17°c Clear
25°c Chance of thundershowers
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Time right to look at immigrants, their legacies
The Free Press newsroom has been working for the past few months on an ambitious editorial project.
We've been talking to Africans in Manitoba (and Manitobans in Africa) for a special All-Africa edition of the paper, which you'll see Wednesday, Jan. 18, and online (at winnipegfreepress.com).
-
Africa is one complex and gloriously unmanageable 'theme' to choose to kick off our 2012 series, Our City Our World, which is why it took up the whole newspaper on Jan. 18.
-
Hard-working Chinese immigrants, once banned, have risen to the highest echelons of Manitoba.
-
German immigrants have played a surprisingly large role in the development of the province.
-
Arriving in Manitoba in the 1870s unprepared for a brutal winter, Icelandic settlers and their descendants have left their mark on our province.
-
Industrious Italians rose from peasant roots and adapted to Canadian society by mastering L’art d’arrangiarsi (the art of getting by).
-
It used to be the only time Prairie folks met Spanish-speaking people was when they vacationed down south. More often now, they're the people next door.
-
When the first Middle East families immigrated to Manitoba, mosques were unheard of and even yogurt was exotic. But now all that has changed.
-
A booming Filipino community nearly 60,000 strong has transformed Manitoba.
-
As the city's Indo-Canadian population experiences dramatic growth, its pioneers recall their warm Winnipeg welcome.
-
Scarred by Holodomor, the Ukrainian community helped shape Winnipeg's cultural mosaic.
-
Manitoba's history is built on a foundation provided by settlers from the U.K., who came here seeking better lives.
Ambitious is a nice way to describe it, actually. Quixotic might be more accurate.
Africa is one complex and gloriously unmanageable "theme" to choose to kick off our 2012 series, Our City Our World, which is why it takes up the whole newspaper. (The rest of Our City Our World will continue in FYI sections, beginning Feb. 25.)
But we chose Africa because Winnipeg sponsors more refugees than any other community in Canada, and Africans are our newest and fastest-growing group of refugees.
We chose it because a number of powerful NGOs -- the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Canadian Lutheran World Relief, Mennonite Central Committee -- are headquartered in Winnipeg and have been making a difference in Africa for decades.
We chose it because francophones from Africa have dramatically rejuvenated our French quarter in St. Boniface in recent years.
And all those factors add up to a lot of Winnipeggers with their hands and hearts in Africa.
Senator Romeo Dallaire has added his voice to the edition, which was initially inspired by local music producer and activist Darcy Ataman, who works with Dallaire in Congo.
Themed newspapers are rare. But we like to try new things at the Winnipeg Free Press. As one of the last independent papers in Canada, we have the ability to take risks other papers might not. We were the first metropolitan daily in North America to put out the themed paper on breast cancer, and we expect to make next week's issue worth your while.
It's truly a significant year to look at immigrants and their legacy in this community.
Two centuries ago, in 1812, the first big wave of European immigrants, the Selkirk Settlers, arrived at the Red River Colony in what is now known as Winnipeg.
One century ago, in 1912, Winnipeg was the fastest-growing city in Canada, due to a flood of immigrants flowing into the province on the railway.
And almost precisely 50 years ago, Jan. 19, 1962, Immigration minister Ellen Fairclough (the first woman to serve as a federal cabinet minister) tabled regulations in the House of Commons that would end racial discrimination in Canada's immigration policy, and open this nation's doors to the world.
Over the next year, in a series of monthly FYI sections, we will look at many of the immigrants who now call Winnipeg home -- why they came, why they stayed and their impact on our community.
Next month? The Philippines.
margo.goodhand@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 14, 2012 A19
More Analysis
- Back to Top
- Return to Analysis
More Analysis
(1 of 33 articles for this week)
Crazy Pete's an off-the-wall way of life
3:18 AM 0THOMPSON -- Ask Peter Zaworonok what the weirdest thing he sells is and he needs some clarification.
"It depends what you ...
Poll
Most Popular Analysis
- The Brazilian middle class awakens
- Hike to PST will bite Manitobans hard
- Hidden no more
- Don't let flood-evacuee problems kill the vision
- Canadian to expose alien collaboration with U.S.
- Bernanke averted a global depression
- Smart people SLEEP LATE
- Mau Maus win 50-year-long battle
- Firm sues governments over intellectual property
- Pimachiowin Aki is exceptional heritage
- Too rural, too white, too male
- Canadian to expose alien collaboration with U.S.
- Quebec's nationalism run amok
- Smart people SLEEP LATE
- Beauty and the (mortgage) Beast
- The Brazilian middle class awakens
- Was east side misled by NDP government?
- Expense scandal dogs Nova Scotia's fading NDP government
- The view of Bipole III from Hart Mountain
- Appalling rates of public-sector absenteeism must be addressed
- Canadian to expose alien collaboration with U.S.
- Smart people SLEEP LATE
- Key of Bart: Video Killed The Mayor Who Hates The Toronto Star
- Too rural, too white, too male
- A sorry fact -- Katz finds it hard to apologize
- Ford puts Toronto on the map at last
- Manitoba Hydro's halcyon days are gone
- The key of Bart
- Ford can't resign as mayor soon enough
- Obama gets ‘revenge’ with Rice appointment
- Hidden no more
- Smart people SLEEP LATE
- Gadgets in classrooms are gimmicks
- Work, not retirement, saves lives
- Don't let flood-evacuee problems kill the vision
- UNESCO's concerns unrelated to Bipole III
- Smart people SLEEP LATE
- Shed more light on JTF2 secrets
- Hydro must serve citizens, not government
- The view of Bipole III from Hart Mountain
- Aging makes women proud — and loud
- Was east side misled by NDP government?
- Quebec's nationalism run amok
- Hidden no more
- Work, not retirement, saves lives
- No bailouts required for Pollock's
- Smart people SLEEP LATE
- Teachers should fast-track inclusive plan
- Manitoba Hydro's halcyon days are gone
- Hydro must serve citizens, not government
- Shocking exclusion
- Gadgets in classrooms are gimmicks
- Canadian to expose alien collaboration with U.S.
- ‘Stand your ground’ case not what it seemed
- Hydro plans will be scrutinized in public
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
Have Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?
Login SubscribeHave Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?
SubscribeThe Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.