Who knew that accepting a request to dance with a stranger, in a small English town, would result in a move of 4,000 miles, to live in Canada?
I married this dancer, Suvra, and after a couple of years, with our one-year-old daughter and our
dog, he wanted us to move to Canada for a new life. Suvra had seen a promotional film about immigrating there, so we sold our house, and packed up as much as two tea chests and suitcases could hold.
With a one-year old, most of our luggage was baby furnishings. We also took our dog, which we could not leave behind.
In 1967, we sailed from Liverpool, England, on board a Canadian Pacific ship, the Empress of Canada. After seven days on the ocean, I was in awe as we sailed into Quebec City, where Le Château Frontenac towered over the St. Lawrence River, which was already freezing up. From Quebec City, we took a train to Montreal, where we would catch the CP train, ‘The Canadian,’ to travel across Canada.
Views from the observation car took our breath away. The snow, mountainous terrain and trestle bridges were so different than the patchwork fields and stone bridges of the English countryside.
Arriving in Calgary, at the outdoor station as it was then, we waited for the train to Edmonton; our final destination was approaching.
It was night time when we came over the High Level Bridge and ahead of us, shining a welcome
beacon, was the Alberta Legislature Building, lit up for the evening. However, we had a problem upon arrival.
My husband had the promise of a job interview in Edmonton. The company’s HR department was supposed to send him a telex in Montreal, giving details about accommodations for us in Edmonton. Unfortunately, it arrived the day after we left Montreal, so we arrived in Edmonton on a cold December night with no place to go and no one to meet us. Ever resourceful, my husband suggested I call the YWCA. I secured a room for myself and daughter there, called the YMCA with our sob story, and thankfully they let my husband have a room where he could keep the dog with him.
The next day we went to the Canada Manpower Centre, where we were helped with a motel booking, job interviews and other useful information. (No surprise that I eventually went to work for the Canadian Government years later when we had moved to Calgary and YMCA was our favourite party song.)
At the motel, we had bought a newspaper, and found an ad for a basement suite which was in a house on a short bus route from our motel. It was available immediately; luckily the landlord also had a dog, so was open to renting to us. The kitchen had a two-burner hotplate, but only one burner worked. No oven.
There was no sink in the kitchen, so we had to get water from the bathroom in the furnace room and take a dishpan back to the kitchen. However, there were many perks— it was almost Christmas, and the landlord’s son brought us a tree back from the forest, which to us was an amazing gift (in England we had a puny two-foot artificial tree). I still have the small angel I bought
from Kresge’s that year for the top of the tree. My husband had started work already and everyone
there was given a turkey, and our landlady cooked it for us. She also lent us a toaster and a few other small appliances until we were able to get our own. Oh, their cabbage rolls and perogies were delicious!
We stayed there for six months until we felt settled in our new home town, and then rented a two-bedroom townhouse. I will never forget how lucky we were to have found such caring people upon our arrival.
Our son was born a couple of years later and our family was complete.
I have never regretted our move here, and I am grateful that we were able to become Canadian citizens. During my working life in the Federal Government in Calgary, I was able to give back while serving the public and fellow workers. For my work, I received the Governor General Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada, which was
given “in recognition of significant contributions to compatriots, community, and to Canada.”
This story was originally published as “Leaving Liverpool” in Vol.21, NO 1, March/April 2024 by
Reader’s Digest Magazines Canada Ltd. Reprinted with the author’s permission.
