From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/French/Richard Jones
In the nineteenth century as in the twentieth, French immigrants were widely distributed among all types of occupations. In this regard, little distinguished them from the host society. For many, entry into the labour market proved unexpectedly painful and some return migration did exist. Others, particularly in the early years, chose to heed the siren call of America and moved south. For many French immigrants, integration into economic life in Quebec was facilitated, at least in theory, by the fact that these immigrants spoke the same language as the host society. Yet for the French, even in Quebec, lack of English often proved a handicap. Outside the province, the experience of the French was akin to that of other immigrant groups. For those who formed colonies in agricultural regions, possession of English was not immediately necessary for active participation in economic life. For those who settled outside these communities, a high level of fluency in English was needed for almost all employment.
Officials and publicists did attempt to attract immigrants possessing specific occupations and skills and to discourage others. Consul Martial Chevalier remarked that most arrivals in 1872 were workers while farmers were needed instead. There was no need for French professionals, and especially not lawyers, warned Gerbié in 1885. Certain types of workers were needed but no gardeners. Farmers were required to open new lands in the Lac Saint-Jean area “where they would have no direct or immediate contact with the Anglo-Saxon element.”
A report published by the Quebec commissioner of agriculture and colonization in 1888 suggested that suitable employment posed problems for many French immigrants whose expectations were too great. It also criticized attempts to open agricultural settlements in heavily wooded areas by workers unused to this type of labour. The Chambre de Commerce Française of Montreal, established in 1886 by the French consul and several Canadians, also issued frequent warnings to French emigrants interested in Canada. It saw possibilities for people with money to invest, for servants, and for farm labourers. The future was bleak for office workers or salespeople who did not know English, who would be condemned to vegetate in humble and low-paid occupations.
Historian Bernard Pénisson indicates that, for the years 1906–10, 42 percent of French immigrants to Canada were farmers, 16 percent were skilled workers, 11 percent were unskilled workers and day labourers. Most immigrants to the west obviously intended to farm although it is clear that some lacked the necessary experience and aptitudes. In 1935 the French consulate in Montreal estimated that 70 percent of French émigrés in Canada were farmers, 16 percent were in commerce and industry, and 8 percent were members of the clergy.
After World War II, French immigrants to Canada had, on the whole, higher levels of education than persons born in Canada and than many other immigrant groups. This situation can be explained by the fact that the French group was composed especially of independent immigrants, a group usually more highly educated than sponsored immigrants. In 1967, the only year in which more than 10,000 French immigrants came to Canada, the total number of workers was 5,927. Fully 1,649 (16.3 percent) intended to work in manufacturing; 1,182 (11.7 percent) were professionals; 785 (7.8 percent) worked in the service industry; 783 (7.7 percent) were in the construction industry; and 653 (6.5 percent) listed their occupation as “clerical.” Smaller groups included 116 managers (1.1 percent), 189 commercial workers (1.9 percent), 163 general labourers (1.6 percent), and 113 farmers (1.1 percent).
In the work world, most French immigrants came into immediate contact with the host society, there being few firms whose employees were generally from France. Studies in Quebec in the 1970s showed that French immigrants who knew English at the time of their arrival generally obtained higher salaries than those who were unilingual. One sector that attracted many French immigrants in this period was higher education. In the single year 1965–66, Université Laval in Quebec City had on its staff eighty-six teachers from France. The access of nonresidents to such posts became much more difficult when the federal government introduced restrictions to favour the hiring of Canadian residents.
The most serious difficulties that immigrants faced were usually economic. Some agricultural immigrants failed to establish themselves successfully and moved away in search of better conditions. One disgruntled French colonist from Saint-Hubert, Saskatchewan, sent a card from the United States to the patron of his former colony: “Everlasting curse for your deceit and treason against me. Bloody revenge will be sure.” Though the language was more threatening than usual, disappointments were apparently common.
Stories abound of immigrant workers who failed to find suitable employment: that of the optician from Toulouse working as a window-washer in an Edmonton hotel, that of the dentist from Seine-et-Oise who cleaned toilets in a Vancouver hospital because the dental profession was not open to foreigners. Some immigrants criticized the information distributed by Canadian immigration officials for painting too rosy a picture of life in Canada. A study conducted in 1954 for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration showed that most French immigrants expected to find stable employment with reasonable remuneration upon arrival. Disillusion was quite often the initial reaction, as first jobs were often unsatisfactory, skills did not match employment, and wages were below expectations.
Disappointment and disillusion in their varying degrees cannot be calculated statistically. We do know that associations of French immigrants such as the Union Nationale Française in Montreal were commonly approached by penniless immigrants who solicited immediate material assistance and even financial aid to return to France. The Union was particularly active during the Great Depression of the 1930s. In the 1960s, small welfare payments became available for immigrants awaiting their first job. One immigrant in 1968 recounted her experience: “My husband had been given an appointment by an employer on the day on which he was to claim our cheque from the immigration services. When I went to ask for the cheque with my two children, age 4 and age 5, the clerk told me: ‘Madam, how do I know your husband isn’t working and that this cheque isn’t simply money to buy you some little extra?’” And then, in reaction to the woman’s indignation, the clerk continued: “We didn’t ask you to come. This policy can’t continue. There isn’t even enough work for Canadians, and it’s not my fault you were naive enough to come here.” The woman broke down in tears, though she did receive the cheque.
