Call for research participants
Almost 70 per cent of immigrants to Canada settle in three major gateway cities that face growing challenges from housing prices to transportation to economic opportunity. Governments have been increasingly interested in policies of regionalization to encourage migrants to settle in smaller urban centres. Many questions arise on how effective and welcoming the process of integration is for newcomers to these smaller urban centres.
To guide policy-makers in addressing this important challenge, CERC Migration is undertaking a research project titled, "Why Migrants Stay in Small and Mid-Sized Canadian Cities: A Comparative Study of Mobility Decisions and Settlement Experiences Across Ontario and British Columbia."
Rather than investigating why migrants leave, this study aims to understand why migrants voluntarily decide to stay and build their lives in small and mid-sized Canadian cities. Our research seeks to improve our understanding of migrants’ location choices, mobility patterns and settlement experiences following their arrival in Canada.
We are studying the immigrant experience in six Canadian cities (or surrounding region):
- Belleville, Owen Sound and Peterborough in Ontario, and
- Chilliwack, Courtenay and Nanaimo in British Columbia.
Currently, we are seeking immigrants who have lived in one of these cities to participate in our online survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/whymigrantstay2 (external link) . From the survey responses, a further 60 individuals will be invited to participate in an in-depth online interview.
Our detailed flyer is attached. Please share with anyone you know who has settled for at least five years in one of the cities named above.
Participants completing both the survey and interview will receive a $15 Tim Hortons gift card.
If you have any questions about the research, please contact: Michelle Nguyen, MA, Principal Investigator and Research Technician, CERC Migration, at m14nguyen@torontomu.ca.
