This photograph, taken in 1912, illustrates the usual occupation of urban immigrant labour. The crew of pavers, mixing asphalt for a street in St. Vital, a predominantly English-speaking area, was posed for a promotional picture by the civic authorities. Workmen often had to supply their own shovels (worth over a day's pay) to obtain jobs such as this. Immigrant groups dominated the labour gangs in the early years of this century.
