The Migration and Arrival of the Maltese into Canada

MIGRATION and ARRIVAL of the Maltese into Canada

From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Maltese/

Initially, migrants were directed to other British colonies in the Mediterranean and the West Indies, but the Maltese themselves preferred the coastal regions of nearby northern Africa, where an estimated 36,000 had settled by 1885. An influx of cheap labour from other parts of Africa eventually made that continent less attractive, so that by the last decades of the nineteenth century the Maltese had begun emigrating to Britain, Australia, and North America. Unemployment in 1907, resulting from the end of a major construction project at the harbour and dockyard in Malta, stimulated an emigration movement. A significant number of workers left for Australia, the United States, and Canada, assisted by a volunteer group, the Malta Emigration Committee. These three countries were the preferred destinations because the Maltese believed that their knowledge of English would be an asset. An interest in Canada may also have been stimulated by the appointment in 1911 of the Duke of Connaught as governor general, since he had lived in Malta as commander-in-chief of the British High Command in the Mediterranean. However, at this time Canadian immigration policy restricted the entry of the Maltese on the ground that they were not of northern European background, despite their status as British subjects. A small number were admitted, but the racial issue would continue to be an obstacle until the 1960s.