A place to call home?: recent immigrant integration experiences in Lethbridge, Alberta
Date
2019
Authors
Cabanas, Sydney M.
University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science
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Publisher
Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Department of Sociology
Abstract
The settlement and integration of immigrants is a common policy focus for governments and researchers across the world. In Canada, its relevancy has only increased over recent decades; it is incorporated in official rhetoric and studies regularly examine the integrative experiences of newcomers. Still, most of these studies occur in the context of Canada’s largest and most diverse cities. In this thesis I examine the settlement experiences of recent landed immigrants in Lethbridge—a small Albertan city—utilizing mixed methods research. Using an adapted version of Tom Kuhlman’s (1991) conceptual framework, this study examines the socioeconomic, social, and structural aspects of integration, ultimately finding that while Lethbridge generally fosters integration as outlined by official rhetoric, there remain significant gaps between groups. Analyses especially highlight the crucial roles that community support, length of residence, and admission class play in determining settlement outcomes of recent immigrants in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Description
Keywords
immigrant , immigration , integration , mixed methods , settlement experiences , settlement outcomes , Dissertations, Academic