Harvesting Labour: Tobacco and the Global Making of Canada's Agricultural Workforce

Temporary foreign workers from the Global South have become a growing part of Canada's agricultural workforce, working in difficult and dangerous jobs with limited legal protections. Edward Dunsworth's book "Harvesting Labour" challenges the idea that these programs emerged in response to labor shortages and shows how the capitalist restructuring of farming has led to the transformation of tobacco and Canadian agriculture.

Format: Paperback / softback
Publication date: 15 September 2022
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press

In recent decades, a significant portion of Canada's agricultural workforce has been composed of temporary foreign workers from the Global South. These laborers undertake arduous and perilous tasks with limited legal safeguards, effectively hindering their prospects of achieving permanent residency in Canada.

Edward Dunsworth delves into the historical trajectory of farm work within one of Canada's less acknowledged yet pivotal crop sectors: Ontario tobacco. Dunsworth challenges the prevailing notion that temporary foreign worker programs emerged as a response to labor shortages or Canadians' reluctance to engage in agricultural work. In fact, Ontario's tobacco sector enjoyed widespread popularity among workers for much of the 20th century. Attractive wages attracted a diverse workforce, enabling thousands to establish themselves as small farm owners. However, by the end of the century, the sector had undergone a radical transformation. A handful of mega-farms now relied on foreign guest workers to cultivate their crops.

Dunsworth transports readers from the lush fields of Ontario's tobacco belt to rural Jamaica, Barbados, and North Carolina, and even into the corridors of government. Through his comprehensive analysis, he elucidates how the ultimate metamorphosis of tobacco—and Canadian agriculture as a whole—was intricately linked to the capitalist restructuring of farming.

Harvesting Labour seamlessly integrates the domains of labor, migration, and business history to reexamine the historical roots of contemporary Canadian agriculture and its workforce. This insightful book sheds light on the complex dynamics that have shaped the agricultural landscape in Canada and offers valuable insights into the ongoing challenges and opportunities facing both farmers and workers.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780228011248