Abstract
Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver have attracted most new immigrants to Canada. Small and medium-sized cities in Canada are keen to share the wealth that new immigrants represent, and federal and provincial governments support a more even distribution of settlement. As a result, the idea of attracting new immigrants to smaller locations is a pressing policy issue. This research weighs the characteristics of place that new immigrants consider on arrival. It uses findings from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (Statistics Canada, 2003) to construct an index that ranks five medium-sized cities in British Columbia in terms of their potential attractiveness to new immigrants. The index created proves robust and reliable from a statistical viewpoint. The study confirms that immigrants are attracted to cities where friends and family or other immigrants live. Moreover, the increase in attractiveness of a city is primarily related to its size. The index is an indicator of the role that population and the extant number of immigrants in situ plays in determining the appeal of smaller cities. From a policy perspective, if governments wish to “spread the wealth” associated with immigration and an expanded labour force, a proactive policy stance that enumerates and communicates the appeal of less prominent communities is vital. This is an important finding, and we offer policy options that account for the relationship of population size to immigrant retention.
Résumé
La grande majorité des immigrants au Canada s’établissent à Montréal, à Toronto ou à Vancouver. D’une part, les petites villes et celles de taille moyenne tiennent à partager les richesses découlant de l’arrivéc d’immigrants; d’autre part, les gouvernements fédéral et provinciaux appuient une répartition plus égale des nouveaux immigrants. En conséquence, l’idée d’attirer les nouveaux immigrants vers de plus petits centres s’avère une question stratégique urgente. Cette recherche examine les caractéristiques liées à l’emplacement que les immigrants prenment en compte lors de leur arrivée. En nous appuyant sur les résultats de l’Enquête longitudinale auprès des immigrants au Canada (ELIC), nous créons un index d’attractivité qui évalue cinq villes de taille moyenne en Colombie britannique en fonction de la mesure dans laquelle les nouveaux immigrants sont susceptibles de les considérer intéressantes. L’index s’est avéré un outil statistique robuste et fiable. L’étude confirme que les immigrants sont attirés vers les villes où ils retrouvent «des amis et de la famille» ou d’autres groupes d’immigrants. De plus, le facteur d’attractivité d’une ville augmente principalement en fonction de sa taille. L’index constitue un indicateur du rôle que jouent la population et le nombre d’immigrants sur place dans l’attractivité des petites villes. Dans une perspective stratégique, si les gouvernements veulent distribuer les richesses découlant de l’immigration et d’une main-d’oeuvre accrue, il est crucial d’adopter une position de principe proactive qui valorise les communautés moins en vue et qui fait connaître leurs attraits. Cette conclusion est importante, et nous offrons des possibilités d’action qui tiennent compte du lien entre la taille de la population et la rétention des immigrants.
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Hyndman, J., Schuurman, N. & Fiedler, R. Size matters: Attracting new immigrants to Canadian cities. Int. Migration & Integration 7, 1–25 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-006-1000-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-006-1000-6