Thread: The Changing Faces of Brandon (Canada)

The changing faces of Brandon

The amazing part of Brandon’s influx is how many immigrant families have put down roots after arriving on work visas Colin Corneau/Brandon Sun

An amazing demographic shift began with a plant to ‘disassemble' hogs

Jeffrey Simpson

Published on Thursday, Mar. 11, 2010 6:55PM EST Last updated on Friday, Mar. 12, 2010 3:16AM EST

To the uninitiated, the Brandon art gallery might seem to be an unlikely place to hear Spanish. But the other day, three young women were studying a painting and chattering in Spanish.

Hang around Brandon for a little while, and you'll see signs in Mandarin and Ukrainian, too, because a demographic shift has hit this Manitoba city of 45,000 people.

English, Spanish, Mandarin and Ukrainian are the “official languagesâ€

A "warm and fuzzy" view. This is essentially how massive illegal immigration began in the United States beyond the border states with Mexico - by meatpacking plants bringing in illegal aliens, primarily from Mexico and Latin America, to take good jobs formerly held by unionized United States workers at far lower hourly wages, benefits, and levels of physical safety for both workers and animals.