Culture and Entrepreneurialism: the Italian Diaspora as a modern Homeric Odyssey

TORONTO – It has been some time since the Italian diplomatic corps has been this active in in both serving Italian expatriates and in exploring the potential of Canada – in places previously virtually ignored by the “more established” members of the diaspora in the Canadian federation.

It augurs well. Yesterday, the Corriere Canadese dedicated some space to Ambassador Cattaneo’s visit to New Brunswick’s Italian community. Yes, in New Brunswick (NB), a Maritime province two thousand kilometres east of Southwest Ontario, bordering on the Atlantic Ocean, in a different time zone!

“What’s the big deal”, one might well ask. With respect, thanks to the Trump factor, there has never been a more propitious time in Western [European] political dynamics for countries to explore and develop alternatives to current economic supply chains and markets. Or to re-awaken latent experiences in that regard.

New Brunswick offers more than a few opportunities, thanks to the presence of an established, proudly Italian and fiercely Canadian core of Canadian Italian residents within its borders.

If Italy needed any stimuli, here are some: (1) 85% of NB’s land mass (approximately 72,000 square kms, one quarter the size of the entire Belpaese) is prime softwood forest; (2) the land is replete with mineral resources that should/could be an engine for traditional and forward-looking manufacturing; (3) NB benefits from an oil refining infrastructure, a shipbuilding expertise and global quality agricultural production facilities. It needs investments and people. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and its current itineration, is there to provide financial sustenance.

I do not know Ambassador Cattaneo’s mandate, but he must have been struck by the potential for partnerships with Italian industrial interests. NB is Canada’s only officially bilingual province. According to Census 2021, circa 30% of its 775,610 residents self-identifies as Francophone [… it is a little more historically complicated, but that is for another article…] yet, it has a sizeable, proud and vibrant Italian community. I had occasion to meet with them only once, many years ago.

It is still there, and actively so. There has not been immigration to speak of – at least not from Italy – since 1980, according to Statistics Canada; nonetheless, Census 2021 found 8,255 individuals who declared their culture and ethnicity as Italian – about 1.1% of all New Brunswickers. Four hundred of them claim to use the language of Dante’s descendants daily, in business and at home. Proportionate to their size, this is numerically impressive.

Imagine the “drive” of those people as they set up Italian language classes to ensure their children and grandchildren grow conversant in the mother tongue of the ancestors who preceded them. They will grow as proud Canadians with a perspective that far exceeds the expectations of all locals, no matter how far-reaching that might be.

The impact of Cattaneo’s visit should not be underestimated.

NB’s relationship to the Italian community, given the size of both, is of folkloric dimensions. We hope to relate at least one of them in a next article.

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