Migrant Agricultural Workers and Processes of Social Inclusion in Rural Canada: Encuentros and Desencuentros

Abstract

For 38 years, agricultural workers from the Caribbean and Mexico have spent extended periods working in Canada under a guest worker program. In this article I explore worker-community relations in the Canadian rural communities in which they live, examining the ties that have developed between non-citizen migrant agricultural workers and civil society. Although the integration of migrant workers as a social group into Canadian society is characterized by social exclusion, the nature of relationships between the migrant and permanent communities is undergoing transformations throught the development of personal ties, including the emergence of non-state actors who have become increasingly relevant in defending the rights of migrant workers before their employers, their home country government officials, and the Canadian state. The discussions presented here are relevant for debates on international migration, citizenship, civil society, and transnationalism.