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.
Jeremiah, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Jamaica
In Jamaica, I’m known as an All Rounder. I’m in construction. I can build houses and do furniture too. I can even make cupboards for you for your kitchen. I grew up in a rural area. My mom was a tobacco farmer. We also grew yams and potatoes and things like that. I started coming to Canada in 2001.
Tackesha, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Jamaica
This is my fourth year working on this peach farm and my seventh year coming to Canada from Jamaica. I met my husband Dwayne working on here. He’s also a Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Jamaica. Back home, he did a bit of farming and a bit of construction work like plumbing, tiling and carpentry.
Kishore, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Trinidad and Tobago
I grew up in Trinidad, where my parents worked in agriculture. I didn’t grow up on a farm, but my dad was a sugar cane farmer, and my family had a small garden. When I was younger, I worked with both my parents in the sugar cane, but sugar cane didn’t last long. The industry closed down by the time I was 23, and after that, we had to look for other avenues to make a living.
Percy, Seasonal Agricultural Worker
I’ve been coming to Canada to work for 30 years. It’s nice to work here. When I come here to work, the money can go home and buy things. It helps feed my family, build a house, and then when I go back home, it’s like a holiday. I come here to work for seven months, then I’m back home five months, then back here again.
Baker, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Jamaica
We may be far from home, but we still cook real Jamaican food while we’re here. We have someone that comes by with Jamaican spices for us, so we can cook big dishes for each other. The best thing to make is curry chicken. Canadians should really eat more curry chicken.
Pieces, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Trinidad & Tobago
My nickname is Pieces. I don’t know where I got it except that there were four Anthony's working on this farm one summer and so we needed nicknames to keep each other straight and it has stuck. I’ve been coming here for 20 years from Trinidad & Tobago
Prince and Ricardo, Father/Son Team of Seasonal Agricultural Workers from Jamaica
My name is Prince but I’m not a rock star - I’m an apple star! I have been coming to Canada from Jamaica for 20 years to work on this fruit farm. The main reason I started coming was to help my family back home. I have three children and three grandchildren and I talk to them almost every day.
Ricardo, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Trinidad and Tobago
I’ve been coming to Canada from Trinidad and Tobago for 15 years to work on farms here. I’ve been working on this farm for 11 years. Normally, I arrive in April and go home in November but due to COVID, I didn’t get here until July this year and then had to isolate for two weeks before I could start work.
Hopeton and Denroy, Father/son team of Seasonal Agricultural Workers from Jamaica
Hopeton: My son Denroy was three years old when I started coming from Jamaica to work on this farm. That was 33 years ago. It was a big decision for my wife, Angela, and I to take this job. But it’s not really easy sometimes to get a job back home. She and I met when we were 16 years old so we’ve been together almost 50 years
Frances and Quitia, Mother/daughter team of Seasonal Agricultural Workers from Trinidad and Tobago
Frances: I’ve been coming to Canada from Trinidad and Tobago to work on farms for eight years. Quitia: Last year was my first year coming here with my mom. It was after harvest that we realized that we likely weren’t going to get home. And if we did go home, we might not be able to come back in the spring.
Fidencio, Seasonal Agricultural Worker from Mexico
Back home in Mexico I wasn't a farmer, but I've been coming to Canada to work in a greenhouse for 10 years. I’m here for 7 or 8 months, and then I go home to my family. My favourite thing to do is pick tomatoes. In the greenhouse, we work as a team - and there’s always something to do, which keeps it interesting.
Juan J., Guest Worker at Nature Fresh Farms
Hailing from Guatemala, Juan J. was a mechanic before he decided to come to Canada and join our country’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Juan made the decision to come to Canada because he wanted to give his family a better life and be able to bring more opportunities back with him to Guatemala.