Haitian Diaspora in Quebec: Rhymes and Revolution

In the 1960s and 70s, Quebec saw an influx of Haitian immigrants fleeing Francois Duvalier’s dictatorship. By 1971, thousands of Haitians had immigrated to Quebec, the only other majority French-speaking society in North America. Arriving mostly in Montreal, Haitians encountered the Quiet Revolution, the perfect setting to establish their exiled community and combat Duvalier’s regime from abroad. Their battle for liberation infused with Quebec’s own.
But who are these Haitian immigrants, and what do we really know about their history? We speak with musician Jenny Salgado (a.k.a. J Kyll) and educator and historian Alain Saint-Victor to learn more about the relationship between Haiti and Quebec and the influences of the Haitian community in “la belle province.”

Show Notes

Strong and Free is produced by Historica Canada and Media Girlfriends.

 

This episode was written and produced by Josiane Blanc.

 

Senior producers are Garvia Bailey and Hannah Sung.

 

Sound design and mix by David Moreau and Gabbie Clarke.

 

The Media Girlfriends team is rounded out by Lucius Dechausay, Jeff Woodrow and Nana aba Duncan, the founder of Media Girlfriends.

 

 

Thanks to singer/songwriter Jenny Salgado. And thank you to our script-consultant Alain Saint-Victor. 

 

Fact-checking by Cloé Carron

Additional reading:

·       Quiet Revolution

·       Montreal

·       Michaëlle Jean

·       Caribbean Canadians

·       SAINT VICTOR, Alain. De l'exil à la communauté : une histoire de l'immigration haïtienne à Montréal 1960-1990. Mémoire de maîtrise (histoire), Université du Québec à Montréal, 2018. 139 p. De l'exil à la communauté : une histoire de l'immigration haïtienne à Montréal 1960-1990 (uqam.ca)

 

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What is Strong and Free?

Tracing stories from the earliest Black settlers to recently arrived Canadians, Strong and Free captures just a few of the crucial stories of Black Canadians thriving and contributing to building this country.

Listen to Strong and Free, a six-part podcast from Historica Canada, produced by Media Girlfriends. Because Black history is Canadian history.