Changing Worlds

Diary of a Jamaican-Canadian Experience

Revision date: February 2015 Between July 1999 and June 2000, 173,210 immigrants arrived in Canada, including 6,196 Caribbean nationals. Most settled in Toronto, enhancing its burgeoning multiculturalism; but Evangelines family chose Ottawa instead - a city known as the coldest posting a Jamaican diplomat could receive. Evangeline discovers more about Canada the hard way. Although from 1994 to 2001 the United Nations declared Canada the best country of abode, Evangeline confirms that there are at least two sides to this, as to every other story. Minority status and its unfamiliar problems, subtle pressures to conform to new molds, unemployment and family reunification hurdles dog the resettling experience. However, active faith and steadfast purpose bring triumph in each circumstance. Jamaica, never far from Evangelines heart, becomes a target for prayer as well as a destination for family visits and snowbird escapes. As recipient of Jamaicas 1992 Governor Generals Award for the parish of St. Andrew, Evangeline remains patriotic. She continues to support the community outreach projects of Christian Life Fellowship in Jamaica, and the work of the Jamaica House of Prayer.