SPANISH EXPLORERS led by Christopher Columbus initiated significant European contact with the island of Hispaniola in 1492. Situated in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Puerto Rico, the island became a Spanish colony, but in 1697 Spain ceded the western third of the island to France. Finally, in 1804 the French colony declared its right to self-government and became Haiti, the first independent Black republic.

By the end of the nineteenth century, political anarchy and economic instability had forced many Haitians to look beyond their home in search of work. At first, they ventured to the Dominican Republic, on the eastern part of the island, and then to Cuba. Between 1950 and 1970, artisans, domestics, and other workers gradually expanded the circle of Haitian labour outposts in the Caribbean to include the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Curaçao, Aruba, Martinique, and Guadeloupe. During this period, Haitians also made their way to the United States where over 200,000 settled in New York City alone. Still others gravitated to Brazil, France, and Italy. The 1970s witnessed the beginning of large-scale immigration of Haitians to Canada. Today, over  90 percent of all Haitian Canadians live in the province of Quebec, with Montreal being the home base to by far the largest Haitian community with a grand total exceeding 70,000 persons. The vast majority reside in the city’s down-town core and the northeastern suburbs. Other Haitian communities in Canada include Ottawa-Hull and Toronto.

Haitian immigrants fulfilled many of Quebec’s economic needs. The presence of Haitian doctors, nurses, teachers, and journalists coincided with the Quiet Revolution. The revolution against both American and English-speaking Canadian economic and cultural domination of Quebec was to be the stairway that led to success for these skilled, French-speaking immigrants.

Filling out the community’s labour ranks, skilled Haitian tradespeople and service workers also contributed to the industrial and commercial development of urban Quebec. And since 1987, Haitian restaurants and travel agencies, clothing outlets, book and music stores – created initially for the needs of the immigrant group – became both places of employment and the source of good things for other inhabitants of Montreal and the inner suburbs.

The economic development of the community was paralleled by the growth of Haitian institutional life. Great gathering places eased Haitian passage into society at large. Haitians formed a number of associations and organizations that first answered socio-economic and settlement problems and then helped newcomers obtain access to government and education services. Other associations, acting as agents of the modern concept of Haitian ethnicity, gave texture and definition to group identity. Haitian immigrants preserved Créole, their day-to-day language, through the establishment of drama and folklore groups.

Literature published by research and information centres, scholarly journals, popular magazines, and specialized works on Haiti and the diaspora contributed to the preservation of Créole. Community newspapers, radio programs, painting, sculpture, and music also exercised their right to define their own Haitian existence.

In addition, Haitians made a number of solid contributions both to Quebec and Canadian life in general. In politics, Jean Alfred, a Parti Québécois member of Haitian origin, represented Papineau riding in Quebec’s National Assembly, 1976 and 1980, and was Quebec’s first Black M.N.A. Many Haitians participate in the political life of Quebec at the grassroots by serving on a number of citizens’ committees, anti-racism groups, and political action organizations.

Of note, Dany Laferrière, the well-known author of How to Make Love to a Negro, saw his popular work made into a successful feature film. As well, a number of Haitian journalists, anchors, and hosts have helped to give voice to French language print and broadcast media. In sports, Bruny Surin, athlete and world-class sprinter, has carried the hopes and dreams of all Canadians across the finish line at a multitude of track and field events.