Canada and the British immigrantWeaver, Emily P. (Emily Poynton)
History
Canada and the British immigrant
Weaver, Emily P. (Emily Poynton)
Canada -- Description and travel; Canada -- Economic conditions
I have written much of resources and opportunities, but have endeavoured
also not to neglect mention of disadvantages, for Canada is no “earthly
paradise,” but only “a good land and a large,” where there is scope for
many types of human beings to develop physically, mentally and
spiritually, as some of them have not room to do in the crowded centres
of population in the Old World.
I should like to add that my thought always in every chapter has been of
the British immigrant, present or to come; and this must be my excuse
for dealing with such a familiar subject as Canada in a way that may
seem to those who dwell therein to be marked both by sins of omission
and of superfluity.
I have endeavoured to draw my facts and figures from reliable sources
only. I have obtained them largely from government reports; but desire
to acknowledge my indebtedness also to Mr. Frank Yeigh’s valuable
statistical compilation, “Five Thousand Facts about Canada,” and to some
of the special numbers of the _Globe_ (Toronto) which, from time to
time, publishes comprehensive reviews of conditions in the different
provinces.
The black-and-white illustrations, supplementing Mr. Copping’s beautiful
sketches in colour, are from photographs gathered from various sources.
Not a few of them, however, I owe to the courtesy of the Department of
the Interior, Ottawa, the Canadian Pacific, the Canadian Northern, and
the Grand Trunk Railway Companies.
Before the reader passes on to the book itself, I should like to add a
word of warning. In the short interval between the writing of these
pages and the revising of the proofs, conditions in Canada with regard
to the demand for certain classes of labour have changed owing to the
financial stringency of 1913. I believe the set-back is only temporary,
and there is little probability of any decrease in the demand for men to
work on the farms, for the prices of all agricultural products are high
enough to warrant, if it were possible, a very largely increased output.
Moreover, the harvest of the year just passed was extraordinarily
bountiful and encouraging for the future.
But, for the next few months at least, persons who propose to seek work
in the towns, at building and other constructive trades, or in shops or
offices, would be wise to make very sure of employment in Canada, before
giving up work at home. The cost of living (including house-rent, fuel,
and food) is very high here; and the immigrant who arrives in slack
times may have a long season of waiting for work. But he who comes out
when work is plentiful is in an entirely different position, as he
should be able to lay by something for a time of less general
prosperity.
I would say to all prospective immigrants—_make very particular
inquiries as to conditions in the special line of work you intend to
follow before leaving home_, as this may save much disappointment and
even hardship.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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