From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Guatemalans/Lisa Kowalchuk
Trends in Guatemalan immigration to Canada in the 1980s and 1990s were partly the result of the genocidal wave of state terrorist activity in the Guatemalan countryside that began in the late 1970s and partly the result of changes in Canadian immigration policies. Under Canada’s revised Immigration Act of 1976, “refugee” became a category under which people were regularly permitted to enter the country. As a result, immigration from Guatemala more than doubled from 880 in 1975–80 to over 2,000 in 1981–85.
In an attempt to manage the numbers of Guatemalans arriving in Canada, a set of immigration policies that tried to achieve a balance between strictness and leniency was devised in March 1984. To obtain a visitor’s visa, Guatemalans were now required to apply first at the Canadian embassy in Guatemala City. At the same time, Canada began to accept refugee claims at the embassy there, so that, for the first time, Guatemalans could receive refugee status within their own country. As well, special criteria were introduced for other categories of Guatemalan immigrants, on humanitarian grounds. Finally, Canada added Guatemala to the list of countries considered too dangerous for deportation, a ban that was in effect until 1987.
The year after Canada introduced special measures for Guatemalans, immigration from that country climbed dramatically until 1986, and it has never been less than double the pre1984 annual rate. The numbers fell sharply between 1987 and 1991, although it is not clear why, since human-rights violations in Guatemala continued in that period. In 1991 the number of immigrants rose again to a new peak of more than 2,000.
One of the most important factors behind Canada’s attractiveness to Guatemalans has been the United States’ tendency to reject the vast majority of refugee claims from rightwing dictatorships, including Guatemala, whose government the United States has generally supported.
According to the 1991 Canadian census, the four provinces with the largest concentration of people of Guatemalan ethnic origin (single and multiple response) are: Quebec (2,180), Ontario (1,665), British Columbia (645), and Alberta (210). Impressionistic evidence suggests that Guatemalans tend to settle in the provincial capitals and other large cities, undoubtedly because there are large numbers of Latin Americans already living in these cities, and consequently there are a number of government and community organizations oriented to Hispanic immigrants.
