Ryley Nevills
Ms. Kurtz
ENG 3U
May 29, 2016
Life without a kilt:
How
immigration changed my attire
If my ancestors hadn’t
immigrated to Canada, I might be writing this blog in a kilt, with the haunting
sounds of the bagpipe playing in the background…well, not actually, but my life
would definitely have been different from what I know.
As you can probably
guess, my ancestors immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1953. Specifically,
my mom’s grandparents immigrated from Glasgow, Scotland to Hamilton, Ontario,
bringing with them 3 of their 6 children; the other 3 were grown and married by
1953. The 3 children they brought with them included my maternal grandmother
Sheena Brown. The older siblings eventually followed their parents and also
immigrated to Canada a few years later. My maternal great-grandma, Mary Brown,
was actually born in Ireland but was raised in Scotland and always considered
Scotland to be home. My maternal great grandpa, Robert Brown was born in
Glasgow. My mom’s paternal grandparents were both born on the east coast of
Canada and their families had been settled there since the late 1800’s. My
dad’s paternal and maternal grandparents all have Scottish roots, so the common
denominator here appears to be Scotland which is why I will focus on my
Scottish roots for the purpose of this blog.
My maternal great
grandfather, Robert Brown, owned his own business, a limo service, in Glasgow,
in the early 1950s. However, unemployment was high in Glasgow in 1953, ranging
from 28-30% (Scottish Affairs, Hasard , 1953). This factor and a weak economy
led to poor business for Robert Brown and he had heard from friends who had
immigrated to Canada that there were better financial opportunities to be had
across the pond. He heard about a steel company in Hamilton, Ontario who were
looking to hire and who offered good wages and benefits. Since things were
looking bleak in Scotland, Robert decided to make the move in the hopes of
providing a better life for his family. Meanwhile in Canada things were
booming. The following excerpt from a magazine article describes the atmosphere
of that time period: “After a decade of
depression and 6 years of war, Canadians are bursting with optimism in the
1950s. It is a time of prosperity and mass consumerism for most. Products
Canadians want are readily available, and Canadians have the money to buy them,
and they do” (Vincent, 2001). No wonder immigrants were attracted to Canada
during that time period, and my ancestors were no exception. So Robert Brown
set off for Canada, solo and by ship, in search of a job and a home in the new,
promised land. A few months later he had secured a job at Stelco, where he
continued to work for 25 years, before his eventual retirement. He purchased a
home, and sent for his family.
Although it took
some time, the family settled in to their new home and became accustomed to the
Canadian way of life. My great grandma found employment at St. Joseph’s
Hospital in Hamilton and the kids were enrolled in school and within no time
had lost their Scottish accents. The major push/pull factors in the decision to
come to Canada included 1) the ability to provide a better life financially for
the family (push); 2) the 3 children and numerous extended family left behind
in Scotland (pull); 3) the excitement of the prosperity and future job
opportunities for the children (push); 4) the business that my great
grandfather had to leave behind (pull). However, the decision was ultimately
made to immigrate to Canada and the move was a successful one for my ancestors,
but what would my life now look like had they remained in Scotland?
One difference would be the ability to get a part
time job. As the charts above show, the unemployment rate for young people in
Glasgow is substantially higher than it is here in Canada. In addition, the
cost of living in Glasgow is for the most part higher than it is here in
Toronto, but wages are not higher, therefore one would assume that the overall
quality of life would be somewhat less.
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Indices Difference
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|
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Consumer Prices in Glasgow are 12.32%
higher than in Toronto
|
|
|
Consumer Prices Including Rent
in Glasgow are 0.36% higher than in Toronto
|
|
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Rent Prices in Glasgow are 23.18%
lower than in Toronto
|
|
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Restaurant Prices in Glasgow are 35.04%
higher than in Toronto
|
|
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Groceries Prices in Glasgow are 2.91%
lower than in Toronto
|
|
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Local Purchasing Power in Glasgow is 5.54%
lower than in Toronto
|
|
Also, had my ancestors remained in Glasgow, I would
now be living in a city of over 600,000 people (UK population, 2016) instead of a town of about 40,000. That would
mean a different lifestyle entirely, faster paced and more hectic. No four
wheelers, no dirt bikes, no fields. The most popular sport in Scotland is
football (aka soccer) and ice hockey and box lacrosse are not popular, so the
sports I’ve played for my entire life I would never have been exposed to. Finally
there’s the kilt issue…2 of my great uncles who were married in Scotland were
married in kilts, piped down the aisle in bagpipes. If I lived there, that
might have been my fate one day, so I can honestly say I’m very grateful to my
great grandpa, Robert Brown, for taking the chance and coming to Canada, where
men don’t wear kilts, even on their wedding day!
Works
Cited:
Vincent, Mary, Canadians At Work,
Home & Play, 2001
Sheena Brown , personal interview, May 2016
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