Attracting Immigrants to Smaller Canadian Cities: The Capacity of Local Networks


This study is about the effectiveness of local immigration networks in attracting immigrants to address population decline and weakening economies. The purpose is to identify network-level and contextual factors that contribute to the effectiveness of local immigration partnerships. Front and center is the policy capacity of these structures, which is revealed by the scope and strength of their strategy to attract and retain immigrant residents. Three of those collaborative networks will be examined in provinces that host distinct immigration and settlement policy conditions, that is in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. Each case study will comprise a mixed-methods design using social network analysis, qualitative interviews and archival sources. Results over conditions of effectiveness in each case will be compared and confronted to the existing empirical research on public network effectiveness, mainly focused on health and social services.

Marc Yvan Valade
Degree: PhD
Status: In Progress
Supervisor: Myer Siemiatycki
Department and University: Department of Politics and Public Administration, Ryerson University
Email: mvalade@ryerson.ca