As Canada welcomes historic numbers of immigrants, how can communities be more welcoming?

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In 2021, immigrants made up almost one-quarter of the Canadian population.

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The ConversationThe Conversation
URL: 
https://theconversation.com/as-canada-welcomes-historic-numbers-of-immigrants-how-can-communities-be-more-welcoming-206054https://theconversation.com/as-canada-welcomes-historic-numbers-of-immigrants-how-can-communities-be-more-welcoming-206054
Retrieved on: 
Thursday, June 29, 2023
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Learning, Employment, Housing, Education, Life, Disability, Pathway, COVID-19, Woman, History, Government, Time, Refugee, Federation, Research, Trauma, Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, Clothing, Drug, Nursing, Restaurant, Creative industries
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CANADA
Summary
Key Points: 
  • In 2021, immigrants made up almost one-quarter of the Canadian population.
  • Canada has a dynamic immigration system that is celebrated as a model for other countries.
  • Its immigration system responds to the country’s economic needs, with immigration contributing to almost 100 per cent of Canada’s labour force growth.

Immigrants face challenges

    • Immigrants often face challenges, including barriers to finding jobs that make use of their skills and qualifications.
    • Research also suggests immigrants face discrimination in a variety of domains, such as when accessing housing, education and health care.
    • In this context, now is the time to ask: How can Canada create more welcoming communities for immigrants?

What makes a community welcoming for immigrants?

    • We define a welcoming community as a joint effort by all members of a community to design and maintain a place where immigrants feel they belong.
    • A welcoming community has structures and practices in place to meet the needs and promote the inclusion of immigrants in all aspects of life.
    • In our recent work with the Pathways to Prosperity Partnership, we identify and explain the key characteristics of welcoming communities.
    • Characteristics that make communities welcoming do not operate alone.
    • For example, the location of affordable housing affects access to immigrant-serving agencies and employment opportunities.

How to measure the characteristics that make a community welcoming

    • We created a set of indicators for each of the characteristics of a welcoming community.
    • They can also use these indicators to determine whether strategies they implement to be more welcoming are effective.
    • One of the key characteristics of a welcoming community is employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.
    • Communities must also make an effort to understand what accounts for the current indicator levels within their community.
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