The Prairie Metropolis Centre’s work led the way to a greater awareness of the oftneglected issue of immigration to the Prairie Provinces and spurred tremendous interest…
in the Metropolis research theme of regionalization of immigration. Strategies to
expand social and economic diversification in the Prairies, combined with burgeoning
resource-sector opportunities, have elevated immigration to a place of prominence.
Our Diverse Cities:
The Prairies – Frontiers of Migration
Introduction
TOM CARTER
University of Winnipeg
TRACEY DERWING
University of Alberta
LINDA OGILVIE
University of Alberta
TERRY WOTHERSPOON
University of Saskatchewan
The articles in this latest volume of Our
Diverse Cities demonstrate the significant role
immigration and immigration research have
played and continue to play in the Prairies.
Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta have long
been frontier destinations that promise a new
start. In earlier times, immigrants came with
hopes of acquiring land of their own. Now many
come for financial independence and a better
life. Despite the global economic downturn, the
Prairie Provinces are still prosperous, appealing
to newcomers, both immigrants and Canadianborn. Refugees are also well-represented on the
Prairies: with longstanding and strong support
for refugees, the three provinces together sponsor
proportionately more than the national average.
After several years during which most immigrants chose Toronto, Vancouver and Montréal,
immigration is now becoming more regionalized;
smaller centres seek to attract newcomers, and
newcomers recognize that there are opportunities
for them outside the traditional destinations.
Immigration in the last decade has seen other
changes as well. Provinces have become
more involved in newcomer selection, utilizing
Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). The federal
Temporary Foreign Worker Program is a venue
through which substantial numbers of newcomers
come much faster than through traditional
means to fill labour market demands. In this
volume, scholars, policy-makers and practitioners
share their insights, providing a comprehensive
overview of the Prairie Provinces’ experiences
with immigration.
The Metropolis Project, by integrating knowledge, policy and practice regarding immigration
and integration processes, can disseminate
information about common challenges and
transfer innovative approaches across jurisdictions. It draws attention to the unique ways in
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While the challenges of dealing effectively with cultural and racial diversity are enormous,
solutions lie with both the host community and the new arrivals. If integration is to
be successful, both groups must take central values to heart…based on notions
of equality, importance of community and acceptance of diversity.
which immigration has factored into the histories
and experiences in regional and national
contexts. The Prairie Metropolis Centre (PMC)
is instructive in this regard: the Prairies’
immigration patterns have appeared at times to be
out of synch with those in other parts of Canada.
However, the PMC’s work led the way to a greater
awareness of the oft-neglected issue of
immigration to the Prairie Provinces and spurred
tremendous interest among researchers – in the
Prairies and elsewhere – in the Metropolis
research theme of regionalization of immigration.
Strategies to expand social and economic
diversification in the Prairies, combined with
burgeoning resource-sector opportunities, have
elevated immigration to a place of prominence.
Immigration is now central in the planning
landscape, fuelling an economic resurgence and
providing renewed hope in many communities
once on their way to extinction. The PMC has
worked closely with all levels of government,
immigrant-serving agencies and academics to
ensure a strong knowledge base and enhanced
communications to better inform the integration
of immigrants and refugees, and to help host
communities become more welcoming.
Immigration and settlement on the Prairies
To understand the current context, we should
consider historical antecedents. Vineberg’s
article reveals that acceptance of diversity began
early in Canada’s history; the high intermarriage
rate among Europeans and First Nations people
and the Quebec Act of 1774 were two indicators
of this acceptance. Vineberg concludes that
citizenship and diversity are “inextricably
intertwined with our very Canadian identity.”
Subsequent articles demonstrate how the
commitment to diversity is evident in recent
immigration strategies on the Prairies. Gurlock
explores historical facts, pointing to the
significance of PNPs, particularly in Manitoba,
and the effects of secondary migration and
temporary foreign workers (TFWs). Wilkinson
and Kalischuk examine the migration of
newcomers to third-tier centres and the role of
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Our Diverse Cities
the Canadian Experience Class. They highlight
the need for timely statistics to determine
retention rates. Discussing settlement,
Birjandian and Bray describe “Made in the
Prairies” solutions to develop more awareness
within communities about immigration’s importance. They predict that the Prairies will attract a
larger percentage of Canada’s immigrants in the
future, and therefore encourage long-term
planning. The Honourable Nancy Allan of the
Government of Manitoba details the role of
Manitoba’s Worker Recruitment and Protection
Act, legislation from a province that has brought
in increased numbers of TFWs. In Saskatchewan
there is also a desire to attract newcomers, and
the provincial government will soon release
an immigration strategy to encourage more
individuals to settle there. Some components of
that strategy are no doubt outlined in Belding
and McRae’s article describing the “Toolbox of
Ideas for Smaller Centres,” a document intended
to help smaller communities attract and retain
newcomers. Pruegger and Cook’s article also
addresses attraction and retention of immigrants,
highlighting the importance of individual
community responses to newcomers. Shukla’s
article concludes this section with a discussion on
the reality of immigration to rural communities
and how best to cope in light of limitations and
barriers. She argues that, ultimately, it is crucial
to have a clear understanding of the nature of
the community and to develop partnerships to
achieve good outcomes.
The overall message in this first section is the
importance of long-term planning, the recognition that host communities play a significant
role in the integration of newcomers, and
the invaluable role that partnerships play in
integration strategies. Prairie communities
need “Made in the Prairies” solutions tailored
to newcomers and to communities themselves.
Cultural and racial diversity
Although the Prairies have always had a
significant indigenous population, the provinces’
immigrants were primarily of European origin
until the last few decades, when the region
began to attract more newcomers from various
non-European countries. This cultural and racial
diversity is tied to immigration trends in general,
but also to certain government policies,
including the PNP and the Official Languages
Program, which promotes the settlement of
Francophones, including those from Africa and
the Caribbean, in smaller western centres. In
recent years, Aboriginal populations have also
grown, revealing more complex dynamics both
internally and in relation to other groups.
Dib and Rodriguez-Gallagher provide statistics
from the 2006 Census on visible minorities and
indigenous people in the Prairies. After discussing
issues related to diversity, they conclude with
possible research topics for academics, highlighting the need to foster policies and practices
for effective social and economic integration.
Arnal, in an examination of Alberta’s
Francophone communities, suggests that there
is an important distinction between cultural
heritage and cultural development. He describes
David Crombie’s conception of Canadian values,
which rest on notions of equality, diversity
and community. Arnal argues that all groups,
Francophones included, must take these values
to heart in order to continue to develop.
TFWs are now coming to the Prairies in large
numbers, but the provincial governments’
interpretation of “temporary” differs considerably
from one province to the next. In Manitoba,
“temporary” means “transitional,” because the
province is interested in attracting individuals
who will choose to stay. Bucklaschuk, Moss
and Annis describe the impact that burgeoning
immigration will have on service provision,
housing, schooling and language supports
in Brandon. They stress the importance of
community collaboration and the recognition
that TFWs may become Canadian citizens in the
not-so-distant future.
Recent immigration patterns affect how
communities and individual subgroups, such as
youth, see themselves and interact with others.
Calgary’s increased racial diversity has come
with challenges, particularly discrimination. Cook
outlines some of the inequitable measures of
visible minority status in that city. He also points
to the high rates of hate crime and racism,
indicating that despite anti-racism initiatives,
Calgary must change its self-image to be a
viable destination for newcomers. In his article
examining the perceptions of Canadian-born and
foreign-born youth with regard to ethnic identity,
Frideres concludes that immigrant youth “have
an interest in maintaining their ethnic culture but,
at the same time, they realize that they must carry
out daily interactions with other ethnic group
members.” Hébert and Lee’s examination of
attachment to urban places among youth revealed
that young immigrants preferred home, unlike
their Canadian counterparts, who preferred
shopping malls. The authors discuss these findings
with regard to the absorption capacity of cities.
An area of immigration research that received
very little attention until recently is religion’s
role in the integration of newcomers. Mulatris
describes a pilot study that examines the
contribution of Francophone African Christian
churches in assisting newcomers.
Finally, Durst describes challenges and success
stories of urban Aboriginal peoples on the
Prairies, many of whom share neighbourhoods
with newly arrived immigrants and encounter
barriers similar to those experienced by them.
Given the high growth rate of the indigenous
population, it behooves researchers, policymakers and NGOs to consider how Aboriginal
issues interrelate with work among immigrant
and refugee populations.
The authors in this section demonstrate that
while the challenges of dealing effectively with
cultural and racial diversity are enormous,
solutions lie with both the host community and
the new arrivals. If integration is to be successful,
both groups must take central values to heart,
such as those outlined by Arnal, based on notions
of equality, importance of community and
acceptance of diversity.
Challenges facing newcomers
The raison d’être of the Metropolis Project is to
produce research that informs policies to ensure
that immigrants and host societies are wellserved. Many Metropolis studies have identified
difficulties faced by newcomers in crucial
aspects of their lives. In this section, the authors
describe several challenges and suggestions for
addressing them.
White explores immigrant and refugee women’s mental health. Her research indicates that
many of the barriers identified by a Canadian Task
Force in 1988 still remain. She proposes several
solutions, including a more collaborative approach
to health care.
Carter investigates the resettlement experience
of privately sponsored refugees. He concludes
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General orientation, housing, health care, schooling, adult language training,
employment and psychological counseling: these are all areas that can be dealt
with independently. However, if the providers of these services worked and planned
together, the outcome would be faster, less stressful immigrant integration.
that, overall, the privately-sponsored refugee
program in Winnipeg is working well, but
suggests follow-ups to monitor and support
resettlement and to provide assistance when
sponsorships fail. In their longitudinal study
of refugee housing in Winnipeg, Calgary and
Edmonton, Enns and Carter conclude that new
arrivals need access to more information
about housing and neighbourhoods and that
landlords also need information regarding
cultural differences. The authors suggest that
more transitional housing and an increased
supply of affordable rental accommodation are
needed; both would allow refugees to focus on
other settlement challenges.
Kanu addresses the schooling context for
African refugee students in Manitoba. She notes
that although schools try to help these students,
many changes are necessary, including faster
processing of refugee claims in Africa to reduce
disruption of schooling. Discrimination experienced by visible and linguistic minorities is
a theme explored by Lafontant and by Lai
and Huffey. Lafontant’s interviews of African
Francophone immigrants reveal that many had to
learn English for employment and most felt that
being Francophone, as well as a visible minority,
was an increased burden. Lai and Huffey’s research
on visible minorities in small-town Alberta
echoes familiar challenges: lack of recognition
for foreign credentials, differential treatment,
and intergenerational issues. Kazemipur focuses
on social capital and social trust in a study
comparing other provinces to Alberta. Using
frequency of voting, political party involvement
and confidence in public institutions as measures
of social capital, he argues that the Prairie
Provinces are not well prepared to accommodate
newcomers. He calls for a heavy investment in
social infrastructure.
In her examination of the transition of Filipino
caregivers from TFWs to permanent residents
in southern Alberta, Bonifacio concludes that
standard settlement programs are generally
irrelevant to their needs. She recommends an
evaluation of existing services to better serve
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Our Diverse Cities
these individuals. Rogers argues that settlement
agencies should not be alone in helping
newcomers overcome barriers: everyone must
fight injustice.
The cases in this section highlight issues that
have arisen as Prairie communities have sought
to accommodate newcomer groups. Research has
demonstrated critical needs, both in institutional
relationships and service delivery arrangements,
but it has also demonstrated the growth of
innovative partnerships and arrangements that
may apply in other contexts. Some of these
arrangements are the focus of articles in the
next section.
Integration initiatives
The ultimate goal of many newcomers is full
integration into Canadian society. It is also
the goal of service-providing agencies and
government departments. In this section, several
initiatives that have fostered integration are
highlighted. Some concentrate on immigrants
and others on accommodations carried out by
existing institutions. Although newcomers move
to Canada, they live in a particular community,
and how they are received has an impact on
whether they feel welcome. The articles that
follow focus on individual municipalities, or
work that provincial governments do in
conjunction with communities.
Palamar describes several activities undertaken
by the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship
Commission to build welcoming communities and
combat racism. The Commission has worked
with local governments to support the Coalition
of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination. Garcea and Garg outline initiatives
taken by the City of Saskatoon to attract, retain
and integrate more newcomers through inclusive
consultation with all stakeholders.
As described by Reilly, another Prairie city
active in the area of integration is Edmonton,
which has developed an Immigration and
Settlement Policy, materials for newcomers –
including a Newcomer Guide in eight languages
– and partnerships with other levels of
government. In 2009, Edmonton launched a
3-1-1 telephone interpretive service with information in more than 150 languages on all city
services as well as referrals to relevant community
services. As for Winnipeg, Haliburton writes that
the City does not have a stand-alone policy
for diversity, but that diversity is integral to
all human resources policies, directives and
practices. As well, the City has several specific
initiatives developed for immigrants, persons
with disabilities and Aboriginal youth.
Gurnett discusses the Edmonton Mennonite
Centre for Newcomers’ (EMCN) holistic, integrated
practice. Recognizing the complexity of
integration, EMCN has adopted this approach
rather than dealing with newcomers’ needs
in piecemeal fashion. Gurnett stresses the
importance of really listening to newcomers
in order to assist them. Chiu, Ortiz and Wolfe
describe the work of the Multicultural Health
Brokers Cooperative in Edmonton, which has
developed initiatives that address determinants of
immigrants’ health and that increase the cultural
responsiveness of the health care system.
Dietrich outlines activities of the Regina Open
Door Society that serve newcomers and the
host community alike. Winnipeg’s unique experiences with refugee sponsorship are discussed
by Denton; this city comprises 2% of Canada’s
population but receives 17% of the country’s
private sponsorships. Indeed, more than 56% of
all new cases of private sponsorship submitted to
the federal government are from Winnipeg.
Fleming Juárez describes the Community Host
program at the Saskatoon Open Door Society,
which she views as crucial to retention. Passler
ends this volume with a description of the
Southeast Community Settlement Committee,
established to help newcomers upon their arrival.
The Committee, which represents several
rural communities in Saskatchewan, has two
functions: to see that newcomers are welcomed
by volunteers and to ensure that volunteers
become more knowledgeable about people from
other cultures.
As several authors indicate, many serviceproviding organizations are ready to receive
newcomers, and numerous municipalities
have established equitable policies to support
newcomers and minorities. Nonetheless, the
key to making immigrants feel welcome is the
development of a coherent, holistic approach,
which involves partnerships and communication.
Best practices should be based on solid research.
General orientation, housing, health care,
schooling, adult language training, employment
and psychological counseling: these are all areas
that can be dealt with independently. However,
if the providers of these services worked and
planned together, the outcome would be faster,
less stressful immigrant integration. Governments
can play an important role by bringing other
stakeholders together and developing policies that
would foster fairer practices for immigrants.
About the authors
TOM CARTER is a Canada Research Chair in Urban Change
and Adaptation and professor of Geography at the
University of Winnipeg. His research focus is on housing
and urban development, with a particular interest in
housing for immigrants and refugees.
TRACEY DERWING is Professor of ESL in the Educational
Psychology Department at the University of Alberta and
co-Director of the Prairie Metropolis Centre. Her primary
research focuses on the development of oral fluency,
pronunciation, and intelligibility in adult ESL speakers.
LINDA OGILVIE is Professor of Nursing at the University of
Alberta and co-Director of the Prairie Metropolis Centre.
Her primary research focus relates to the determinants
of health among newcomer children and families.
TERRY WOTHERSPOON is Professor of Sociology at the
University of Saskatchewan and chair of the PMC Board. His
primary research focuses on relationships among changing
education systems, workplaces and social diversity.
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