this country. What had happened was that the first wave of Indian immigrants had already come from East Africa, so we started feeling this discrimination factor. At that time there was no such thing as immigrant settlement. You were out on your own.’

Olivia Chow, Ontario NDP MP:

Chow came to Toronto from Hong Kong at age 13 in 1970.

‘I remember watching a hockey game. I had never seen one before.

‘We lived with a family. The kids were born in Canada, so I hung out with them. And then I want to Jarvis Collegiate in Grade Nine, and hung out with friends who were also born in Canada, of Chinese descent.

‘I spoke some English, so I didn’t go to ESL classes, but in English class I remember being asked to stand to read To Kill a Mockingbird and I couldn’t read very well. It was really embarrassing. I just remember it was so embarrassing, as a teenager, standing up in front of the class, it was slightly disastrous. I think I stopped talking in class, and sat in the back of the class for several years after that.