A Journey of a Lifetime: Italian Experiences in Canada, With Dominic, and Christina Clementi

Introduction:

The purpose of this oral history project is to explore the complex experiences of Italians living in Canada, with a particular focus on themes of immigration and identity. The project examines both first and second generation Italian Canadians to provide a broader historical perspective on Italian migration to Canada.

Interviews were conducted with two Husband and Wife Italian Canadians: Dominic, who immigrated to Canada in 1958, and Christina, whose father and grandfather arrived in 1912. Their stories offer valuable insights into personal journeys, the challenges and opportunities faced by Italian immigrants, and the ways in which Italian heritage has influenced their lives in Canada.

Ultimately, this oral history contributes to preserving the lived experiences of Italian Canadians as part of the larger narrative of immigration, adaptation, and cultural identity in Canada

Interview with Dominic, and Christina

Interview Summaries:

Questions	Interviewee 1		Interviewee 2
Date of Interview	October 8th 2025 Guelph, Ontario		October 8th 2025 Guelph, Ontario
Name of Interviewee(use initials if the person wants to remain anonymous; only person conducting interview knows the person’s identity)	Dominic Clementi		Christina Clementi
What age group/generation are you in?	1925-1945 Silent Generation		1946-1964 Baby Boomers
So what first brought you to Canada?	Well my dad he immigrated to canada in 1954 followed by my older brother who came in 56 and i came along with my mother and my three sisters in December 58	You mentioned that your family immigrated to Canada. Who came over, and when?Do you	It was my great-grandfather, my grandmother’s father and mother, and my grandparents. They came over with their eldest child. My grandmother was pregnant with my aunt at the time she had her in Canada and three years later, she had my dad. My dad was the youngest of three children
So obviously you already knew people in Canada?	Yes, I had family already and there were people from my home town	Do you know their names?	Yes. My aunts were named Virginia and Romania, and my father was Luigi. My grandparents were Nicola Nick in English and Maria. My name is actually Maria too, but I go by Christinae.
And where did you first arrive?	I landed in Halifax at pier 21 it wasn’t as big as it is now when I was there but it was still a very busy port still.	What first brought them to Canada?	They had some siblings who had already immigrated to Canada, looking for a better future for their families. A few settled in Montreal and a few in Toronto. My grandparents arrived in Montreal with my great-grandfather in 1912 on March 12, 1912 on the White Star Line. That’s the same company that owned the Titanic.
		Yeah, do you know what boat?	Um, unfortunately I don’t. That’s okay. I don’t know the name of the boat. There’s a lot of White Star Line. I wish I could find those papers. If I do, I will give you.
Do you remember the ship that you came in on?	I came in on the homeric on the american line	And where did they where did they land?	Initially, they landed it to Pier 21.When I did go to Pier 21 my grandfather’s name had been crossed off, Oh, they were also wrong about saying that it was a three year old male, not a female, which was my aunt. Older aunt, but, so they made mistakes back then.
How old were you?	I was just a month shy of 15	Which part of Italy were they from?	They were from Caserta, a little town called, Sipicciano
Do you remember the journey?	for 3 days before we got to the atlantic where the sea was nice and flat, then I remember very well because the next six days I didn’t see much of the outside because the boat was so up and down i got sick. I had really bad motion sickness.	Do you know what their journey to Canada was like?	Not really I know they came on the white star line but my aunt was too young to remember.
It was Rough Seas?	Very rough seas! But it was also fun! So i remember the positive and negative on the ship
So do you remember what your first impressions of Canada were like, say when you first got to Halifax?	I didn’t know what to make of it as soon as we were cleared with the authorities we went off on the train for a couple days and it was december i couldnt believe the homes i was seeing, most of the homes we had at home were multi level so to see these bungalows the middle of winter with small doors it was just totally totally different and there wasn’t much smoke coming out of the chimneys because everyone was on gas or propane i couldnt understand my 15 year old brain couldn’t comprehend how they did it (how they heated their houses). That was like my first impression, I didn’t see much of Halifax other than pier 21 and the train so that was all I saw of Halifax. I wasn’t impressed for long . What is this? It was jam bread. One thing I couldn’t get over was the bread. The bread’s crust was soft, most Italian bread has a very crusty crust. And still can’t thats what comes to my mind.	Do you have any items of Importance?	My cousin did give it to me. I have a pasta board that’s about 80 something years old, so that’s something that both Dominic and I use a lot to make pastas, breads and so forth. So that was handed down to me.
Do you have any items of impotence?	We didn’t have a camera of our own and this was post war italy so it was difficult, there used to be a photographer that would come around and take photos most people didn’t have cameras we have a few but not many. I have 3 first cousins left in Italy. I would like to acquire a relationship, i need to get in touch with them, i need to find my italian birth certificate	And where did they end up?	they ended up in Montreal yeah, my grandfather and my great grandfather opened up in the first Italian bakery. In Cherry Street area, actually, if you’re familiar Montreal, yeah, it would be where Expo 67 was the dome, there’s a door there. Yes, it’s actually close to where the casino is now, Montreal, = by the old port. A lot of the immigrants were down in that area. And they had the bakery for several years. And my grandfather was 42 years old. He just confirmed his nephew came out of mass of church with my dad. My dad was 8. My aunt was twelve and dropped dead right in front of the church on the steps at 42. So my grandfather, my great grandfather being older and not being able to look after the bakery himself, and he was quite depressed. He closed the bakery up, and his wife went back to Italy, and he stayed
		So is there anything further you’d like to add to that story?	No, my father, like I said, came to Toronto to live with an uncle. They didn’t have any children, so they more or less adopted my father. My father really only went back to visit his sister. And his mother stayed in Toronto and stayed in the area downtown Toronto, Euclid Street where all the Italians lived. So they were very, it was like a community. Everybody knew everybody. They shared their food, they had parties, street parties and all that where you don’t really find that today.
Where is Home For You? And why?	his is home its funny you ask having been born somewhere else and living somewhere else for 50 years your roots are what they are you adapt i have been to italy twice in my 65 years and its strange because its not the same as it was y’know, they have changed you don’t realize they you have changed its a funny feeling its a weird thing to understand because yknow you live here you work here, know your family’s here your friends are here and this is home but your roots your traditions your original you need to keep on adapting yourself it’s hard to explain	Do you identify with this heritage?	I think so. I think I try to keep up to tradition. Yeah, yeah, try because my mother was not Italian, she was Ukrainian. And I try to keep those traditions, not as much as each other because we grew up on the Italian side. There’s more family. My father, we kept with that tradition, more with the Italian traditions than with the Ukrainian, but I do keep a bit of the Ukrainian and married to an Italian as well.
		Did you grow up speaking the language at all?	no, no, unfortunately, back in the 30s during the depression to get jobs, you had to learn how to speak English, and most of kept, they kept their. It was speak English at home more than Italian, just try to get rid of the accents and yes, and label, but, yeah, actually my uncle, my maiden name was Starnino. My uncle shortened it to star just to get a job. And a lot of, I guess European people, yeah yeah, cut their names down equal sized unfortunately.
Is there anything you might have done differently?	life is like that, Andrew, you’re not old enough for that to make decisions on your own. You come with a family and you go where the family goes, right? Yeah. So  it’s not like i took upon myself to come to Canada, you know yeah, especially that is because I had barely any friends. at 15 friends are very important. yeah, it’s hard,yeah, you don’t have any friends, but you don’t have the language to communicate, I didn’t know the language,
So you only knew Italian?	yes we spoke italian it took me a couple years before i felt compatible i mean im still learning like you hear my accent but it was a couple years before i felt comfortable speaking with english people
Do you try and keep your traditions Alive?	yes we spoke italian it took me a couple years before i felt compatible i mean im still learning like you hear my accent but it was a couple years before i felt comfortable speaking with people well i know where i came from i know my roots i know where i came from i cant force it upon my wife and my kids, i try tho whatever i can i will this is where they live this is where they were born im from another place because of lack of language at my age it was difficult, it was hard.
IS there Anything else you would like to add?	one thing italians like to congregate they go to the square they stand and talk and so one time i was with few of my friends on a street corner on dufferin in toronto and a police officer came by and told us to move on.
Why do you think he did that?	I think they thought we were plotting something, I’ve never forgotten that the police force came to know how loud we can be we are outdoor people, 1982 i woke up before between dufferin(and other street use map) was italians celebrating the world cup the anticipation and the win over germany over 350K people (Christina off to the side they closed the streets everyone was out celebrating) they suspended the street car routes they couldnt understand us they didnt know why so many of us were congregating we lived in guelph at the time but because Christina’s mom and dad still lived in toronto we would go in most weekends and sometimes it was just an easy hours drive from here to there was! So we’d go in often so these qualifying games the semi final of the final we made an effort to be there and the police didn’t know how to deal with us but we were loud other then that nothing happened, 250k people and nothing happened that was my proudest moment in canada being italian in vancouver they smashed windows and in montreal they did too in the olympics but when the italians celebrate nothing happens

Analysis:

Christina’s account of her uncle changing his last name from Starnino to Star in order to secure employment in Canada provides a compelling example of how Italian immigrants adapted to social and economic pressures. This aligns closely with the themes discussed in Robert F. Harney’s work on Italian immigrant experiences, particularly his observation that the pursuit of work often compelled immigrants to abandon aspects of their homeland culture to improve their employment prospects(Harney 1988). Christina’s uncle exemplifies this process of cultural negotiation and adaptation in response to stereotyping and discrimination.

Dominic’s reflections further illustrate the complexities of cultural adjustment. His experiences resonate with the themes in Two Way Culture Shock (Sidhwa 2019, 61-64), particularly the sense of dislocation and transformation that accompanies migration. His statement that “everything about my life underwent transformation: my friendships, my interaction with my family, even my expectations” captures the profound social and personal upheaval that immigrants often experience. Dominic’s challenges with language barriers, forming friendships, and adapting to new cultural practices down to details such as heating homes or eating different textured bread demonstrate the everyday aspects of assimilation.

The discussion of returning home in Two Way Culture Shock also parallels Dominic’s reflections on revisiting Italy. His comment, “you have changed, but you don’t realize they have too,” shows the emotional tension of belonging to two places yet feeling fully at home in neither. This highlights the nature of identity transformation through migration and raises questions about how long it takes for one’s sense of “home” to shift away from the place of origin.

The contrast between Christina and Dominic’s narratives further enriches this exploration. As a first-generation immigrant, Dominic’s experience centers on the challenges of adaptation, while Christina, as a second-generation Italian Canadian, reflects a greater degree of assimilation. Together, their stories illustrate the intergenerational evolution of identity and belonging within the Italian Canadian community. Their shared effort to reconnect with and celebrate their cultural heritage demonstrates how cultural identity can be both resilient and renewed across generations.

Reflection

The interview was very fun, especially once the conversation started flowing. It went a lot faster and smoother than I expected. Both Dominic and Christina were very hospitable and kind people. For example, they gave me lots of food, a container of homemade tomato sauce, and tomatoes from their garden. Throughout the interviews, they also offered me drinks and cookies. I think this experience relates heavily to our course content, as both Dominic and Christina discussed topics that we have explored thoroughly in class. I came away with a much greater understanding of these concepts through the interviewing process. This project has been especially beneficial to me as an anthropology student since interviewing people is a key aspect of ethnography, the detailed study of cultural practices through direct interviews and observations. Additionally, I have recently considered going into journalism, as I find it both fun and rewarding, and this project has allowed me to further develop my interviewing techniques. Overall, this interview experience was not only enjoyable but also deeply educational. It helped me connect theoretical ideas from our course to real-life experiences, reinforcing my understanding of cultural practices and identity. The generosity and openness of Dominic and Christina made the process feel natural and engaging, reminding me of the importance of building rapport in ethnographic work. Ultimately, this project strengthened my appreciation for qualitative research methods and gave me valuable practice in skills that will benefit me both as an anthropology student and in potential future pursuits.

Gallery

Citations

Potestio, John, Antonio Pucci, and Canadian Italian Historical Association. The Italian Immigrant Experience. Thunder Bay, Ont: Canadian Italian Historical Association, 1988.

Sidhwa, Bapsi, Russo, Teresa. Landscapes of Writing, Collected Essays of Bapsi Sidhwa, (New York, United States of America: Peter Lang Verlag, 2019) accessed Nov 4, 2025, 10.3726/b14288