About our project: Migration Stories

In the winter and spring of 2025, the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre’s Youth Council undertook a community research project. We started seeking stories and experiences of relocation and migration. We asked community members to share stories about objects or momentos that hold significance within journeys of migration and resettlement. These stories are featured here in our digital project, Migration Stories.

Until the end of 2025, we continue to update our project with new submissions. To submit your story, click here.

Herbal Candy 京都念慈菴 – Estella Ying

“This is a small box of herbal candy in tangerine-lemon flavor, and it helps relieve sore throat and protect my voice. It is produced by a popular and common brand in Hong Kong. Unlike their flagship products, the candy does not contain Chinese medicine, it is only a candy that basically functions as a temporary measure, until proper medicine. I take this every time my throat feels weird and somehow it works!

“Maybe the unique taste reminds me of home and soothes my nerves. Or maybe it tricked my brain to believe that I took some Chinese medicine (without the super bitter taste). I am glad that I can purchase this from a local Chinese supermarket after I tried some local throat lozenges that I absolutely hate.”

International Students and Work

Some immigrants to Canada come via Labour Market Impact Assessments (LIMA). If an assessment determines certain skills and qualifications cannot be found within the employable population of Canada, a foreign national can immigrate here for the purposes of employment. The employer applies on the employee’s behalf for a Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) permit. This permit ties the employee’s visa to their employer. The TFW program leaves migrants open to exploitation by employers, as the employer (boss) holds the keys to the employee’s ability to stay in Canada.

High School Uniform – Santosh Chandrasekar

“When I think about my immigrant experience, there’s no object that better captures it like my high school uniform with inscriptions from my friends. It’s a cherished tradition in my school where the graduating class goes around asking people to write on their shirts. The uniform is important to me because it brought so many people from different backgrounds and cultures together as one. Each of us whose names are inscribed on this shirt is still in different parts of the world, yet this uniform still brings us together. I wore this shirt especially on my last day of school almost 7 years ago, as it carries a lot of paint stains from my initial years as an artist and understanding myself and my overlapping identities.”

Temporary Foreign Workers

The Department of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) estimated the value of international students to the Canadian gross domestic product as $8.4 billion in 2010, $21.6 billion in 2018, $36 billion in 2023. This reflects the great expansion to the number of international students admitted to Canadian educational institutions over the past decade. And yet, international student visas issued by the government capped the ability of foreign students to work, allowing them only 20 hours paid employment per week. For many, these wages do not cover the costs of housing, tuition and/or immigration consulting fees.

Lee’s Fresh Produce – Nghia Tran

“I moved to Canada 30 years ago from Vietnam. We opened our stall at the Hamilton Farmers Market 25 years ago. Over the years, I have noticed lots of changes in Hamilton and in Canada, including changes in the kinds of customers we get and in the types of newcomers I see. My biggest culture shock upon moving to Canada was the difference in the availability of fruits and vegetables. In Vietnam, there is a far wider selection due to the climate. In Canada I enjoy eating plums and cherries, fruits that are not available in Vietnam. I have found a connection and community here. I particularly appreciate talking to returning customers. They come back to our shop and talk to me about how their lives have changed, years after moving to other parts of the city or to other places.”

Media Perceptions

In the 2000s international students were recruited to Canada with the slogan "Study, Work, Explore, Stay". “Stay” referred to pathways to permanent residency created for international students. The message international students received was Canada’s door was open. Recently the media narrative has changed. The housing and affordability crisis in Canada has been linked to the presence of international students. Politicians have blamed them for the observed strain on social services. Once promised an avenue to stay and aggressively recruited, international students are now seeing immigration pathways eliminated and the number of international students and temporary foreign workers reduced.

Pad Thai – Mayula

“I grew up in Southeastern Thailand. I moved to Canada in 1991, originally to St. Catherines. My initial experience was culture shock, particularly as I struggled to find good Thai food. I choose to stay here because I set down roots in Canada, settling in Hamilton because I find it quiet and I feel it is safe. My trick to making the best Pad Thai is finding fresh and authentic ingredients sourced from Thailand. I use glass noodles to make the dish which I now sell at my stall May’s Thai Kitchen at the Hamilton Farmers Market, which I have been running for three years now.”

Stereotypes and Realities

Despite stereotypes that international students come from rich backgrounds, families can spend their entire life savings funding their children’s foreign education. Having arrived here to study, students find out they will not necessarily have the better life that was expected. Exploitation and hardship come from many sources. Universities charge international students approximately three times the tuition domestic students pay. Landlords take advantage of their lack of knowledge of local laws. Immigration consultants profit by servicing students who navigate an increasingly confusing and competitive immigration system.

My grandma’s shoes – Kate Spiegel

“After my grandma died a few years ago, I went back to my home country and I looked through her things. I found this pair of white sneakers, barely worn and exactly my size. As you can tell from the image, they got a lot of use from me—to the point where I really can’t wear them anymore (but I also can’t get rid of them).

“Living away from my family is hard. I didn’t get to spend as much time with her as I wanted in her final years, so wearing them made me feel like she was with me walking through my life. She was active in her union back in the day which I really admire, so, I proudly wore her shoes to my first job working for a union. Through these shoes she came with me to many events, trips, and nature walks. Later in her life, she struggled with not being able to do things independently like she always had, so I liked to imagine her smiling while I did all the things I knew she loved.”

Isolation and Stigma

Abrupt immigration policy changes can lead to a state of chronic precarity and confusion for people with temporary resident status. Uncertainty, economic hardship, and isolation contribute to significant mental health issues among international student and temporary worker populations. Academic stress and a lack of adequate support contribute to higher rates of suicide in migrant populations. Because the government does not track migrant deaths, no exact numbers are known.

Prayer Rug – Jamal

“Yes, a prayer rug is for praying, but this rug has been with me from the very first day. My parents bought it for me. On any given day, I have spent time on it. This rug is inspiring as it is forward-looking and directs me to keep going. I have asked for things when sitting on it, as well as thanked for things. It was with me when I was new in Canada, trying to establish myself. Now, years later, this rug is with me as I continue to grow in Canada and feel rooted.

“There were days when settlement felt challenging and overwhelming; however, this rug reminded me that everything will be alright. I am on the right path, working towards a goal. It reminds me to stay humble and remember my journey as I adapt to what makes Canada home, as well as to remember the good values and manners I learned at home growing up.”

Immigration Target Cap

In 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a plan to gradually reduce new permanent residents from 395,000 in 2025 to 365,000 in 2027, with a focus on skilled workers and family reunion. They also will significantly reduce the amount of refugees admitted under the Humanitarian & Compassionate quota. International students face a 10% reduction. Several temporary worker programs are also reforming, such as tightening eligibility requirements for the Post-Graduation Work Permit and reducing work permits for spouses of temporary residents. As a result, applications are taking a longer time to process. There are many temporary residents who applied for permanent residency based under the prior policy who are stuck in limbo while waiting for the results of their application.

Thank you letter to a girl in jail – Venus

“I am a former Hong Kong reporter who covered the 2019 social movement in Hong Kong. In 2021, the media outlet I worked for collapsed due to the sweeping passage of the national security law. Some of my interviewees were arrested for breaching it. It was heartbreaking to witness the disappearance of free press and free speech, but I am very thankful to all the people I interviewed for their courage in telling me the truth.

“During my subsequent years of unemployment I wrote thank you cards to all of my interviewees. I wrote fifty-two thank you cards in total. Unfortunately, I was unable to send this one. The one letter I could not send was to a person I had interviewed who was now in jail. She had been a frontline protester in the 2019 social movement in Hong Kong. She was later prosecuted by the government.

“When I interviewed this person in 2019, she told me: ‘Because Hong Kong is my home, I plan to live here long term and have no intention of emigrating. However, the outcome of this battle will determine my survival.’ I wrote her impressive words on a thank you card. I took this card with me when I moved to Toronto in 2022. On the back of this card, I wrote: ‘Thank you for your continued support, for being willing to be interviewed during turbulent times, and for leaving an important historical record. Times are changing rapidly. Please take care. I wish you all the best and safety in the future. Take care!’

“I am keeping her thank you card in Toronto as a reminder to be bold and to speak out for the powerless. Those who tell the public the truth have the greatest courage. Having returned to my homeland for a day, I wish I could have handed the thank you card to her in person.”

WAHC'S 2025 YOUTH COUNCIL

Estella Ying

I’m currently working between contract jobs and setting up Linux on my old PC. I found out about WAHC’s Youth Council from my classmate at Humber College. I am a newcomer stuck in a limbo state waiting for my PR, so I am very interested in learning the immigration journey of the other newcomers. My favourite guilty pleasure is watching 90s action movies.

Declan Withers

While I’m on summer break from university I’m keeping busy working with McMaster’s student newspaper the Silhouette. Growing up in a place as diverse as Hamilton, I’ve seen the strength that diversity can bring to a community. I’m interested in migration stories for how they can help us see each other as human and stop attacks and scapegoating. My guilty pleasure is cheese and although my bank account doesn’t always appreciate this.

Kate Spiegel

I am currently in between working as a Teaching Assistant, spending the summer travelling and visiting family, while making time for arts and crafts. I moved to Canada eleven years ago. I am one of the many thousands waiting to find out if I will be getting Permanent Residency or have to move back home. As a pass time I collect small decorative trinkets, especially if they are old and cat related.

Santosh Chandrasekar

I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo in 2022 and have been working for the last three years, applying for permanent residency and preparing to start a master’s degree. As an immigrant my whole life, I am interested in the experiences and politics of migration. Sharing our experiences as migrants allows us to form a strong community which is so essential. My favourite guilty pleasure is watching reruns of the History TV show Pawn Stars!

WAHC Youth Council explore migration stories at Hamilton Farmers Market

WAHC Youth Council member Estella explores Tan Thanh Supermarket

Sources & Acknowledgements

Kate Spiegel, unpublished notes on “Challenging the Racism and Xenophobia Targeting International Students: Law, Media, and Activist Resistance,” round table discussion between Vasanthi Venkatesh (Chair, Transnational Law and Racial Justice Network, Faculty of Law, Windsor University), Navjot Salaria (International Student Alumni, York University; Naujawan Support Network), Tiffany Muhindi (Brock University) & Kaho Nishibu (Brock University), 2025.

Declan Withers, unpublished notes from discussion with Dr. Kristina Llewellyn, Professor of History, McMaster University & Wilson College of Leadership and Civic Engagement, 2025.

Conner Singh VanderBeek, Foreign Dreams exhibition essay, Workers Arts & Heritage Centre, 2024.

Stories of Migration and Belonging, digital exhibit created by Hamilton Civic Museum in partnership with Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council.

Migration Stories – A 2025 WAHC Youth Council Project