From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Filipinos/Anita Beltran Chen
The wave of Filipinos that arrived in the late 1960s was largely made up of the professional class. A majority were health professionals, particularly nurses, physicians, surgeons, medical and dental technologists, therapists, laboratory technicians, and the like. There were also engineers, physical and biological scientists, university professors, teachers, and accountants among the group. Those that immigrated to Canada between 1972 and 1982 were characterized by a higher proportion of clerical workers (bookkeepers, cashiers, stenographers, and typists) and manufacturing and construction workers. The professional category declined gradually over the years, reaching its lowest point in the mid-1980s; however, it started to grow again early in the following decade.
Comparative studies carried out in 1980, 1981, and 1982 show that Filipinos were consistently able to find work more quickly and experienced a shorter period of unemployment than the overall average for newcomers to Canada. The recruitment of garment workers to Winnipeg during the early 1970s provides a case study of the entrance of working-class Filipinos into the market. Most were from the greater Manila area and the nearby province of Rizal. They had worked in garment factories prior to coming to Canada. Having acquired some familiarity with urban living and the industrial system in the Philippines, they were to a degree prepared for employment in North America. They maximized their contacts with fellow garment workers and succeeded in forming a close-knit community with a culture similar to that of their home towns. This community developed into a subculture quite separate from other Filipinos, who belong to a somewhat higher occupational class.
Almost one out of three Filipinos admitted to Canada in the sample years 1987 and 1992 was listed under the service category. This statistic suggests that semi-skilled or unskilled workers in the service sector are now replacing the professionals who were typical of the early wave. Yet such is not the case. Those admitted as service workers from the Philippines are mostly employed as nannies and domestics. But they are not illiterate girls from rural areas; rather, a majority of them have had some college training, if not a college or university degree from the home country. Since domestic service occupations are almost the only ones in demand in Canada and Canadians are generally not prepared to take them, they provide the only basis under which Filipinos are admitted into the country. These newcomers take jobs far below their educational qualifications and training because there are no other options available to them. In Thunder Bay, Ontario, for instance, a number of domestic workers are attending evening classes, including computer training, during their off-duty hours to prepare themselves for better-paying and more respected jobs when their contracts with their present employers are terminated. Comparable data on the educational achievement of female domestics from England, Jamaica, and the Philippines indicate that the largest number with university degrees come from the Philippines.
Canada’s policy with regard to foreign domestic workers came into effect in November 1981. Such workers are issued only temporary work permits. The introduction of this new category ushered in a steady stream of domestics from the Philippines, which during the past several years has contributed the highest proportion among the various countries sending such workers to Canada. By 1990 over half of the total number of foreign domestics admitted to this country were from the Philippines. Altogether, between 1982 and 1990, about 8,000 entered Canada under temporary work permits. If those who did not come with such authorization are added, the actual number of Filipino domestic workers in the country would be even higher. The sociodemographic profile of Filipino domestics shows that they are overwhelmingly female (98 percent), single (75 to 80 percent), and in their mid to late twenties, although a substantial number are in their thirties or forties. Some 15 to 20 percent are married, and a small number separated, divorced, or widowed.
The Filipino domestic worker is economically linked to family members in the homeland in that she remits to them part of her earnings in Canada. This is the case for both single and married domestics. For example, a study of domestic workers in Montreal revealed that 96 percent of the respondents provided either full (23 percent) or partial (73 percent) financial support for their family in the Philippines. In addition, assistance is extended by sponsoring a relative to come to Canada once the newcomer has attained immigrant or citizenship status.
Advertisements that appear in Filipino newspapers published in the large metropolitan areas, such as Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, provide an insight into the community’s business profile. Particularly heavily advertised are services that ship parcels and other consignments to the Philippines. There are a variety of other enterprises, such as the remittance of money in Philippine pesos, loan and credit services, real estate and insurance agencies, travel agencies, video and movie rentals, video producers, florists, beauty and hairstyling shops, jewellery stores, and car dealerships. Professional services are also advertised in community newspapers, such as legal counselling, medical and dental offices, accounting, computer sales and consulting, employment agencies for domestics and nannies, and various community activities. Especially prominent are businesses that deal in food, such as restaurants, grocery stores, and bakeries. Many stores carry food items — frozen, canned, dried, or fresh – imported from the Philippines. A well-known bakery with several stores in Manila named Goldilocks has branches in Vancouver and Toronto. In order to draw attention to their Filipino origin, restaurants and grocery stores carry such names as Casa Manila (Vancouver and Toronto), Manila Sunset (Toronto), Mabuhay Restaurant (Toronto), and Manila Mini Mart (Toronto), to mention just a few.
The early wave of immigrants was primarily destined to join the labour force. Almost a reverse trend followed in the mid-1970s to mid-1980s, when nearly two out of every three Philippine immigrants were dependents who had come to join earlier arrivals, thus placing a heavy economic burden on their sponsors. By the early 1990s the picture had changed again, so that a proportionately higher number of workers, as opposed to non-workers, was evident once more. In order to attract foreign business people, Employment and Immigration Canada in 1986 introduced a new category of immigrant, the entrepreneur. This policy encourages newcomers whose background and experience is in the management of small to medium-sized enterprises. Entrepreneurs from the Philippines account for only 3 to 5 percent of the total number admitted to the country; they are likely to be Philippine Chinese seeking to expand their business interests in Canada.
