Canadian immigrants integrate well in Ontario and Atlantic Canada. The 2020 General Social Survey by Statistics Canada provides information on those specific Canadian provinces and territories where immigrants feel at home. The sense of affinity one feels in another country speaks volumes about social integration, national identification, and a sense of oneness with Canada.
The survey claims that immigrants arriving in Canada feel at home in Ontario and Atlantic-Canadian provinces. These include New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. However, the contrary appears true in British Columbia and Alberta.
Canadian immigrants integrate well in Ontario and Atlantic Canada – an overview of the GSS 2020
Here’s an in-depth summary of the GSS 2020, which will further give you an insight into the difference in the sense of affinity among immigrants in Canada:
Factors that impact a newcomer’s sense of affinity
Due to several factors, Canadian immigrants develop a sense of affinity with a specific province or territory. These factors merely relate to their experiences once they immigrate to Canada and include the positive feedback they get from their environment. This primarily relies on whether they can experience acceptance and warmth from their surroundings. Another essential point is whether they have access to ample opportunities to build a successful career or life in the country.
However, there are underlying factors that further affect the Canadian immigrants ‘ ability to feel integrated in a particular province compared to other provinces or territories. They’re as follows:
Sociodemographics of immigrants
A variety of Sociodemographic factors impact a Canadian immigrant’s experience in a specific province or territory. It further influences their sense of affinity. These factors could be the number of years lived after immigration, the immigrant’s age during the immigration, the category through which they immigrated, and the population group they become a part of.
The differences in the sociodemographic constitution of immigrants settling in each province result from the long-standing disparities in the settlement trends of the immigrants.
These differences often lead to variations among Canadian immigrants while determining their preferred provinces.
The configuration of immigrants in each province
Each Canadian province comprises a different percentage of recent immigrants out of the total population. In 2021, British Columbia and Ontario comprised 14 percent of recent immigrants, while nearly 30 percent of immigrants were residing in Saskatchewan and the Atlantic provinces.
According to the survey, a province’s immigrant percentage is essential to understand their sense of affinity or integration in Canada. Another truth is that recent immigrants have a lesser affinity than those who have been in Canada for a long time.
This survey’s authors claim that immigrants gradually develop a sense of belonging when they reside in the country for some years.
The average percentage of immigrants feeling more at home is higher in regions that comprise long-term immigrants.
Being welcomed or facing discrimination – the opposite sides of immigrant experiences
Every province consists of various types of ethnic groups within its immigrant population. As a result, some immigrants in certain regions might face exclusionary circumstances. Conversely, other immigrants might feel a sense of warmth within an area. Both of these situations might co-exist even though they are poles apart. However, discrimination also plays a crucial role in determining the percentage of immigrants who might feel at home in a province.
Structural factors are substantial
Each province in Canada has a different background of educational opportunities, employment, and economic diversity. These are the structural factors within each province, but they differ. Moreover, these structural factors lead to the integration of immigrants within the country.
An immigrant might feel a sense of oneness with a province depending on whether they can economically provide for themselves and their families in that region. This means their sense of belonging largely relies on their ability to secure material wealth and contribute to the Canadian economy.
Additionally, these structural factors also indicate socioeconomic conditions within the provinces. These also include average household income and the unemployment rate.
General Social Survey 2020 and the outcomes
The GSS 2020 data revealed a clear difference in the sense of affinity immigrants in Canada had experienced. This variation is primarily due to the different factors influencing their preferences and experiences.
The given table displays the estimate of immigrants who feel at home in Canada with respect to their home province:
| Canadian Provinces | |
|---|---|
| Atlantic Canada | 63.85 |
| Ontario | 63.19 |
| Manitoba | 58.89 |
| Quebec | 58.52 |
| Alberta | 55.85 |
| Saskatchewan | 53.79 |
| British Columbia | 52.77 |
To conclude this survey, we can say that immigrants residing in Ontario and other Atlantic provinces, including P.E.I, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador, felt at home. However, this feeling of integration was slightly weaker in British Columbia and Alberta. Also, the difference between the immigrants living in Alberta and Ontario is largely due to the immigrant composition existing in Alberta. This implies that Alberta’s immigrants who experienced a sense of affinity would have been similar in percentage to that of Ontario if only the above factors had been equal.
Overall, it is said that the above factors don’t entirely justify the differences between immigrants residing in Ontario and British Columbia, who felt a sense of belonging. Furthermore, the study revealed that even after considering all the above factors, it is evident that immigrants feeling a sense of affinity in B.C. would be 11 points (in percentage) below the Ontario immigrants who felt a sense of belonging.
