The Invisible Immigrants    

Canadian immigrants of European ancestry are known as "invisible immigrants" because they blend easily with the descendants of early  European Canadian immigrants.  In many cases,  the invisible immigrants  experience the same struggles of "fitting in".  This happens in two ways:

(1)  Language proficiency -  European immigrants including Italians, Germans, Greeks, Ukranians, Polish and any who do not speak English as their first language struggle with English proficiency.  Immigrants who settle in Canada after their teen years often have difficulty shaking off their "accent".

(2)  Foreign education credentials - Many educated professionals find that their foreign education do not count in Canada and are required to spend years of additional schooling and training to upgrade their skills in accordance to Canadian standards. 

These two struggles unite all immigrants of all ancestries.   In this sense, all Canadian immigrants share one thing in common, the same powerful experience of having to "re-tool, re-learn, and adjust to a new life in a new country".

Here are some of the invisible immigrants who have integrated well into Canadian society.

William Vander Zalm
William (Bill) Vander Zalm was born on May 29, 1934 in Netherlands.  He emigrated to Canada after World War II in 1947  and lived in the Fraser Valley.   After leaving high school, he sold tulip bulbs, which eventually led to his nursery and gardening business.  He became involved in real estate when he bought Fantasy World Garden in 1984.  Vander Zalm was heavily involved in politics.   He served as the 28^th premier of British Columbia during the period August, 1986 to April, 1991.  He resigned from politics in 1991 after a controversy of influential peddling relating to the sale of  the Fantasy Garden theme park.

Frank Stronach was born (Franz Strohsack) September 6, 1932,  in Austria to a working class couple.  He grew up during the period of the Great Depression and the Second World War.    At 14, he left school to apprentice as a tool and die maker. In 1954, at the age of 22, Frank immigrated to Canada and eventually settled in Ontario.   He is married to Elfriede Sallmutter, also from Austria, and together they have two children, Belinda Stronach, and Andrew Stronach.  Frank Stronach is the founder of Magna International, an Ontario-based international automotive parts company.  He also founded Magna Entertainment Corp., which specializes in horse-racing entertainment.  His daughter, Belinda Stronach, is now CEO of Magna.  She was once a Liberal MP, (formerly Conservative).

Grahame Shannon was born 1948 in Grenada, British West Indies to a British nutmeg planter and a Canadian mother.   In 1952, the family immigrated to Canada during the aftermath of local workers' riots in the plantation.  Grahame finished his schooling in Alberta and moved to Vancouver in his late teens.  He started his career as a computer engineer with IBM.  He switched career in his late twenties to become a yacht designer.  In 1980, Grahame Shannon founded Coast Yacht Design, which evolved into AutoSHIP Inc. when he wrote AutoSHIP hull design software.  AutoSHIP went on to become the most widely PC-based hull design software.  In 1994, Grahame was involved with the design of America3, contender for the America Cup Yacht Race. He is best known for his sailboat designs including the Amazon steel yacht series.  Today, he works mainly with custom yacht designs through his company Avia Design Group.
 

Born in Hampshire, England, Laurence Yeadon-Jones is an architect and designer with talents for unique, accurately detailed maps and imaginative photography. His wife Anne, born in Durban, South Africa, is an apparel designer and stylist.  Together, they are experienced offshore/inshore sailors, who in 1985 voyaged from Southampton, England on their first sailing expedition across the Atlantic Ocean. They have logged thousands of cruising hours charting, recording and photographing their adventures - these experiences incorporated in their Cruising Guide books called the Dreamspeaker series.
 

Bernie Hahnhaussen was born in Germany and immigrated with his family and four children to Canada in the year 1995.  Today, he is the Senior Pastor at Grace International Baptist Church at 7650 Jasper Crescent in Vancouver.  He heads an international congregation with members of different ethnic mix.  Grace International Baptist Church is part of the Baptist General Conference, which had its beginnings with the Swedish immigration movement to North America in the 1870's.  You can hear Bernie Hahnhassen preach every Sunday at 10:30 am at the Grace International Baptist Church.

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