Pathways to Prosperity: Canada

P2P Annual National Conference

Pathways to Prosperity 2019 National Conference Aimed to Provide a Foundation for Renewed Support for Immigration to Canada

On October 31 and November 1, 2019, the Pathways to Prosperity Partnership held its Seventh Annual National Conference – Immigration at the Crossroads: Renewing Support for Immigration to Canada at the Intersections of Research, Policy, and Practice. On October 30, Pathways to Prosperity also held a Preconference entitled Local Immigration Partnerships and Réseaux en immigration francophone: The Nexus of Newcomer Settlement and Integration. The conference attracted over 525 attendees and the preconference over 180, with our numbers continuing to increase year over year. We thank all those who support the Pathways to Prosperity and participate in our activities.

The first day of the conference began with opening remarks and a land acknowledgement by Patrick Hunter, a 2 Spirit Ojibway Artist and Graphic Designer, who set the tone for a respectful and informative conference. The second day of the conference kicked off with an engaging special keynote address by Kamal Al-Solaylee on the topic of Race, Immigration and Politics, reminding us of Canada’s history and current presence of racial discrimination and anti-immigration sentiments among some Canadians. The conference also included four plenary sessions, including Goals for the Settlement and Resettlement Programs in the Coming Years; Immigration to Smaller, Rural, and Northern Communities; The Ever-Changing Terrain of Attitudes toward Immigrants and Refugees; and Developing an Evidence Base and Sharing Settlement and Integration Practices that Work. In between, there were 35 workshops and presentations of 30 posters, with the Thursday evening reception and poster awards sponsored by World Education Services. Judging by the enthusiasm of participants and comments received to date, the conference was a tremendous success, featuring high quality presentations and engaging those in attendance.

The preconference focused on how immigration partnerships can work together, collaborate and develop joint projects at the local, regional and national level; promote engagement and participation among council and committee members; make the case for immigration and address anti-immigrant sentiment; and develop innovative strategies to enhance the integration and inclusion of newcomer youth. P2P also continued the tradition of preparing a booklet of LIP and RIF achievements as a resource for all interested parties. Informal comments and feedback received to date indicate that the preconference was a great success, and P2P was encouraged to continue this excellent meeting for the LIPs and RIFs in the coming years.

We would like to thank all presenters and chairs who worked so hard to ensure that the conference and preconference were a success. We also thank all of the exhibitors and the sponsors for their support – World Education Services and the Intercultural Competency Advantage Program of the London Cross Cultural Learner Centre. In addition, we are extremely grateful for the generous support provided by the main funder of this year’s conference: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Powerpoint presentations from the conference and preconferences are now available in the library section of the website, with the videos of presentations to follow.

Click here for presentations from the P2P 2019 Conference

Click here for the presentations from the P2P Preconference for LIPs and RIFs

New Report

Beyond the Big City: How Small Communities Across Canada Can Attract and Retain Newcomers

Canada is an open, accepting, and generous country. It is built on diversity, and communities are stronger when they welcome and work with newcomers who want to build a better Canada. But with the natural trend of intensification and urbanization, most newcomers to Canada settle in just a few major cities, which offer greater economic opportunities and cultural diversity. The rest of the country has not experienced the same rewards from new people bringing new ideas, and small centres have not proportionally enjoyed the benefits of immigration. Instead, many small centres and rural areas are experiencing declining economic prospects and even shrinking populations, creating a cycle of decline and consequent low attraction of new residents, furthering decline.

The Public Policy Forum, in partnership with Pathways to Prosperity, conducted research to determine how newcomer attraction and retention could be enhanced to contribute to the success of smaller centres and less densely populated regions across Canada. A literature review and jurisdictional scan were conducted to bring together the best available evidence on newcomer attraction to and retention in small centres and rural areas. Data from the Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) were also analyzed to better understand the mobility and retention rates of immigrants in small centres in Ontario. These findings were validated and expanded on through community consultations with 199 key stakeholders in five small centres across Ontario.

Presentations Available

P2P-IRCC Preconference to International Metropolis a Success

How Do We Know What’s Working? Measuring Settlement Outcomes for Individuals and Communities

Monday, June 24, 2019 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Shaw Centre, Ottawa, Canada

On June 24 2019, Pathways to Prosperity in partnership with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada hosted the full-day preconference to International Metropolis on “How Do We Know What’s Working? Measuring Settlement Outcomes for Individuals and Communities.” With over 200 attendees, this event was a lively and productive exploration of strategies for measuring immigrants’ economic, social and civic-cultural outcomes at both the service delivery and community levels. The focus was on strategies for determining what works and what doesn’t, as well as new ways of measuring processes and change, attributing outcomes, and assessing community impact. We thank all of the presenters, chairs, and attendees for their contributions and valuable insights. PowerPoints from the presentations and videos are now available here.

Click here for the presentations