MEXICANS are among the newest residents in Canada. They began to arrive in this country in the 1950s in very small numbers. Over the years, the number of immigrants has steadily increased, particularly from the 1970s on, and they now represent an interesting cross section of the Mexican population: urban and rural dwellers of various social and economic backgrounds. Significant Mexican immigration began with the coming of a cadre of professionals, managers, technicians, and students studying at Canadian universities, largely city folk from Mexico City, Puebla, Guadalajara, San Luis Potosi, and Acapulco. Like the many highly qualified immigrants from other countries, they left their homeland, often with families in tow, to obtain better income,job satisfaction, and career mobility.

The migration or immigration of Mexican Mennonites occurred in a different and remarkable way. Between 1920 and 1940, a number of Canadian Mennonites left their self-contained world of agriculture here and moved to northern Mexico. During this period, a certain amount of return migration also took place. Drought and economic hardship were some of the prime reasons for many Mexican-born descendants of the original migrants to move back to Canada between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s.

According to the 1996 census, there were at that time 23,295 people of Mexican descent in Canada. The highest proportions can be found in Ontario (8,210) and British Columbia (5,560), followed by Quebec (5,195), and Alberta (2,455). The main destinations were this country’s major urban centres and metropolitan areas.

In contrast, Mexican Mennonites chose to establish homesteads in southwestern Ontario, settling in Aylmer, Leamington, Chatham, St. Catharines, and in the vicinity of Kitchener.

Mexicans in Canada have integrated well into Canadian economic life. They can be found throughout the labour force as professionals, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, clerical and construction workers, sales people, and agricultural workers. Home and family life are a sustaining force for Mexicans in Canada. The family provides the individual with security and economic stability. Although their family in Canada is primarily a nuclear unit, the spirit of an extended family is important to many Mexicans.

Once they became established in communities in Canada, the Mexicans developed their own institutions to meet the social and cultural needs of their members. Organizations founded by the group include the Mexican-Canadian Association, the Mexican-Canadian Alliance, and the Association of Mexican Professionals. Mexican immigrants are enriching the multicultural character of Canadian society. Mexican cooking and foodstuffs have helped to change our home eating habits. Vitally interested in maintaining their social and cultural heritage, Mexican Canadians seek to pass it on to the younger generation and to other Canadians.