在魁北克经营便利店的中国人：亚洲人在魁北克法语区的融入

Chinese People and Convenience Stores in Quebec:An Asian Incursion in French-speaking Quebec

本文旨在阐述一种鲜为人知的加拿大华人移民现象。大量中国移民因法语语言水平的限制,在魁北克省的大都市蒙特利尔无法找到与之能力匹配的工作,出于改善经济状况和增强社交力的战略性考量,他们最终选择在魁北克最法语化的偏远地区收购便利店—食品小卖部。这一看似矛盾的选择动机在于:偏远地区的商业市场竞争更小、更亲近自然,并且生活成本比城市更低。由此,魁北克的华人群体向我们展示了外来移民如何在郊区和半乡村化地区借助零售小商业,实现职业成功和社会地位晋升的诉求。

This article aims to present a little known phenomenon about Chinese immigration to Canada. The article shows that many Chinese immigrants, unable to find a job that meets their professional skills in the Quebec metropolis, Montreal, because, among other things, of a lack of fluency in French, adopt as a strategy of economic promotion and social mobility, to acquire convenience stores in the most francophone regions of Quebec. This apparently contradictory choice is motivated by an access to a less competitive commercial market, proximity with the nature and a lower cost of living than in the city. Thus, this example of the Chinese community in Quebec shows how immigrants can use the small retail trade in the outlying and semi-rural areas as an instance of professional success and social advancement.