Surging Filipino population boosts city’s immigration
When Mary Grace Apuada moved to Regina from the Philippines in 2009, she got a job in the burger business.
But she soon learned that while Regina likes its Big Macs, the city ’s Filipino population was yearning for products that couldn’t be found on the McDonald’s menu.
“We were anticipating that our families, and especially the Filipino community would grow,” she said, noting that changes in immigration policy were in part responsible for her prediction. She was right.
And to take advantage of that growth she and her husband opened up Kabayan Sari-sari Store in 2016.
Around 90 per cent of the products they offer are imported from the Philippines.
“When we Filipinos eat, basically we know what we want,” she said, noting her products make fellow Filipinos “feel at home.”
Census data from 2016 shows that Regina was home to 7,295 immigrants originally from the Philippines — more than half of whom arrived to the city since the previous census in 2011.
Since then, Regina’s immigrant population has continued to grow. In fact, for the second consecutive year, Regina has led the country in international migration growth rate at 2.1 per cent in 2016-17, according to a Statistics Canada report released this week.
Filipinos have been a part of that continued influx, if demand for Filipino products is any indication.
“Right now it’s very stiff competition,” Apuada said.
Not so long ago, finding siopao (steamed buns containing meat) or ingredients to make adobo (Filipino stew) was difficult in Regina. However, the Queen City is now home to eight Asian grocery stores, six of which are primarily Filipino, by Apuada’s count.
She and her husband now own two such stores in Regina, and a third in Moose Jaw.
However, it’s not enough to simply offer a taste of home anymore, so Apuada says Filipino grocery stores must set themselves apart.
For her, that started with the name above the door. Kabayan, she said, loosely means “fellow countryman,” or more simply, “my friend.”
“When you go to other stores, you just go buy and you pay. But here, the interaction of our customers is very different. We actually treat them like family and friends.”
That’s an important point when it comes to Filipino immigrants, according to 18-year-old Jellyn Ayudan whose family arrived in Canada in 2009.
“Filipino culture is very tied to family and community,” she said, noting that leaving family behind is a major challenge for many immigrants from the country.
Her family felt the same pain of separation when they first arrived in Regina, but it was eased by the welcoming embrace of others in the community who gone through a similar experience.
Ayudan says her family chose to move to Canada, and Regina specifically because of benefits like access to education. However, she thinks others may see the growing Filipino population itself as reason enough to choose the Queen City.
“Knowing that there is more Filipinos in Regina could really make you feel encouraged to come,” she said.
She’s enthusiastic about the growth and hopes to see it continue.