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Immigrant Workers Centre

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The Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC) is a social justice organization based in Montreal , Québec , Canada .

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97-432: The IWC was founded in 2000 by a small group of Filipino-Canadian workers and their allies. The idea of a centre came from the experience of two of the founders: Tess Tesalona and Marco Luciano. Both had previously worked as union organizers and became aware of the lack of resources available to immigrant workers . The goal of the centre was therefore to provide a place for workers to talk about their situations and provide

194-550: A writing system , built huge pyramids and temples , had a complex calendar , and developed the concept of zero around 400 CE. The first recorded European references to North America are in Norse sagas where it is referred to as Vinland . The earliest verifiable instance of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact by any European culture with the North America mainland has been dated to around 1000 CE. The site , situated at

291-647: A Filipino community of almost 3,000 despite an extremely cold climate. The Filipino community has grown steadily from 735 in 2001. Filipinos in the Northwest Territories make the largest visible minority group there with a population of 1,410. Filipinos in the Yukon Territory are the second-largest minority group to the Chinese with a community of 1,310 living there. Nunavut has a growing Filipino population of 245. The territories received about 50 Filipinos on average

388-452: A critique of unions The Immigrant Workers Centre offers a broad range of activities to immigrant workers and their communities. The organization helps union organizing in workplaces with an important proportion of immigrants. The IWC also provides individual-rights counselling and workshops on issues like the history of labor movement . The Immigrant Workers Centre launched, in 2005, a community festival called MayWorks, dedicated to teaching

485-794: A fisherman who came to Canada from the Philippines in 1886 at the age of 20 years old. With his First Nations partner Mary/Marie Adams, they lived in Snug Cove and had three other Filipino boarders living with them, William Matilda, Antoni Bentorre, and Ricardo Castro. Others included Ben Flores , who were "beachcombers and fishermen" and were settled on a barge in Snug Cove; Basinto Pasento, who called his home Pasento Ranch and died in February 1904, John Delmond, and Jose Garcia. Several others worked as loggers, millhand, mine labourers, and longshoremen intermarrying with Indigenous peoples and other Pacific Islanders. By

582-620: A greater percentage of the Winnipeg city population (8.7%) than any other city in Canada. The Filipino community in Winnipeg is the largest visible minority group in Winnipeg, ahead of the Chinese-Canadians and Indo-Canadians (but excluding Indigenous Canadians, who are not counted as a visible minority by Statistics Canada). Winnipeg is home to one of the oldest Filipino communities in Canada, with immigration to Winnipeg beginning before 1950. Winnipeg

679-649: A large concentration of Filipinos. Most Filipinos in Brampton live in Bramalea or in downtown Brampton. Some Filipino families have migrated into more affluent pockets like Peel Village around Bartley Bull Parkway. As of the 2016 Canadian Census: City of Toronto Durham Region Halton Region Peel Region York Region Vancouver is home to Canada's second largest Filipino community, with nearly 134,000 Filipinos residing there. Filipinos in Vancouver make up

776-648: A period of mountain building called the Laramide orogeny , between 80 and 55 mya. The formation of the Isthmus of Panama that connected the continent to South America arguably occurred approximately 12 to 15 mya, and the Great Lakes (as well as many other northern freshwater lakes and rivers) were carved by receding glaciers about 10,000 years ago. North America is the source of much of what humanity knows about geologic time periods. The geographic area that would later become

873-571: A powerful earthquake killed seven people in 2009. Volcanic eruptions are common in the region. In 1968, the Arenal Volcano , in Costa Rica, erupted and killed 87 people. Fertile soils from weathered volcanic lavas have made it possible to sustain dense populations in agriculturally productive highland areas. Central America has many mountain ranges ; the longest are the Sierra Madre de Chiapas ,

970-448: A significantly lower rate of attaining a Graduate degree then other ethnic groups. Filipino Canadians are more likely to work in the health care industry and the social assistance industry (20.6%) than some other visible minorities. Despite representing a large immigration group, there have been only two Filipino-Canadians elected as federal members of parliament : Rey Pagtakhan ( 1988 ) and Rechie Valdez ( 2021 ). According to

1067-689: A sizeable number of speakers throughout the region. A huge percentage of the Filipino diaspora in GTA are working professionals. Several Filipino-owned businesses have also sprouted all over the metropolitan area. In 2017, Seafood City , a Filipino-owned supermarket chain in the United States, opened its first Canadian location in Mississauga. Other Filipino establishments like Jollibee , CrispyTown, Grill City, and Philippine National Bank have also established roots in

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1164-531: A transatlantic exchange , including migrations of European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the early modern period . Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples , enslaved Africans , immigrants from Europe, Asia, and descendants of these respective groups. Europe's colonization in North America led to most North Americans speaking European languages, such as English , Spanish , and French , and

1261-540: A variety of reactions, including curiosity, trading, cooperation, resignation, and resistance. The indigenous population declined substantially following European arrival, primarily due to the introduction of Eurasian diseases, such as smallpox , to which the indigenous peoples lacked immunity, and because of violent conflicts with Europeans. Indigenous culture changed significantly and their affiliation with political and cultural groups also changed. Several linguistic groups died out , and others changed quite quickly. On

1358-487: A visible ethnic minority and the total population. It was reported that the Average Employment Income for Filipino Canadians was $ 41,280 which was significantly lower compared to those who are not a visible ethnic minority ($ 52,550) and the total population ($ 50,280). Filipino Canadians had more earners per family. About 81% of the Filipino group lived in families with two or more earners, compared with 55% of

1455-719: A year from 2001 to 2006. North America North America is a continent in the Northern and Western Hemispheres . North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean , to the east by the Atlantic Ocean , to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea , and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean . The region includes the Bahamas , Bermuda , Canada ,

1552-640: Is a very large continent that extends from north of the Arctic Circle to south of the Tropic of Cancer . Greenland, along with the Canadian Shield , is tundra with average temperatures ranging from 10 to 20 °C (50 to 68 °F), but central Greenland is composed of a very large ice sheet. This tundra radiates throughout Canada, but its border ends near the Rocky Mountains (but still contains Alaska) and at

1649-468: Is also a radio station, CKJS , which broadcasts Filipino-related news, music, lifestyle and much more. Winnipeg's Filipino population is largely concentrated in the West End and North End areas of the city. The neighbourhood around Sargent Avenue and Arlington Street is 45% Filipino, and the neighbourhood around Sargent Avenue and Wall Street is 47% Filipino. Filipinos in Winnipeg contribute greatly to

1746-565: Is an advocacy group for Filipino Canadians active in and around the city of Montreal . It is the oldest such association in Quebec . The National Capital Region made up of the cities of Ottawa , Ontario and Gatineau , Quebec is home to the seventh largest Filipino community in Canada with over 14,000 Filipinos residing in Canada's capital. Ottawa is also the home of the Philippine Embassy and ambassador to Canada. Southwestern Ontario

1843-511: Is an ancient craton which forms the geologic core of North America; it formed between 1.5 and 1.0 billion years ago during the Proterozoic eon. The Canadian Shield is the largest exposure of this craton. From the Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic eras, North America was joined with the other modern-day continents as part of the supercontinent Pangaea , with Eurasia to its east. One of

1940-407: Is home to over 15,000 Filipinos. Most of them live in the cities of Cambridge , Guelph , Kitchener , London , and Windsor . Southwestern Ontario is home to a successful and thriving Filipino community. The city of Hamilton situated on the western shore of Lake Ontario is home to almost 12,000 Filipinos. Hamilton is home to the first Filipino community centre and school in Canada both opening in

2037-535: Is in present-day Panama at the Darien Gap on the Colombia -Panama border, placing almost all of Panama within North America. Alternatively, some geologists physiographically locate its southern limit at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec , Mexico, with Central America extending southeastward to South America from this point. The Caribbean islands, or West Indies, are considered part of North America. The continental coastline

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2134-630: Is long and irregular. The Gulf of Mexico is the largest body of water indenting the continent, followed by Hudson Bay . Others include the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Gulf of California . Before the Central American isthmus formed, the region had been underwater. The islands of the West Indies delineate a submerged former land bridge , which had connected North and South America via what are now Florida and Venezuela . There are several islands off

2231-548: Is part of North America geographically. In a geologic sense, Bermuda is not part of the Americas, but an oceanic island that was formed on the fissure of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge over 100 million years ago (mya). The nearest landmass to it is Cape Hatteras , North Carolina . However, Bermuda is often thought of as part of North America, especially given its historical, political and cultural ties to Virginia and other parts of

2328-686: Is the Morrison Formation of the western U.S. Canada is geologically one of the oldest regions in the world, with more than half of the region consisting of Precambrian rocks that have been above sea level since the beginning of the Palaeozoic era. Canada's mineral resources are diverse and extensive. Across the Canadian Shield and in the north there are large iron, nickel, zinc , copper, gold, lead, molybdenum , and uranium reserves. Large diamond concentrations have been recently developed in

2425-516: Is the humid subtropical climate . This area has the wettest cities in the contiguous U.S. , with annual precipitation reaching 67 in (1,700 mm) in Mobile, Alabama . Stretching from the borders of the humid continental and subtropical climates, and going west to the Sierra Nevada , south to the southern tip of Durango , north to the border with tundra climate, the steppe / desert climates are

2522-444: The 2021 Canadian census , Philippines is the third largest source country for immigration to Canada. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA), which includes the city of Toronto , and the regional municipalities of Durham , Halton , Peel , and York , is home to the largest Filipino community in Canada with a third of all Filipino Canadians calling the GTA home. As of the 2016 Census, there were 282,385 people of Filipino descent living in

2619-551: The Bering Strait during the Early-Middle Holocene . Prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in North America, the natives of North America were divided into many different polities, ranging from small bands of a few families to large empires. They lived in several culture areas , which roughly correspond to geographic and biological zones that defined the representative cultures and lifestyles of

2716-576: The British Columbia Coast , Western Canada , and Northern Canada . In the U.S., they include New England , the Mid-Atlantic , South Atlantic states , East North Central states , West North Central states , East South Central states , West South Central states , Mountain states , and Pacific states . The Great Lakes region and the Pacific Northwest include areas in both Canada and

2813-578: The Caribbean , Central America , Clipperton Island , Greenland , Mexico , Saint Pierre and Miquelon , Turks and Caicos Islands , and the United States . North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), representing approximately 16.5% of the Earth 's land area and 4.8% of its total surface area. It is the third-largest continent by size after Asia and Africa , and

2910-863: The Caribbean Plate , whereas the Juan de Fuca Plate and Cocos Plate border the North American Plate on its western frontier. The continent can be divided into four great regions (each of which contains many subregions): the Great Plains stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Arctic ; the geologically young, mountainous west, including the Rocky Mountains , the Great Basin , California , and Alaska ;

3007-553: The Cordillera Isabelia , and the Cordillera de Talamanca . Between the mountain ranges lie fertile valleys that are suitable for the people; in fact, most of the population of Honduras, Costa Rica, and Guatemala live in valleys. Valleys are also suitable for the production of coffee, beans, and other crops. The indigenous peoples of the Americas have many creation myths , based on which they assert that they have been present on

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3104-459: The East Coast to eastern North Dakota , and stretching down to Kansas , is the humid continental climate featuring intense seasons, with a large amount of annual precipitation, with places like New York City averaging 50 in (1,300 mm). Starting at the southern border of the humid continental climate and stretching to the Gulf of Mexico (whilst encompassing the eastern half of Texas)

3201-608: The Inuit of the high Arctic arrived in North America much later than other native groups, evidenced by the disappearance of Dorset culture artifacts from the archaeological record and their replacement by the Thule people . During the thousands of years of native habitation on the continent, cultures changed and shifted. One of the oldest yet discovered is the Clovis culture (c. 9550–9050 BCE) in modern New Mexico . Later groups include

3298-694: The Mississippian culture and related Mound building cultures, found in the Mississippi River valley and the Pueblo culture of what is now the Four Corners . The more southern cultural groups of North America were responsible for the domestication of many common crops now used around the world, such as tomatoes, squash , and maize . As a result of the development of agriculture in the south, many other cultural advances were made there. The Mayans developed

3395-621: The Report on Systemic Discrimination: Employment and Poverty in 2000. In 2009, the book Fight Back: Workplace Justice for Immigrants was published. Drawing on the experience of 50 foreign workers, the book relates the challenges they face when trying to join the workforce in Canada, the exploitation they are victimized by, as well as organizing and activist experiences. Filipino-Canadian Filipino Canadians ( French : Canadiens philippins ; Filipino : Mga Pilipinong Kanadyense ) are Canadians of Filipino descent. Filipino Canadians are

3492-480: The first official name given to Mexico. North America includes several regions and subregions, each of which have their own respective cultural, economic, and geographic regions. Economic regions include several regions formalized in 20th- and 21st-century trade agreements, including NAFTA between Canada , Mexico , and the United States , and CAFTA between Central America , the Dominican Republic , and

3589-400: The fourth-largest continent by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe . As of 2021 , North America's population was estimated as over 592 million people in 23 independent states , or about 7.5% of the world's population. In human geography , the terms "North America" and "North American" can refer to Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Greenland or, alternatively, Canada, Greenland and

3686-453: The 1490s, building cities, putting the resident indigenous populations to work, raising crops for Spanish settlers and panning gold to enrich the Spaniards. Much of the indigenous population died due to disease and overwork, spurring the Spaniards on to claim new lands and peoples. An expedition under the command of Spanish settler, Hernán Cortés , sailed westward in 1519 to what turned out to be

3783-603: The 1800s. At least nine male Filipino sailors, aged twenty-four to forty-two, appeared on the 1881 census of British Columbia. Living on a vessel in New Westminster, they were recorded ethno-racially as " Malay " [a loose term to describe Austronesian people] and listed as " Mahomitan " [an archaic term for Muslim]. A small Filipino community resided in Bowen Island , British Columbia in the 1880s. They probably engaged in both fishing and farming. They included Fernando Toreenya,

3880-562: The 1980s, Canada saw an influx of Filipino contract workers, many who found work as live-in caregivers. Many of the contract workers later became landed immigrants under the Live-In Caregiver Program. During the 1990s, more Filipinos came as families and independents instead of being sponsored by family or being recruited as contract workers. From 1990 onward, there has been a steady flow of Filipinos entering Canada, with about 10,000 to 20,000 coming in every year. In December 2008,

3977-635: The 2016 Canadian census, 64,275 Filipinos live and work in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region . Various Filipino associations celebrate the culture and take part in large metropolitan events such as the Edmonton Heritage Festival. In 2002, the Filipino community presented its home nation as the "Featured Country" during Capital Ex (formerly Klondike Days). Edmonton is also the home of the Philippine Cultural Society,

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4074-615: The Arctic, making Canada one of the world's largest producers. Throughout the Shield, there are many mining towns extracting these minerals. The largest, and best known, is Sudbury , Ontario. Sudbury is an exception to the normal process of forming minerals in the Shield since there is significant evidence that the Sudbury Basin is an ancient meteorite impact crater . The nearby, but less-known Temagami Magnetic Anomaly has striking similarities to

4171-635: The Caribbean islands. France took the western half of Hispaniola and developed Saint-Domingue as a cane sugar producing colony worked by black slave labor. Britain took Barbados and Jamaica , and the Dutch and Danes took islands previously claimed by Spain. Britain did not begin settling on the North American mainland until a hundred years after the first Spanish settlements, since it sought first to control nearby Ireland . The first permanent English settlement

4268-616: The Cod fish", in reference to the abundance of cod fish on the East Coast . Waldseemüller used the Latin version of Vespucci's name, Americus Vespucius, in its feminine form of "America", following the examples of "Europa", "Asia", and "Africa". Americus originated from Medieval Latin Emericus (see Saint Emeric of Hungary ), coming from the Old High German name Emmerich . Map makers later extended

4365-526: The GTA making them the fourth largest visible minority group behind the Indian, Chinese, and Black communities. The number of Filipino Canadians in the GTA grew from 252,120 in 2011 to 282,385 in 2016 representing a growth of 12% in 5 years. Tagalog is the fifth most spoken language, other than English or French, to be spoken in the GTA, and is also one of the fastest-growing languages in the region. Other Philippine languages , such as Ilocano, and Cebuano, also have

4462-456: The GTA. Filipinos are generally well spread out throughout the GTA, with a few areas of concentration. In the city of Toronto, the former municipalities of Scarborough and North York are popular destinations for new Filipino immigrants and naturalized Filipino Canadians alike. According to the 2016 Census, Tagalog is the most common non-English mother tongue language in the following neighborhoods: Other Philippine languages also ranked among

4559-560: The Last Glacial Period, and lasted until about 10,000 years ago when the Archaic period began. The classic stage followed the Archaic period, and lasted from approximately the 6th to 13th centuries. Beginning in 1000 AD, the Norse were the first Europeans to begin exploring and ultimately colonizing areas of North America. In 1492, the exploratory voyages of Christopher Columbus led to

4656-419: The North America's southeastern coast, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León , who had accompanied Columbus's second voyage, visited and named in 1513 La Florida . As the colonial period unfolded, Spain, England, and France appropriated and claimed extensive territories in North America eastern and southern coastlines. Spain established permanent settlements on the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola and Cuba in

4753-474: The Philippine Choral Society, and the Karilagan Dance Society. Radio station CKER-FM also broadcasts community programming to Filipinos in Edmonton. The sixth largest Filipino community in Canada, Montreal is home to nearly 36,000 Filipinos. Filipinos in Montreal are concentrated in the Snowdon neighbourhood and around Decarie Expressway , both areas have many Filipino establishments and professional offices. The Filipino Association of Montreal and Suburbs

4850-470: The Philippines passed China as Canada's leading source of immigrants. As of 2016, Filipino Canadians are a relatively recent immigrant group with the majority immigrating after the 2000s; most identify as first-generation or generation 1.5 (adolescent) immigrants. Out of the 780,130 Filipino Canadians, only 13,125 considered themselves third-generation. 74.5% OF Filipino Canadians are first generation. Filipino Canadians are paid less than those who are not

4947-416: The Sudbury Basin. Its magnetic anomalies are very similar to the Sudbury Basin, and so it could be a second metal-rich impact crater. The Shield is also covered by vast boreal forests that support an important logging industry. The United States can be divided into twelve main geological provinces: Each province has its own geologic history and unique features. The geology of Alaska is typical of that of

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5044-410: The U.S. North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, the Western Hemisphere , the Americas, or simply America, which, in many countries, is considered a single continent with North America a subcontinent . North America is the third-largest continent by area after Asia and Africa . North America's only land connection to South America

5141-522: The US (Mexico being classified as part of Latin America ) or simply Canada and the US (Greenland being classified as either Arctic or European (due to its political status as a part of Denmark) and Mexico classified as Latin American). It is unknown with certainty how and when first human populations first reached North America. People were known to live in the Americas at least 20,000 years ago, but various evidence points to possibly earlier dates. The Paleo-Indian period in North America followed

5238-429: The United States has been the source of more varieties of dinosaurs than any other modern country. According to paleontologist Peter Dodson, this is primarily due to stratigraphy, climate and geography, human resources, and history. Much of the Mesozoic Era is represented by exposed outcrops in the many arid regions of the continent. The most significant Late Jurassic dinosaur-bearing fossil deposit in North America

5335-442: The United States to renew their visas after they had expired in the hope of returning to the U.S. Most of them returned, but some stayed in Canada. From 1946 to 1964, the total number of Filipinos in Canada was 770. In the 1960s, Canada recruited more professionals, mostly from the United States, with some coming directly from the Philippines. Most of the nurses, technicians, office workers and doctors arrived in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In

5432-550: The United States, and Mexico. France , Italy , Portugal , Spain , Romania , Greece , and the countries of Latin America use a six-continent model , with the Americas viewed as a single continent and North America designating a subcontinent comprising Canada , the United States , Mexico, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (politically part of France), and often including Greenland and Bermuda . North America has historically been known by other names, including Spanish North America, New Spain , and América Septentrional,

5529-527: The United States. North America is divided linguistically and culturally into two primary regions, Anglo-America and Latin America . Anglo-America includes most of North America, Belize , and Caribbean islands with English -speaking populations. There are also regions, including Louisiana and Quebec , with large Francophone populations; in Quebec , French is the official language. . The southern portion of North America includes Central America and non-English speaking Caribbean nations. The north of

5626-453: The White group. 39.9% had three or more family members with employment income. If the Filipino group had a similar sociodemographic profile as the White group, its poverty rate would be about 1 percentage point higher than the observed rate for the group. Filipino Canadian men and women were the least likely among all visible minorities to be unemployed at 5.8% and 4.7% respectively. Filipino Canadians were largely more educated but had

5723-435: The area had shifted to the Aztec Empire , whose capital city Tenochtitlan was located further north in the Valley of Mexico . The Aztecs were conquered in 1521 by Hernán Cortés . During the so-called Age of Discovery , Europeans explored overseas and staked claims to various parts of North America, much of which was already settled by indigenous peoples. Upon Europeans' arrival in the " New World ", indigenous peoples had

5820-419: The city around 2006 and relocated its factories in South America . Over 600 jobs were lost in the process and former employees, most of whom were immigrants, did not receive compensation. In 2008, the IWC allied with the UNITE HERE union to help laid off workers of manufacturing company Golden Brand get compensation. The company eventually agreed to give $ 3.5 million to its 540 previous employees but, while this

5917-456: The city. In addition, Vancouver is home to Canada's first Goldilocks Bakeshop franchise. Ayala Land , the Philippines' leading real estate development company, recently completed a mix-use residential development with local real estate developer company, Rize, in Vancouver's Mt. Pleasant neighbourhood. Winnipeg is home to 77,305 Filipinos, making up the third largest Filipino community in Canada by total population. However, Filipinos make up

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6014-672: The community about the struggles of immigrant women through artistic projects. The cultural event took place on Women's day and the centre's goal is to raise awareness to the condition of immigrant women by repeating the festival every year. The Immigrant Workers Centre initiated many actions related to the North-to-South relocation of production trend that occurred in Montreal since 2003; this tendency resulted in several job losses without proper compensation , especially affecting immigrant employees. The festival consequently adopted an " ethical buying " policy. L’Amour Inc. also followed that pattern of transfers and started to close its operations in

6111-432: The continent maintains recognized regions as well. In contrast to the common definition of North America, which encompasses the whole North American continent, the term "North America" is sometimes used more narrowly to refer only to four nations, Canada, Greenland, Mexico, and the U.S. The U.S. Census Bureau includes Saint Pierre and Miquelon, but excludes Mexico from its definition. The term Northern America refers to

6208-452: The continent's coasts; principally, the Arctic Archipelago, the Bahamas , Turks and Caicos , the Greater and Lesser Antilles , the Aleutian Islands (some of which are in the Eastern Hemisphere proper), the Alexander Archipelago , the many thousand islands of the British Columbia Coast, and Newfoundland. Greenland , a self-governing Danish island, and the world's largest , is on the same tectonic plate (the North American Plate ) and

6305-410: The continent. The vast majority of North America is on the North American Plate. Parts of western Mexico, including Baja California, and of California , including the cities of San Diego , Los Angeles , and Santa Cruz , lie on the eastern edge of the Pacific Plate , with the two plates meeting along the San Andreas Fault . The southernmost portion of the continent and much of the West Indies lie on

6402-604: The cordillera, while the major islands of Hawaii consist of Neogene volcanics erupted over a hot spot . Central America is geologically active with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occurring from time to time. In 1976 Guatemala was hit by a major earthquake , killing 23,000 people; Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was devastated by earthquakes in 1931 and 1972, the last one killing about 5,000 people; three earthquakes devastated El Salvador, one in 1986 and two in 2001; one earthquake devastated northern and central Costa Rica in 2009, killing at least 34 people; in Honduras

6499-514: The cultures of the region commonly reflect Western traditions . However, relatively small parts of North America in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America have indigenous populations that continue adhering to their respective pre-European colonial cultural and linguistic traditions. The Americas were named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann . Vespucci explored South America between 1497 and 1502, and

6596-447: The driest in the U.S. Highland climates cut from north to south of the continent, where subtropical or temperate climates occur just below the tropics, as in central Mexico and Guatemala . Tropical climates appear in the island regions and in the subcontinent's bottleneck, found in countries and states bathed by the Caribbean Sea or to the south of the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean . Precipitation patterns vary across

6693-445: The early 80s and late 70s, respectively. The Niagara Region on the south shore of Lake Ontario is home to over 4,000 Filipinos. They form a tight knit community concentrated in the cities of St. Catharines and Niagara Falls . Niagara-on-the-lake is home to a very successful community and the only town to have had a Filipino mayor in Canada, Arturo Viola. The northern territories of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut have

6790-408: The end of the Canadian Shield, near the Great Lakes . Climate west of the Cascade Range is described as being temperate weather with average precipitation 20 inches (510 millimeters). Climate in coastal California is described to be Mediterranean , with average temperatures in cities like San Francisco ranging from 57 to 70 °F (14 to 21 °C) over the course of the year. Stretching from

6887-421: The first American inhabitants sailed from Beringia some 13,000 years ago, with widespread habitation of the Americas during the end of the Last Glacial Period , in what is known as the Late Glacial Maximum , around 12,500 years ago. The oldest petroglyphs in North America date from 15,000 to 10,000 years before present. Genetic research and anthropology indicate additional waves of migration from Asia via

6984-843: The geographic center of either the 50 states, the conterminous United States, or the North American continent." Nonetheless, there is a 4.6-meter (15 ft) field stone obelisk in Rugby claiming to mark the center. The North American continental pole of inaccessibility is located 1,650 km (1,030 mi) from the nearest coastline, between Allen and Kyle, South Dakota at 43°22′N 101°58′W  /  43.36°N 101.97°W  / 43.36; -101.97  ( Pole of Inaccessibility North America ) . Canada can be divided into roughly seven physiographic divisions: The lower 48 U.S. states can be divided into roughly eight physiographic divisions: Mexico can be divided into roughly fifteen physiographic divisions: North America

7081-450: The health and finance industries, with also a significant percentage who work in service, manufacturing, and real estate. Several others are business owners, with some bringing well-known franchise chains like Pepper Lunch and Chatime to the city. Qoola, a local frozen yogurt chain with over 20 locations, is also founded by a Manila-born businessman. Big restaurant names like Max's of Manila , and Jollibee have also made their presence in

7178-419: The indigenous people who lived there, including the bison hunters of the Great Plains and the farmers of Mesoamerica . Native groups also are classified by their language families , which included Athapascan and Uto-Aztecan languages. Indigenous peoples with similar languages did not always share the same material culture , however, and were not necessarily always allies. Anthropologists speculate that

7275-460: The land since its creation, but there is no evidence that humans evolved there. The specifics of the initial settlement of the Americas by ancient Asians are subject to ongoing research and discussion. The traditional theory has been that hunters entered the Bering Land Bridge between eastern Siberia and present-day Alaska from 27,000 to 14,000 years ago. A growing viewpoint is that

7372-551: The late 1960s, more Filipinos came to Winnipeg to work in the garment industry. During the 1970s, most Filipinos came directly from the Philippines to Winnipeg to work in clerical, sales and manufacturing fields. In the late 1970s, more Filipinos came to join their relatives who worked in Canada under the family reunification program. More and more Filipinos decided to settle in Ontario, particularly in Toronto, where jobs were prospering. In

7469-585: The local economy. Jollibee , a well known global Filipino fast food chain, has its first 2 Canadian locations established in this city. Calgary is home to over 75,000 Filipinos making them the fourth largest Filipino community in Canada. Filipinos started coming in droves in Calgary in the early 1980s and 1990s. Outside of Calgary, some smaller communities are experiencing an influx of Filipino immigrants to fill job vacancies. These new immigrants and their children work to integrate and flourish in Canada. According to

7566-640: The mainland in Mexico. With local indigenous allies, the Spanish conquered the Aztec empire in central Mexico in 1521. Spain then established permanent cities in Mexico, Central America, and Spanish South America in the sixteenth century. Once Spaniards conquered the high civilization of the Aztecs and Incas, the Caribbean was a backwater of the Spanish empire. Other European powers began to intrude on areas claimed by Spain, including

7663-912: The middle into the main range of the Rockies and the coast ranges in California , Oregon , Washington , and British Columbia , with the Great Basin—a lower area containing smaller ranges and low-lying deserts—in between. The highest peak is Denali in Alaska. The U.S. Geographical Survey (USGS) states that the geographic center of North America is "6 miles [10 km] west of Balta, Pierce County, North Dakota " at about 48°10′N 100°10′W  /  48.167°N 100.167°W  / 48.167; -100.167 , about 24 kilometers (15 mi) from Rugby, North Dakota . The USGS further states that "No marked or monumented point has been established by any government agency as

7760-743: The most common non-English mother tongue languages. Ilocano ranked in the top 10 non-English mother tongue languages in three neighbourhoods (Briar Hill-Belgravia, Englemount-Lawrence, Clanton Park). Cebuano also ranked in the top 10 languages for the Briar Hill-Belgravia neighbourhood. Outside of the city of Toronto, Mississauga , Markham and Vaughan in York Region, Ajax and Pickering in Durham Region, and Milton in Halton Region have large percentages of Filipino residents. Brampton contains

7857-450: The name America to North America. In 1538, Gerardus Mercator used the term America on his world map of the entire Western Hemisphere . On his subsequent 1569 map , Mercator called North America "America or New India" ( America sive India Nova ). The Spanish Empire called its territories in North and South America "Las Indias", and the name given to the state body that oversaw the region

7954-493: The northernmost countries and territories of North America: the U.S., Bermuda , Canada, Greenland, and St. Pierre and Miquelon. Although the term does not refer to a unified region, Middle America includes Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. North America's largest countries by land area are Canada and the U.S., both of which have well-defined and recognized subregions. In Canada, these include (from east to west) Atlantic Canada , Central Canada , Canadian Prairies ,

8051-440: The northernmost extent of the island named Newfoundland , has provided unmistakable evidence of Norse settlement. Norse explorer Leif Erikson (c. 970–1020 CE) is thought to have visited the area. Erikson was the first European to make landfall on the continent (excluding Greenland). The Mayan culture was still present in southern Mexico and Guatemala when the Spanish conquistadors arrived, but political dominance in

8148-586: The raised but relatively flat plateau of the Canadian Shield in the northeast; and the varied eastern region, which includes the Appalachian Mountains, the coastal plain along the Atlantic seaboard, and the Florida peninsula. Mexico, with its long plateaus and cordilleras , falls largely in the western region, although the eastern coastal plain does extend south along the Gulf. The western mountains are split in

8245-500: The region, and as such rainforest , monsoon , and savanna types can be found, with rains and high temperatures throughout the year. Notable North American fauna include the bison , black bear , jaguar , cougar , prairie dog , turkey , pronghorn , raccoon , coyote , and monarch butterfly . Notable plants that were domesticated in North America include tobacco , maize , squash , tomato , sunflower , blueberry , avocado , cotton , chile pepper , and vanilla . Laurentia

8342-478: The results of the formation of Pangaea was the Appalachian Mountains , which formed some 480 mya, making it among the oldest mountain ranges in the world. When Pangaea began to rift around 200 mya, North America became part of Laurasia , before it separated from Eurasia as its own continent during the mid- Cretaceous period. The Rockies and other western mountain ranges began forming around this time from

8439-409: The second largest subgroup of the overseas Filipinos , surpassed only by the United States , and one of the fastest-growing groups in Canada. Only a small population of Filipinos lived in Canada until the late 20th century. At the 2016 Canadian census , 851,410 people of Filipino descent lived in Canada, mostly in urban areas. The majority of Filipino Canadians speak Tagalog . Filipino Canadians are

8536-492: The third-largest Asian Canadian group in the nation after the Indian and Chinese communities. They are also the largest group from Southeast Asia in the country. Between the 2011 and 2016 censuses, the Filipino community in Canada grew from 702,200 to 820,100, a growth of about 7%, compared to the rest of Canada, which grew by 5% during the same time period. By the 2021 census , Filipino Canadians enumerated 957,355, or 2.58% of

8633-526: The third-largest Asian Canadian and visible minority group behind the Chinese and South Asians. Most of British Columbia's 159,000 Filipinos reside in the Greater Vancouver Area. Overall, about one in five Filipinos in Canada call Metro Vancouver home. Filipinos, along many other Asian Canadians, contribute to the city's economy greatly with their work ethic. Many of the Filipinos in Vancouver work in

8730-662: The total population, further displaying the community's rapid growth. Filipino migration to North America began with Philippine-made ships crossing the Pacific Ocean during the Manila galleon trade . As early as 1565, Spain began sending vessels northeast from the Philippines, riding the Kuroshio Current in a sweeping circular route across the northern part of the Pacific. Filipino servants, stowaways, and mariners arrived in parts of

8827-556: The turn of the century, there was a significant number of Filipinos; they were either naturalized as Canadians or were U.S. nationals in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. Larger numbers of Filipinos migrated to Canada in the 1930s. In 1950, 10 Filipinos were recorded in Manitoba. The first-generation Filipino Canadians were mainly women who worked as nurses and teachers and in the health sector. These first Filipinos came from

8924-447: The west coast of North America, from what is now Mexico to as far north as Alaska. By late 1700s, "Manila men" were recruited in naval operations, aboard the ship San Carlos el Filipino sent to support the short-lived Spanish settlement of Santa Cruz de Nuca and Fort San Miguel , Nootka Island , off the coast of Vancouver Island. Canada's earliest documented Filipinos coincided with North America's first wave of Asian immigration in

9021-659: Was a historic victory in the clothing industry, most of them still face unemployment On June 12, 2009, the IWC and former textile workers organized a rally at the National Assembly of Quebec to meet with Minister of Employment Sam Hamad and asked for better regulations and retraining programs. Although Hamad promised to remedy the situation and find employment for the laid off immigrant workers, no solutions were actually put in place. The Immigrant Workers Centre has conducted research, mostly based on real cases brought to them, including

9118-540: Was called the Council of the Indies . The United Nations and its statistics division recognize North America as including three regions: Northern America, Central America , and the Caribbean . "Northern America" is a distinct term from "North America", excluding Central America, which itself may or may not include Mexico . In the limited context of regional trade agreements, the term is used to reference three nations: Canada,

9215-460: Was home to the largest Filipino community before the 1980s. About one out of 10 Filipinos in Canada call Winnipeg home. Winnipeg includes a Filipino community centre called The Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba (PCCM), providing social and service to the Filipino community and also holding events such as Folklorama . There are also Filipino newspapers such as The Pilipino Express News Magazine , The Filipino Journal , and Ang Peryodiko . There

9312-790: Was in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, followed by additional colonial establishments on the east coast from present-day Georgia in the south to Massachusetts in the north, forming the Thirteen Colonies of British America. The English did not establish settlements north or east of the St. Lawrence Valley in present-day Canada until after the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War . Britain's early settlements in present-day Canada included St. John's, Newfoundland in 1630 and Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749. The first permanent French settlement

9409-468: Was the first European to suggest that the Americas represented a landmass not then known to the Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller published a world map, and placed the word "America" on the continent of present-day South America. The continent north of present-day Mexico was then referred to as Parias. On a 1553 world map published by Petrus Apianus , North America was called "Baccalearum", meaning "realm of

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