Civic Engagement of
Immigrants in the Tri-Cities
Tri-Cities Local Immigration Partnership
Research Goal
 To determine newcomers’
perceived community
integration needs with
regard to social, political,
cultural and economic
participation in the Tri-Cities
Guiding Questions
 What are the settlement and integration needs of
newcomers in the Tri-Cities?
 To what extent are immigrants civically engaged in their
community? In other words, to what extent are immigrants
participating in the social, cultural, economic, and political
activities in their community?
 What might further support the civic engagement needs of
newcomers?
Research Methods
 Key Informant Interviews
 Community Survey
 Organization Survey
 Focus Groups
Who Did We Hear From?
Community Survey Respondents
REFUGEE
5%
ESTABLISHED
IMMIGRANTS
13%
RECENT
IMMIGRANTS
34%
VERY RECENT
IMMIGRANTS
53%
Length of Time in Canada
CANADIAN
CITIZEN
16 %
PERMANENT
RESIDENT
79%
Residency Status
RUSSIAN
3%
OTHER
7%
FARSI
19 %
CHINESE
36 %
KOREAN
35 %
First (Native) Language
Who Did We Hear From?
Community Survey Respondents | Place of Residence
80%
11%
9%
OF RESPONDENTS
LIVED IN
COQUITLAM
OF RESPONDENTS
LIVED IN PORT
COQUITLAM
OF RESPONDENTS
LIVED IN PORT
MOODY
66% of Tri-Cities immigrants
live in Coquitlam (2011 Census)
21% of Tri-Cities immigrants
live in Coquitlam (2011 Census)
13% of Tri-Cities immigrants
live in Coquitlam (2011 Census)
Who Did We Hear From?
ORGANIZATION SURVEY RESPONDENTS
PUBLIC
18%
FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANTS
 Mandarin, Korean, Farsi
 25 participants
FOR PROFIT
46%
12 MALE
13 FEMALE
NON PROFIT
36%
(n=32)
Settlement
& Integration Needs
THEME 1
Key Needs Identified by Immigrants
SINCE MOVING TO THE TRI-CITIES AREA, HAVE YOU EVER NEEDED HELP WITH ANY OF THE
FOLLOWING?
70%
63%
60%
49%
50%
38%
40%
30%
34%
30%
25%
25%
FINDING
RECREATION
ACTIVITIES
FINDING HOUSING
24%
23%
20%
10%
0%
LANGUAGE
TRAINING
LEARNING ABOUT FINDING A JOB
& ACCESSING
HEALTH CARE
SERVICES
ADAPTING TO A LEARNING ABOUT
NEW CULTURE
THE
NEIGHBOURHOOD
SCHOOL
MAKING FRIENDS,
REGISTRATION BUILDING SOCIAL
CONNECTIONS
How well are immigrants’ needs being met?
% WHO DID NOT RECEIVE HELP
140
55%
110
47%
85
45%
LEARNING ABOUT & ACCESSING
HEALTH SERVICES
65%
66
65%
35%
35%
LEARNING ABOUT THE
COMMUNITY/NEIGHBOURHOOD
LACK OF FRIENDS/SOCIAL
CONNECTIONS
53%
FINDING A JOB
Challenges Based on Length of Time in Tri-Cities
70%
LANGUAGE BARRIER
40%
64%
69%
34%
UNEMPLOYMENT/
UNDEREMPLOYMENT
30%
33%
OF RESPONDENTS WHO
HAVE LIVED IN TRI-CITIES
MORE THAN 5 YEARS ARE
STILL AFFECTED BY AT
LEAST ONE OF THESE
CHALLENGES
25%
SOCIAL ISOLATION
18%
23%
5 YEARS OR LESS
MORE THAN 5 YEARS
OVERALL
Key Findings – Settlement & Integration
 While many immigrants identified that they needed help with
language training, most were able to find the help they needed
 Learning about & accessing health care services is a key unmet
need
 Finding a job, learning about the neighbourhood, and building
social connections were also key unmet needs
 Challenges such as unemployment/underemployment and social
isolation continue to affect immigrants regardless of how long
they have been living in the Tri-Cities
Theme 1 – Discussion Questions
1. From your knowledge and experience, what is your reaction to these
findings? Do they align with your experience?
2. What promising practices or approaches, local or otherwise, are you
aware of that would improve the ability of immigrants in the TriCities to learn about and better access health care, employment
and/or community information?
Connection to
Community
THEME 2
Reasons for Settling in Tri-Cities
1. Family or friends are already settled in Tri-Cities
46% of survey respondents
2. Affordable housing and relatively lower cost of living
40% of survey respondents
3. Perception that Tri-Cities is a ‘family-oriented’
community
~10% of survey respondents and focus group participants
Feeling Welcome in Tri-Cities Communities
“I FEEL WELCOME IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD”
Feeling connected to
their community is
important to
98%
of respondents
47%
44%
Feel welcome in their
neighbourhood
Respondents who feel welcome in their
neighbourhood are more likely to report
being satisfied with their life in the Tri-Cities
are neutral
9%
do not feel
welcome
Social Connections
 More than a quarter of respondents say it is difficult to make
new friends
 45% say it is difficult to make friends with people from other
ethnicities in their community
 40% are alone more often than they would like
 Social isolation is a challenge for one out of every four
respondents
“The loneliness is a concern for everyone who moves here, and with the
language barrier it’s hard to make friends…”
– Focus Group Participant
Key Findings - Connection to Community
 Overall, respondents in the Tri-Cities feel welcome in their
neighbourhoods, although there is room for improvement
 Many respondents find it difficult to make friends and feel socially
isolated, regardless how long they have been living in the Tri-Cities
 Respondents who are more comfortable communicating in English are
more likely to find it easy to make friends and feel welcome in their
neighbourhood
 Respondents who feel welcome in their neighbourhood are more likely
to report being satisfied with their life in the Tri-Cities
Theme 2 – Discussion Questions
1. From your knowledge and experience, what is your reaction to these
findings? Do they align with your experience?
2. What could/should be done in the Tri-Cities to enhance the feelings
of connectedness of both immigrants and long-time residents as
well as reduce the social isolation of immigrants?
What information or support does the host community need? What
information or support do new immigrants need?
Civic Engagement in
the Tri-Cities
THEME 3
Civic Engagement in the Tri-Cities
What do we mean by ‘Civic Engagement’?
Civic Engagement broadly refers to people’s connections
with the life of their communities
We have examined ‘civic engagement’ using a continuum of
activities (individual to collective) across social, cultural,
political, and economic dimensions
 Civic engagement is a key factor in the cohesiveness of a
community
Social and Cultural Participation
“Since moving to the Tri-Cities, have you done any of the
following…”
90%
80%
84%
83%
TRI-CITIES
70%
60%
METRO VANCOUVER
50%
40%
30%
48%
49%
39%
42%
42%
34%
26%
20%
10%
8%
0%
VISITED LIBRARY,
HAVE VOLUNTEERED SINCE ATTENDED AN EVENT PUT
COMMUNITY CENTRE, OR
MOVING TO CANADA
ON BY A CULTURAL OR
RECREATION CENTRE
ETHNIC GROUP
ATTENDED A RELIGIOUS
SERVICE
ATTENDED A
NEIGHBOURHOOD OR
COMMUNITY MEETING
Volunteering
48%
have volunteered
since moving to
Canada
Reasons for volunteering:
 To help others (71%)
 To feel part of community (59%)
 To gain experience in Canada (58%)
 To meet new people (57%)
Reasons for not volunteering:
 Language barrier (74%)
 Lack of information about volunteer
opportunities (32%)
 Lack of time (30%)
Political Participation
70%
61%
60%
TRI-CITIES
NATIONAL AVERAGE (2004)
50%
40%
35%
28%
30%
24%
20%
20%
11%
10%
6%
2%
0%
MEMBER OF AN
ORGANIZATION
SIGNED A PETITION
ATTENDED A PUBLIC
MEETING
CONTACTED A
NEWSPAPER OR
POLITICIAN TO EXPRESS
VIEWS
71%
of eligible
respondents
have voted in
Canada
Economic Participation
Employment Rates of Community Survey Respondents
30%
21%
WERE
EMPLOYED
WERE
UNEMPLOYED
27%
WILL LOOK FOR
WORK IN THE
FUTURE
Economic Participation - Challenges
RESPONDENT EMPLOYMENT
RESPONDENTS WHO
WERE COMFORTABLE
COMMUNICATING IN
ENGLISHWERE
WERE MORE
LIKELY TO BE EMPLOYED
EMPLOYED
FULL TIME
30%
31% SAY THAT
UNEMPLOYMENT/
UNDEREMPLOYMENT IS A
CHALLENGE
WERETHAT
AFFECTS
THEIR DAILY LIFE
UNEMPLOYED
21%
27%
LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES,
A LACK OF CANADIAN
EXPERIENCE, AND
WILL LOOK
FOR
CULTURAL
DIFFERENCES
IN THE
AREWORK
KEY CHALLENGES
FOR NEWCOMER
FUTURE STAFF
Key Findings - Civic Engagement
 A much larger proportion of respondents participated in social
and cultural activities than in political activities
 Voter turnout is higher than the national average, but
participation in all other measures in the political sphere is
low
 Language difficulties, a lack of Canadian experience, and
cultural differences are key challenges for newcomer staff
Theme 3 – Discussion Questions
1. From your knowledge and experience, what is your reaction to these
findings? Do they align with your experience?
2. What could/should be done in the Tri-Cities to increase the civic
participation of immigrants?
What information or support does the host community need? What
information or support do new immigrants need?