The Hands that Shaped Us

West Indian Domestic Scheme, 1955-1967

From 1955 to 1967, 3,000 women came to Canada from the Caribbean under the West Indian Domestic Scheme, an immigration program that was created at a time when non-white immigration to Canada was restricted.

Created by the federal government as part of an effort to improve diplomatic and economic relations across the English-speaking Caribbean, it began with 100 women – 25 from Barbados and 75 from Jamaica – and over 12 years brought women from other countries such as Grenada, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The West Indian Domestic Scheme allowed women from the Caribbean to come to Canada for work with the promise of landed immigrant status after one year. This status meant access to education, the ability to work in other fields and the opportunity to sponsor family members.

While some women had trained as teachers, nurses and clerks, in Canada they were tasked with domestic work, paid lower wages than their white counterparts, and faced racial discrimination and isolation. Determined to survive and thrive, they overcame many challenges and injustices, ultimately helping create a future for themselves and their families.

After completing their year of domestic work, many settled in Toronto or Montreal and transitioned to other fields, reshaping the communities where they lived. These women opened doors for others and were the first wave of migration that would continue right through the 1970s, helping transform cities like Toronto into hubs of Caribbean culture and excellence.

In February 2025, the Government of Canada unveiled a plaque commemorating the program at Blackhurst Cultural Centre in Toronto; it will later be permanently installed at Bathurst subway station. Among the attendees were Gloria Walcott, one of the first 25 women to come from Barbados in 1955, and former Member of Parliament Jean Augustine, a historical figure in Canadian politics and the first Black woman elected to Canada’s House of Commons in 1993, who came from Grenada in 1960.