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 The
Italians Settle in Edmonton
project began in 1983 as a celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the Santa
Maria Goretti Parish. As a result of this project it was revealed that the mosaics
that exist at the Alberta
Legislature, built circa 1912, were laid by an Italian mason.
It was not until 1951 that Italians began to make their presence felt in
Edmonton. Italian workmen worked at the Imperial Oil Refinery and at Northwest Construction; Italian women worked for the Great Western Garment Company and other garment manufacturers.
In the mid 1960s, the Italian presence in Edmonton was significant enough to warrant a
Royal
Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism Research
entitled: Italian immigrants in Edmonton : adjustment and
immigration.
In just over 50 years the Italian community has had an impact on
Edmonton. First settling in the area around 95th and 97th streets,
north of the railway, Italian-Canadians moved throughout the city,
though there are still a number of Italian businesses concentrated
in the area. In fact, it was this group of businesses and the
Giovanni Caboto Society that spearheaded the renaming of Princess
Patricia Park to Giovanni Caboto Park to acknowledge the existence
of a Little Italy.
While the first generation of Italian-Canadians made their contributions in the various resource-based industries, the second generation have chosen to make their mark in the professions as teachers, doctors, lawyers, accountants and retailers.
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