This first-person article is the experience of Erlinda Tan, a Filipino immigrant who believes hard work is a prerequisite for a good middle-class life in Canada. For more information on CBC first-person stories, see the PMF.
It was a memorable day in 2014 when I bought a vacation home in my hometown in the Philippines. I visit my family every two years and being able to bring everyone together in that house is like a dream come true.
I had no idea the property would become a memento of my time in Alberta. Two years later, the oil and gas industry got worse and took my job.
But it’s all part of what I call a beautiful ebb and flow journey for the 13 years since I arrived from the Philippines. These ups and downs have made me a strong Canadian and have consolidated my love for this country.
Working hard to get a foot in the door
I came to Edmonton in late 2009 as was Alberta’s economy get out of a serious financial crisis which had been felt globally. Time is everything, they say. That was true for me.
My first job was as an office worker earning the minimum wage. To get out of it, I took a second job as a supermarket cashier: three days a week, four hours a shift.
So treasured is this note that it was sent by a customer and posted for a while on the bulletin board of the grocery store where she worked. “It reminds me of that lovely chapter of my life,” Tan says. (Submitted by Erlinda Tan)
Doing two jobs was difficult and some days were very long, but I needed the extra income. In addition, working in the service industry taught me to integrate with my new home and perfected my confidence by talking to Canadians from all walks of life, a skill I would need later in my career.
After 20 months doing two jobs, I had the so-called “Canadian experience” that my resume so badly needed and I felt ready for the corporate world. With my training in engineering, I was hired in 2012 as a document controller in the oil and gas industry.
In those days, the price of oil was way of $ 100 a barrel and there were many opportunities. I changed jobs three times in three years. I was part of the boom in the Alberta economy.
Becoming Canadian
Tan, fourth from the right, celebrates with friends from the Edmonton Filipino community after their citizenship ceremony at Canada Place in February 2015. (Posted by Erlinda Tan)
I was excited about my promising career, but I was even more excited when I became a Canadian citizen in early 2015.
At the swearing-in ceremony, I got excited singing O Canada for the first time as a citizen. He felt he belonged, he was safe. My definition of home changed at that moment: the Philippines was “back home,” but Canada is my current one.
And suddenly I felt a solemn duty to become a good Canadian.
During the October federal elections, I followed the campaign on television like a soap opera. If the citizenship ceremony was emotionally touching, then voting was empowering. That day I realized how important I was in nation building.
Blind faith
But, as the saying goes, every flow must have its ebb.
In 2015, a fall in oil became a global crisis. Energy companies laid off thousands of employees; I was one of them.
Race websites in Alberta were empty. I didn’t want to move, but I needed to survive.
So pose for a photo in one of your favorite places to relax: overlooking the Edmonton River Valley. After being fired in 2015, Tan faced the difficult decision of leaving the city he had loved. (Submitted by Erlinda Tan)
Friends and family sent invitations to come to work in the US, the UK, Singapore and Dubai. It was very tempting. But he had just become a Canadian citizen. He had invested time and hard work: the long hours of standing as a cashier, watching the news on television every night to understand politics. Should I leave all this to the past and leave?
I am Canadian Filipino, I said. I have the genes of resilience. This will make it difficult.
In a blind faith movement, I decided to move to Vancouver in May 2016. I had no work connection, no family in the city, and my church community became my support system.
I was grateful for the employment insurance I lived on for a few months and received the insurance money with pride. He had traded premiums and knew he was entitled to them.
Finding a new job in Vancouver was not easy. British Columbia is rich in forestry and my work experience in the oil industry was not in high demand. I decided to accept any job offer, even if I had to start from the bottom.
I took a contract job where the salary wasn’t much, but it took me to the door of a Crown corporation. Five months after work, when my Alberta savings were almost over, this company hired me. Sometimes God’s perfect moment leaves you amazed.
I worked as a records manager for a $ 1 billion project. Then I moved on to a $ 10 billion project. When I retire, I can look back with pride in my heart to be part of two major infrastructure projects in British Columbia.
Silver linings
So smile for a photo on a typical morning in Edmonton. One of the clocks behind it shows Edmonton time, the other is set to Philippines time. (Submitted by Erlinda Tan)
In retrospect, I see my dismissal in Alberta as an advantage. It forced me to step out of my comfort zone. I saw more of Canada, made new friends, and grew in my career. My horizon grew bigger. Thank you, Edmonton, for preparing me.
I joke to friends in the Philippines saying that I am the definition of a middle-class Canadian: poor in money but rich in profits. I couldn’t be more grateful.
Sometimes I wonder, do I regret staying in Canada when I hit rock bottom? Do I regret not working in other countries? The answer is no. I believe that if God closes a door, He opens a window somewhere. But it’s up to me to find it.
Tan, third from the right, celebrates Christmas with family members at her home in the Philippines. Their family tradition is to get together for dinner and take pictures every time they visit. (Submitted by Erlinda Tan)
Speaking of doors and windows, my home in the Philippines is now much more than a vacation property. The concrete house, located in the heart of a shopping district and within walking distance of shopping malls and supermarkets, has become a haven for typhoon relatives who regularly visit the Philippines.
I’m even more proud that it has become the place my mom can call home.
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