Sveva said that her father had an adventurous spirit. He believed that people had more freedom in Canada, so he decided to move his family to British Columbia when they left Italy. Thirty years before, in 1890, Leone and an Italian friend had come to BC on a hunting trip. The two men spent several months in the Kootenays hunting grizzly bears. Leone was impressed by the scenic beauty and the simple lifestyle he saw there. When he was ready to move to Canada, he asked friends in England where the best place was to live in BC. They told him the Okanagan Valley. He chose the town of Vernon by randomly pointing his finger at a map of the Valley!

Leone bought tickets for himself, his young daughter Sveva, Sveva’s mother Ofelia, and Ofelia’s companion Miss Juul, (pronounced Yule). Leone asked a real estate agent to meet them at the train station in Vernon. Leone wanted to look at any large house that was for sale. He also asked for a delivery wagon to carry the 30 pieces of luggage Ofelia brought with her. Ofelia approved of the third house they looked at. Leone bought the house on the spot for $7,000 cash. This big house on Pleasant Valley Road would be home to Sveva for the rest of her life.