Politics

In Chile politics is part of everyday life and both men and women are equally and actively involved. As discussed earlier, the Chilean political situation was one of the main causes of Chilean immigration to Canada, and, after they arrived in Canada, many Chileans maintained their commitment to politics. The most important leftist political parties in Chile organized branches in different Canadian cities and at the national level. They made contact with both Canadian organizations and other ethnic organizations that shared their concerns. They also established good relationships with Canadian political organizations that were supportive of the cause of the Chilean immigrants, primarily sectors of the Liberal Party, the New Democratic Party (NDP), and some trade unions.

By the end of 1974 most Canadian cities had several Chilean political organizations, each representing one of the leftist political parties in Chile. Many of these political organizations joined to create umbrella bodies that could coordinate and facilitate activities centred on the defence of human rights in Chile and the promotion of the Chilean cause in Canada. The Toronto Chilean Association, which attracted not only a large number of Chileans but also Canadians interested in the Chilean cause, played a central role in the life of the Toronto Chilean community during the late 1970s and early 1980s, organizing political rallies, cultural activities, and even social gatherings. The Association de Chiliens de Montréal played a similar role during the period 1973–80. In some cities several of these coordinating organizations coexisted: for example, the Chile Committee and the Chilean Association in Regina.

Most of these political groups and coordinating organizations had disappeared by the late 1980s as a result of the democratization of Chilean society and, no less important, the increasing disenchantment of many Chileans with partisan politics. One of the last attempts to re-create them was the Council Chilien de Québec, an organization that was founded in 1990 and existed until 1993. Many Chileans, however, still maintain their commitment to politics and are active at different levels in the political process, usually in support of the NDP or the Liberals. There have been a few political candidates of Chilean origin in the national, provincial, and municipal elections that have taken place during the last years. One of them, Osvaldo NÞô ez, was elected in 1993 to the Canadian parliament as representative of the constituency of Bourassa, Quebec, for the Bloc Québécois. Two Chileans have been elected as public school trustees, one in Toronto and the other in Thompson, Manitoba.

One of the few social problems of the Chilean community is related to politics: the problem of stress among those who were tortured in Chile. Studies carried out in Toronto by psychiatrists indicate that many of these persons suffer from serious post-traumatic stress as a reaction to torture. The Toronto-based Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture, the second such institution in the world, was created in 1983 as a response to this problem in the Chilean community.