Seasonal Farm Worker Profiles

Profiles

Meet the faces behind the Ontario produce on your plate! Each year thousands of migrant farm workers make their way to Ontario to work on fruit and vegetable farms around the province. While for many of them this experience is relatively new, some workers have been returning to Ontario farms for over 20 years! From trumpet players to carpenters, they all have a unique story to share. Click the profiles below to learn more about the women and men who play such an important role on our farms.

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male farm employee smiles for camera

Meet Gerardo, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Mexico

My name is Gerardo, I come from Guanajuato, Mexico. I have worked 14 years on the same farm here in Canada. Before I came here, my dad was working for many years here, 25 years on this farm. We would work together all the time; it was a great opportunity to work with my dad. My dad goes back and forth to the states with my mom now.

male farm employee poses for camera

Meet Gabriel, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Mexico

My name is Gabriel, I am from Yucatán, Mexico. I have been coming here for 11 years to Canada, five years here at this farm. On the farm I pick cilantro and dill and I package onions. I came to Canada to get ahead and give my daughters a better life.

farm employee poses for camera

Meet Jair, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Mexico

Hello, my name is Jair, I come to Canada from Mexico, from the city of Guanajuato. This is my third year coming to Canada and my first year on this farm. This is also the first year I have been able to play soccer in Canada. When I arrived, all my coworkers were excited about a big soccer tournament.

male farm employee smiles for camera

Meet Rogelio, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Mexico

My name is Rogelio Gamboa. I am from Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas, in Mexico. For 13 years I have been working here for Brenn-B Farms. Every year I come in April and I go back in the middle of December. At home I have my wife and my two daughters, my youngest is 10 months old...she is little.

Family smiles for the camera

Meet Felena, Former Seasonal Agricultural Worker

So much has changed in the last three years! I had started doing research to get my Permanent Residency (PR) status even before the pandemic. I knew I wanted to live in Canada permanently. That’s not easy unless you have the support of your employer but I was lucky to have that. He hired me full time and I was able to get my PR in April, 2022.

farm worker poses for camera

Meet Steve, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Jamaica

Hi, I am Steve Rowe, from the center of Jamaica. I have been working in Canada for nearly two decades now. I do just about everything on the farm. I do a little spraying, cut the grass, prune the peaches, thin the peaches, pick the peaches, and sometimes I work in the factory where they process the cherries, too.

farm worker sits in tractor

Meet Rohan, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Jamaica

There was only a little work back home as a youngster, so our MPs, the politicians, hand out cards in the community. The cards had information about the Seasonal Worker Program, and there are few opportunities back home, so I tried the opportunity to come to Canada.

farm worker smiles for camera

Meet Melroy, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Jamaica

My name is Melroy Samuda; I am from St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. This is my eleventh season in Canada, my tenth season at this farm. I like working. That is what we are here for, so I enjoy it. When we are working, we know we are earning for our families. I came here to make a better life, work and then return home and make something of it.

farm worker sits in tractor

Meet Markaldy, Seasonal Agricultural

My name is Markaldy Eubanks; I'm from Jamaica, working in Vineland, Ontario, at Cherry Lane. We are a family here; we love the farm owners, and they love us too. When I'm on the farm in Canada, I feel at home; I only miss my family.

Meet Leroy, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Jamaica

My name is Leroy. I’ve been coming here since 1987 and have always worked at this farm. In Jamaica, they gave us a card with information about the programs available to work in Canada. I decided I was going to try it. Here I am today, on the same farm 36 years later.

farm worker poses for camera

Meet Joseph, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Jamaica

My Name is Joseph Alexander, and I am one of the seasonal workers from Jamaica. I have been coming to Canada for 31 seasons. I worked in tobacco for 10 seasons, vegetables for one and all the other seasons in fruits. I’ve been on this farm every year since 2002, except for 2020, the Covid year.

farm worker poses for camera

Meet Fitzroy, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Jamaica

I am Fitzroy Brooks, I am from Siloah District, St Elizabeth, Jamaica. I have worked here for 22 years. We do not live in a bunkhouse. We live in a house, just like we would live in in Jamaica. Everything is clean and proper. We have one person in each room and everything we need to keep us comfortable. It is just down the road from the farm, only a short bike ride to work.