A road trip to the heart of Canada's humanitarian efforts

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With the keys to a new Nissan Kicks in my hand, and fresh from my adventure to Listowel highlighting the pieces of Ireland here in Ontario , I decided to set off to spotlight another story of Canada’s history on a global scale.

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Today, Canada is seen as a champion of the underdogs and a safe haven for immigrants and refugees around the world. As the child of immigrant parents, I’ve been told a million times that the country is full of opportunities, but have sometimes heard longtime Canadians questioning the idea of open immigration policies and acceptance of refugees.

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A road trip to the heart of Canada's humanitarian efforts Back to video

“What if they don’t integrate?” some say aloud about refugees; “Why don’t we spend these resources on the people here?” is another topic that surfaces whenever these programs are brought up. But after a short road trip in the affordable Nissan Kicks, I learned that these questions were answered about 100 years ago, with a program dubbed Canada’s Noble Experiment that helped to change the perception of the country on the global scale, and helped keep a culture alive in the process.

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Being half-Armenian, the story of the Armenian genocide is one that was told several times in my household by my elders or their friends. From 1915, land, homes, traditions, friends and family were lost or sacrificed for whatever was left of the Armenian people to survive. For some mothers, they had to send their children to an orphanage, hoping they could get a better life, and more opportunities. Thanks to the efforts of those in Canada, those sacrifices weren’t in vain.

A modest crossover with an endearing energy

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I jumped into the recently refreshed Nissan Kicks and set a destination for the growing suburb of Georgetown. The Kicks is one of the most affordable new crossovers on the market – a vehicle for those on a budget, penny pinchers, or those wary of buying something worn out and unreliable on the used market. This isn’t a new thing for Nissan, as the automaker used to offer the Micra for under $10,000, although the starting price of the Kicks is nearly double that.

Despite the inflated price, the Kicks reminds me a lot of that peppy little car and maintains that same energy on the road. The 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine makes 122 horsepower and 114 lb-ft of torque, which sounds a little underwhelming but two important elements help the small crossover keep its edge.

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The continuously variable transmission manages to keep the buzzy motor in its sweet spot, meaning it always feels like that modest horsepower figure is always available, rather than waiting and hearing the engine roar to life to get some acceleration. In addition to that CVT, the Kicks keeps a modest weight of about 2,700 lbs, which isn’t far from light sports cars like the Subaru BRZ and Mazda MX-5. As a result, the small crossover is far more entertaining than it has any right to be.

Georgetown Bound: The land of opportunity?

But as I set off to the city in the recently refreshed Nissan Kicks, I find myself reflecting. I didn’t know much about the town, despite having grown up relatively close by in northwest Mississauga. My impressions of it are dated, thinking it would be mostly sparse, filled with farmland and few things to do and see, but today I found myself wanting to park the subcompact crossover several times to take in the scenery, try the local cafes and restaurants, and gawk at the large houses.

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Over 100 years ago, my original impressions would have been accurate. Georgetown was a farming town, and it turned out to be the site of what is sometimes called Canada’s Noble Experiment. Urged on by locals and the Armenian Canadian Relief Fund at the time, the Canadian government brought over 100 orphans of the Armenian genocide to a farm in Georgetown. Bringing them here raised their chances of survival, but the Canadian effort also aimed to educate them and allow them to grow up and contribute to their new home. They were called The Georgetown Boys.

Jack Apramian, a resident of the farm back in 1923, wrote a whole book detailing his experiences, titled The Georgetown Boys. While full of light and dark moments, the book also explains an important struggle that still exists with newcomers today. Under immense pressure to assimilate and “be Canadian” how does one retain their cultural heritage?

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The kids weren’t without supervision, as Aris Alexanian joined them as a teacher and assistant superintendent. When the kids came, no one spoke Armenian, but Alexanian was able to help translate and help the kids along their journey.

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Alexanian, the savvy, well-travelled businessman who eventually started a well-known carpet and flooring company, helped the kids maintain some connections to their heritage. On the farm, they set up their own Junior Red Cross, which raised money for the Armenian General Benevolent Union. Alexanian also guided the boys through a monthly newsletter known as Ararat . The newsletter translated old jokes and stories they knew from the orphanage overseas. They described the differences they saw between the two worlds. Alexanian guided them to write their stories and publish their art as a way to keep these cultural touchstones relevant.

This was an important effort; a way to reconnect and continue their heritage while learning and integrating somewhere new. But sometimes the attempts to integrate can go too far. For example, there were efforts to Anglicize the names of the children. Without their Armenian names, would the boys lose the final connection to their history?

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And what about religion? In those days, Georgetown had four churches: Anglican, Baptist,
Presbyterian and United, but no Armenian Apostolic Church (one of the oldest Christian institutions) so the children visited a different church each week. These days, there are several Armenian churches around the Greater Toronto Area, and many more throughout the country.

The farm run by orphans

The entrance to Cedarvale Park is at the bottom of a hill. This was the site of the Georgetown Boys’ Farm and has since been converted into a small daycare, with a playground and a generously sized field. It was here that the Armenian orphans lived, and learned. The farm had cows, horses, pigs and poultry, and the kids raised their own crops as well.

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The kids rotated through the tasks on the farm, always learning something new and developing their farming skills. The produce was sold to the surrounding community or in Toronto, helping them learn the value of their hard work.

Far from perfect, but better than expected

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Few writers experienced in the world of autos would call the Kicks luxurious, but those who haven’t had a new car or driven something built in the past few years could still be impressed by what’s offered in the affordable ride. Heated seats and a heated steering wheel are even found on modestly trimmed models, and while door handles and armrests feel slightly harsh, the vehicle is remarkably refined for what is essentially a vehicle built to a budget.

Base models even include safety features like blind-spot monitoring and emergency braking with pedestrian detection. Users can pair their phones to the head unit to get access to features like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

It may not be perfect, but the Nissan Kicks scores “Good” in many key crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Even the tough American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives the Kicks a 4 out of 5 safety rating. It hasn’t been awarded anything like the Top Safety Pick, but thanks to its technology and modern construction, there’s a good chance it’ll be safer than an older used car at the same price point.

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Life after the farm

After their time on the farm, the boys were placed into a farm home where they would live, work, and attend school. They provided cheap labour on the farm, and some shirked their school duties to stay and help their new families.

Today, it’s a hard trade-off: school or working all day and night in a field? But consider where these kids came from, where they had barely any food and had to share their living quarters with other orphans. They and their families were exiled from their homeland, with the eventual hope that the entire people would vanish, either through destruction or poverty.

Yet they survived, thanks in part to Canada’s first involvement in international aid to non-British or non-Commonwealth refugees. What started as a “Noble Experiment” helped modernize views on humanitarian aid, immigration and refugees, and turned into a major part of Canada’s national identity.

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Today we can enjoy Armenian music, food, festivals, schools and more throughout Toronto. What could have been erased through an all-out integration of these refugees, has been saved and enriched. And those that came are providing for the next generation too, as the Armenian Community Centre in Toronto just received a hefty government investment to revitalize their Youth Centre and improve their programs. It helps the new generation learn their roots, language and other pieces of their culture that were at risk of being lost or diminished if not for the support of the country nearly 100 years ago.

The story continued from the Georgetown Boys, though, with moments of heartbreak. Policies between the 1930s and ‘50s saw tightening immigration and refugee policies that turned oppressed and downtrodden people away, though things eventually changed in the mid-’50s with the admittance of Hungarian refugees fleeing the Soviet invasion. Since then, Canada has seen refugees from places including Czechoslovakia, Tibet, Uganda, Chile, Kosovo, Syria and even America. “The people of Canada” were even awarded the 1986 Nansen Medal by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

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The plaque and the people

As I pilot the Nissan Kicks around Georgetown’s neighborhoods and downtown core, I reflect on the conflicting opinions of immigration and refugee policies here in Canada. The city has grown over the years, integrating people from all over the world. That growth isn’t just due to the farm in Cedarvale Park, but from reading the plaques there, and learning about the history of people who call Canada home too.

It’s hard to ignore the spread of multiculturalism and acceptance throughout the province. We’re never more than a short drive away from someone else attempting to set up safe roots here in this place of opportunities – not to take over or impose their views on the community, but to save their own heritage.