101-year-old Filipina Grandmother shares her immigration story in honour of Canada Day

Paulina Ramos Augustine, known as Lola, is a 101-year-old Filipina Montrealer. She and her son Jess are sharing their immigration story and her secret to longevity in honor of Filipino Awareness Month and Canada Day.

Lola’s favourite catch phrase? “Don’t worry, be happy.”

Born in 1923 in Manila, Philippines, Paulina’s journey began in a world marked with turbulence and struggle. The Philippines, still under American colonial rule, yearned for independence amidst a struggling economy and pervasive poverty.

Her son Jess Agustin says he “was 24 years old when we arrived in Canada.

“It was not really a planned immigration, I was stranded because I was not allowed to go back because I was critical of the Philippines government.

“Government of Canada allowed me to stay and we became Canadian citizens.

“We started a family in Windsor Ontario, by that time I was travelling a lot and we asked my mom to come to Canada since we were having our second baby, which was Justin Agustin.

“She was about to retire, she was 63 years old. She decided to come and help us raising our, at the time, two kids.”

What Lola loves most about Canada may surprise you.

Lola says, “I like in the hospital, because they take care of you, they’re all attentive.

“Yeah, I have to pay for it.

“It’s free or especially the medicine, not like in the Philippines, it’s expensive.

“That’s why I like Canada.”

Jess says, “Here I have a Filipino accent and they keep on asking me, you know, where are you from?

“So, since we arrived here in Canada, that’s the biggest question we had.

“Who is Canadian? What is a Canadian?

“When we arrived in Quebec, the slogan was Quebec pour Québécois.

“Then another question, am I Canadian or Quebec?

“So we had this question of identities, but it was a good kind of soul searching, cultural searching that I think made our children more open and more aware of where they came from and how they should be accepting all cultures, all people.

“And I think we succeeded in raising them that they see that they’re not just simply Canadian, but they’re also a global Canadian.”

Jess says, “I’m proud that we are a Canadian, sometimes hyphenated Canadian. Happy Canada Day.”