History of Italian Immigration and of the Neighbourhood

The History of Italian Immigration and of the Neighborhood...

Until the end of the 1800s, the area where the neighbourhood of Little Italy now stands was a vast rural property owned by the Comte family. Their land was nearby to a rich limestone deposit (sedimentary rocks) and to Montée-Saint-Laurent (now St-Laurent Boulevard). Montée-St-Laurent was the main road north on the island of Montreal. At that time, only a few families lived along that road.
Between 1880 and 1885, many Italians arrived to Montreal. Most newcomers lived around what is now Chinatown and the Quartier Latin, around Ste-Catherine Street. Soon, many moved north to be near their work related to the building of the Canadian Pacific railway which was rapidly expanding. Others worked on grey stone quarries. For the most part, the men had come to the country with their young families. They started to build new housing on former farm lands in the north of the city.

Over the past century, the first Italian immigrants had moved into the neighbourhood, focussing on living near the Mile End train station, located near the intersection of St. Laurent Boulevard and Bernard Street. Close to work and easily accessible by transit, the neighbourhood offered properties that were affordable. This made it possible for homeowners to grow their own food on their land. Some of the immigrants opened their own restaurants, offering the tastes of the old country to all Italians.

In 1910, a new parish was created: Madona Della Difesa. It was the mother parish of the Italian Community in Canada and it led to the construction of a church of the same name in 1919. This allowed the expansion of Little Italy on the east side, past Henri-Julien Street and going North, until Jean-Talon Street.

Many working class neighbourhoods developed fast, with economic activities expanding near the railway lines. Several factories and warehouses opened their doors, such as the Catelli pasta plant and the Montreal Street Railways shops.

The Great Depression in the 1930s brought many changes to the neighbourhood. It incited major work projects which created many jobs, which were rather needed at the time. The Marché-du-Nord (now called the Jean-Talon Market), as well as the Shamrock buildings, were built on the former Irish Lacrosse Grounds “the Shamrock”. The Mile End Train Station was replaced by the new Park Avenue Station (now the Jean-Talon metro Station), better suited to passenger service. A municipal yard replaced the greystone quarries. Neighbourhood cinemas opened their doors. The Casa d'Italia was built as a social centre for Montreal's Italian community on the corner of Berri and Jean-Talon Street.

Just after the World War II, the greatest wave of Italian immigration occurred in Montreal. Arriving through the port of Montreal, thousands of Italian workers and peasants arrived to the city for a new life. Many settled around the Madonna della Difesa Church and the Jean-Talon Market. By the mid-1950s more than 15,000 Italians were living in Little Italy. The men worked as day labourers, contractors and construction workers (Heritage Montreal, 2007-2008).

There were waves of illegal Italian immigration in Canada. As explained in the Saskatoon Star-Pheonix' edition of January 12th, 1952, these waves of illegal Italian immigration were taking place particularly in Montreal. This "Full-Scale Mystery" of immigration kept the attention of the RCMP and of the Canadian Immigration Department. Not a lot of information was divulged because the investigations were still underway, but what the newspaper had found out was that once they had come into the country, these illegal immigrants would spread across the country to make it hard for them to be found.

To be able to work, some sort of agency was offering these people papers for great sums of money. Some obtained Visas by asking people that already lived in Canada to vouch for them as sponsors because they had no one else to ask. Some got their ways into getting false documentations to have easy access to the country and to work. It was believed that some Italian man that had come to Canada during the forties and that had been deported back to Italian two years later was the one in charge of this operation, directly from Italy. Since June 1949, it was believed that four hundred illegal Italian immigrants had entered the country (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, 1952, 6).

Since 1960, many Italians have moved to different neighbourhoods in Montreal such as Villeray, LaSalle, St-Leonard and RDP. Little Italy's community life has since then suffered and companies have also felt the loss of people moving away. From there on, new immigrants replaced the Italians in the neighbourhood. Many Haitians and Latin Americans have come to rent homes and adapt to their new country. Little Italy has since become multicultural. (Heritage Montreal, 2007-2008).

The Jean-Talon Market stands in the summer of 1963 © Ville de Montréal. Gestion de documents et archives, (VM94,A102-6), © Héritage Montréal

The Catelli Pasta Plant. © Fonds du Service de la mise en valeur du territoire et du patrimoine, Bureau du patrimoine, de la toponymie et de l’expertise, (305, rue Bellechasse, Rosemont∕La Petite-Patrie), © Héritage Montréal

The Jean-Talon Market in 1955. © Ville de Montréal. Gestion de documents et archives, (VM6,R3576-2-2), © Héritage Montréal

Italians immigrants working on the railways, in 1953 © Archives de la Casa d’Italia – Centre Communautaire de la Petite Italie, © Héritage Montréal

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The History of Italian Immigration and of the Neighborhood...