The migrants were encouraged to leave their home country by labour agents or "padrones," who travelled from town to town. These men provided work, food, clothing, and sometimes lodging for the migrants. The postal system was key to the successful operation of the padrone system. Leaflets and business cards were sent to steamship agents and labour agencies in villages and towns in Italy.

Starting in the late 1870s, the men left first in search of steady work and higher wages. Many became sojourners for years as they moved back and forth, temporary residents of both countries. By the early 1930s, about 20,000 eventually decided to stay in Toronto.

In Canada, the Italians could make nearly five times as much as they could at home-enough to live on and to send back to their towns. In this way, emigration, while difficult, helped maintain the integrity of home and land. Soon it became an accepted part of life in southern Italy.