The story of the West Indian Domestic Scheme is one important to Ottawa’s history. What began as an initiative meant to support Caribbean women ultimately became a great movement leading to great contributions to Canadian culture.

The story began in 1955 when Canadian policy responded to pressure to allow more Caribbean immigrants into the country. Becoming known as the West Indian Domestic Scheme, the initiative accepted women from any Caribbean nation as long as they were willing to work in the domestic field. After one year completed in the domestic service, they were permitted to take up employment of their choosing and bring family members into the country. This scheme followed decades of racist policies that greatly restricted non-white immigration to Canada. Canada’s racist history included an official statement released in 1911 prohibiting the migration of Black people into the nation, specially West Indian migrants due to the fact that Canada had cold winters that the West Indian immigrants would not be able to handle. The introduction of the West Indian Domestic Scheme meant a significant change in Canada’s policies and attitudes toward Black individuals. Under the Domestic Scheme, around three thousand West Indian women moved to Canada. 

Four criteria needed to be met for individuals to be considered for this Scheme: they had to be between the ages of 18 and 35 and unmarried, have attained at least an 8th grade education, have passed a medical examination, and been interviewed by Canada immigration. Only successful applicants were authorized to migrate to Canada. Many of them left families behind when they accepted jobs up North. Of the accepted women, the vast majority moved to Montreal or Toronto, with a number also settling in nearby cities such as Ottawa. This documentary focuses on the women who settled in Ottawa, their experiences and how their lives shaped the Canadian capital.

The documentary The West Indian Domestic Scheme Domestic Pioneers is a collaborative community history project organized in 2010 by leading organizations Black History Ottawa and Jaku Konbit. The documentary, directed by Garmamie Sideau, sought to show the contributions of Caribbean women to the National Capital Region and to Canadian heritage. Over the course of two years, Sideau interviewed numerous women who had moved from the Caribbean to Canada to work as domestic workers in the 1950s. The interviews reveal these women’s hardships, perseverance, and the impact on the current Canadian landscape.