Profiles

Profiles
male migrant worker stands in farm field posing for camera

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.

I remember my first day of work in Canada. I thought, ‘Wow! This place is so strange. Houses are so far apart’. At home it’s also hot 12 months of the year so I like the weather here. The first time I got to shovel snow was fun!  I watch hockey but I don’t really understand the sport.

I’d heard about the Seasonal Worker Program back home and knew some people that had been hired through the program so I started asking more questions. When I was young, I’d plant rice with my grandparents, uncles and aunties and I’d studied Agrisciences at school. I enjoyed farming and thought that the program would be a good fit for me and it was. I enjoy doing this.

Working here has certainly improved my life back home. I’d recommend this program to anyone who is a hard worker and who has some ambition. If you’re young, it’s a great place to get started.

When I’m home on the off season, I work in retail sales. I’ve been doing that since I left school. I love to play cricket and some soccer and I have a 1974 Ford Escort that’s my hobby car.