Migration, Arrival, and Settlement

A recent study of Filipino immigrants to Canada found that three out of four had migrated within the Philippines before they came to this country. The primary reasons were to study and to look for work. The central Visayan and Ilocos coastal regions and some provinces in northern Mindanao have been major areas of out-migration. Both the Rizal province of Luzon, with its proximity to the country’s largest city, Manila, and the southern island of Mindanao have attracted substantial numbers of migrants. Manila has tended to draw women who are single and predominantly blue-collar workers. In contrast, Mindanao seems to have been more attractive to married men with families. Those who migrated have predominantly been young adults ranging in age from fifteen to twenty-nine years. Movement within the Philippines has also been characterized by student migration to such centres of learning as Manila, where a large number of college and universities are concentrated.

Filipinos who were interviewed in 1982 gave a number of reasons for immigrating to Canada: “material and financial security,” “to join family and loved ones,” “to ensure job security,” “travel and adventure,” and “to have peaceful and orderly life.” Economic factors have played a significant role. Many of those who have come to Canada have been professionals or trained technicians in their productive years. Despite their qualifications, they received little financial compensation in the home country. The economic climate there in recent years has been such that job creation has seriously lagged behind the number of qualified workers, and there has been massive unemployment. Political problems at home were another motive for Filipinos to leave, because ever since the achievement of independence in 1946, discontent with the government has been expressed by a rise in student activism, Communist-influenced insurgency, and rebellion among the Moros (Muslims) in the southern Philippines.

The Filipino presence in Canada is a relatively recent phenomenon that has gained considerable momentum only in the last quarter of the twentieth century. In official records up to 1967, immigrants from the Philippines were not separately listed, but included in a general Asian category. The first Filipinos did not arrive until after World War II. Even then, the numbers were small: between 1946 and 1964 no more than one hundred settled in Canada. Large-scale immigration began in 1965, when 1,767 Filipinos arrived in one year alone. Despite the recent nature of the Filipino presence in Canada, a relatively consistent flow of immigrants has now placed them among the seventeen largest ethnic communities in the country. Between 1971 and 1992 immigration from the Philippines has averaged 4 to 6 percent of the total annual intake, making that country one of the top ten sources of newcomers to Canada. According to the 1991 census, 174,975 persons indicated they were wholly (157,250) or partially (17,725) of Filipino origin. If the present immigration trends continue, the Filipinos may soon become one of the fastest growing communities in the country.

Filipino immigration to Canada has followed a pattern quite different from that of other Asian groups. Unlike the first Chinese, Japanese, and East Indian immigrants, who were males recruited to build railways, work in sawmills, clear the land, and work on farms, early Filipino arrivals were predominantly female. Women accounted for seven out of ten immigrants before 1970. They came to take positions in nursing, medical technology, and secretarial and clerical services. Table 1 shows that the Filipino-Canadian population is relatively young; a little over 20 percent are under fifteen years of age and slightly more than 6 percent are sixty-five and over. Those of working age, between twenty-five and sixty-four years, constitute around 60 percent. Overall, roughly 40 percent of Filipinos in Canada are male and 60 percent females.

Initially, Filipinos came to Canada primarily by way of the United States. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a number of nurses who were participants in the American-Philippine Exchange Program were unable to renew their visas. They learned that there was a demand for their skills in Toronto and southern Ontario, and the prospect of working there provided a desirable alternative to returning to the home country. Some crossed the border in the hope that they would be able to apply for re-entry to the United States in due course. Eventually, some succeeded in returning to the United States, but scores of others remained in this country. Among the Filipinos, mostly females, who arrived in Toronto in the middle 1960s were nurses, laboratory technicians, office workers, and some medical doctors. Very few had come directly from the Philippines. They were the beginning of a steady influx of Filipinos from the United States, though by the late sixties and early seventies, newcomers were also arriving directly from the Philippines.

The introduction of the point system for independent immigrants in 1967 contributed to an increase in the numbers of Filipinos entering the country. This is because their occupational skills were in demand. A majority of the newcomers were health professionals, particularly nurses. The new policy set the stage for arrivals directly from the Philippines, either as independent immigrants or as sponsored dependents or nominated relatives. Between 1967 and 1973, a total of 26,796 Filipinos entered Canada. Of this number, 16,338 came directly from the Philippines and 10,468 via the United States.

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Sources: Computed from Statistics Canada, Ethnic Origins (Ottawa, 1993), 1991 census.

*These figures represent Filipinos of single-ethnic origin only.

Source: 1991 census.

Since the beginning of large-scale Filipino immigration to Canada in the 1960s, two distinct waves can be identified. The first, from the late 1960s to the middle 1970s, consisted mainly of young female professionals and reflected the emphasis of the point system on the particular job skills and training in demand at the time. The second wave, which began in the late 1970s and continued into the 1980s, was characterized by a more balanced age and gender composition. It was composed of a larger number of sponsored relatives and reflected a change in Canadian immigration policy, which now placed greater emphasis on family reunification. The occupations represented in the second wave were also more diverse, and these newcomers were less likely to settle in the Toronto area than those who preceded them. Another difference between the two groups was that most of the first wave had migrated as individuals while those in the later influx were part of a chain migration in that they joined family members who had arrived earlier. With relatives in Canada to assist them and provide accommodation, these newcomers took advantage of the opportunity to improve their economic position.

From the outset, among the children under fifteen, boys slightly outnumbered girls, whereas in the largest category of immigrants, those in the age range from twenty-five to sixty-four, women outnumbered men approximately two to one. This pattern has been consistently sustained over time. Another significant change in the composition of immigrants has been a steady increase in the numbers of elderly Filipinos, starting in the late 1970s and reflecting the greater emphasis in immigration policy on family reunification. It reached a peak in the early 1980s, when close to 45 percent of newcomers were sixty years of age and over. Among the older immigrants, women have also outnumbered men. Coming to a new country in old age has posed a somewhat different challenge to that faced by immigrants who entered Canada in their younger years.

Filipinos have tended to concentrate in the province of Ontario, particularly within Metropolitan Toronto. Since the late 1960s, approximately 50 percent of the annual intake settled in that province. British Columbia has experienced a steady growth of Filipinos from around 10 percent of new arrivals in the late 1960s to close to 20 percent in more recent years. Manitoba reached its peak in the early 1970s to the early 1980s, largely because of the arrival of garment workers recruited to work in factories in Winnipeg. From then on, there has been a general decline in the number of Filipinos choosing the province as their destination. Starting in the late 1970s, Alberta has attracted 10 to 13 percent of Filipinos every year. Among the prairie provinces, Saskatchewan has proved the least attractive, claiming roughly 1 to 3 percent a year. Although Quebec was a destination for early arrivals, it has gradually lost its appeal. The Atlantic provinces, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories have never been a popular choice for Filipinos. The annual intake in each of these provinces and territories has been less than 1 percent. The six provinces with the largest Filipino populations, according to the 1991 census, are shown in Table 2.

On the whole, Filipinos have settled in large urban centres rather than in towns or rural districts. According to the 1991 census, the three cities with the greatest concentrations of Filipinos (single and multiple responses combined) are Toronto (72,000), Vancouver (28,000), and Winnipeg (23,000). Other Filipino communities are found in Montreal (11,000), Calgary (9,000), Edmonton (8,000), and Ottawa (2,500). Southern Ontario, including the cities of London, Hamilton, St Catharines, Niagara, Kitchener, and Windsor, accounts for close to another 7,000. Regina and Saskatoon have about 600 and 900 Filipinos respectively. Over 1,000 have settled in Victoria on the west coast and around 400 in Halifax and St John’s in the east. Within urban areas, Filipinos tend to disperse. Their choice of neighbourhood is based less on ethnic consideration than on their income level and on proximity to their workplace and available transportation. Thus, the more affluent professionals can be found in new suburbs together with well-to-do non-Filipinos.