Behind the Exceptional Educational Pathways of Canadian Youth from Immigrant Background: Between Equality and Ethnic Hierarchy

This chapter aims to show that, behind the general exceptional academic pathways of Canadian students from immigrant backgrounds, some of these young people, belonging to racialized ethnic minorities, are less likely to access and graduate from postsecondary education. Its specific objective is to describe the general portrait of their educational pathways. A synopsis of some recent studies shows that that these students often face structural barriers at the institutional level. Comparative analyses between young Canadians of immigrant origins and their peers who are not recognize the remarkable success of Canadian immigrants, a rather exceptional phenomenon compared to what is observed internationally. However, this chapter stresses that this portrait must be nuanced: a number of studies highlight significant disparities among young people from immigrant backgrounds according to the ethnocultural and geographic origin of their parents. The situation is less favorable or unfavorable, in the case of certain racialized groups. Therefore, following an overview of the contribution of studies inspired by a postpositivist approach, this chapter highlights some dimensions that have been traditionally obscured. This allows for a better understanding of the relationship between the effects of various factors (individual, institutional, systemic) that structure and perpetuate inequalities and ethnic hierarchy among students from immigrant backgrounds.

Whose Nature?: Exploring the Link Between Wilderness, Belonging and Residential Summer Camp Use among Canadian Immigrants

This study reviews the relationship between a national identity in Canada based on wilderness and the exclusionary experience of immigrants and racialized groups. In particular, this study focuses on the opinions and experiences of immigrant parents towards residential summer camps, as they have long been considered a typically ‘Canadian’ activity for youth. While summer camps are an activity dominated by youth, immigrant parents were chosen as a sample group because they play a large role in mitigating the summer recreational experiences of their children. Feelings of belonging and exclusion experienced by parents are important when evaluating issues of child socialization into Canadian norms. Included are the results of qualitative interviews with immigrant parents alongside several theoretical frameworks that assist in explaining the under-representation of immigrant groups in both residential summer camps and wilderness-based recreational pursuits more broadly.

Whose Nature?: Exploring the Link Between Wilderness, Belonging and Residential Summer Camp Use among Canadian Immigrants

This study reviews the relationship between a national identity in Canada based on wilderness and the exclusionary experience of immigrants and racialized groups. In particular, this study focuses on the opinions and experiences of immigrant parents towards residential summer camps, as they have long been considered a typically ‘Canadian’ activity for youth. While summer camps are an activity dominated by youth, immigrant parents were chosen as a sample group because they play a large role in mitigating the summer recreational experiences of their children. Feelings of belonging and exclusion experienced by parents are important when evaluating issues of child socialization into Canadian norms. Included are the results of qualitative interviews with immigrant parents alongside several theoretical frameworks that assist in explaining the under-representation of immigrant groups in both residential summer camps and wilderness-based recreational pursuits more broadly.

Impact of Multiple Immigration Experience in Childhood on Ethnic Self-identity: Case Study of Russian-speaking Israeli Canadians

This study analyzed the impact of multiple immigration experiences in childhood on ethnic self-identity of a group of immigrants who were born in Former Soviet Union states, who immigrated to Israel in childhood and immigrated to Canada as teenagers. The research question was: “What is the ethnic self-identity of Russian-speaking Canadian immigrants born in FSU countries who also lived in Israel and what contributes to it? Qualitative interviews with 8 participants were conducted and analyzed. Results showed that the majority of participants have mixed identities (often with strong connection to their FSU country of origin) developed due to the factors such as their immigration experiences, influence of their family, peer-groups and both negative (i.e. bullying) and positive experiences within the neighborhoods in which they resided. Few participants chose a single ethnic identity. Length of time residing in Israel seemed to matter in whether Israeli was part of their identity.

Impact of Multiple Immigration Experience in Childhood on Ethnic Self-identity: Case Study of Russian-speaking Israeli Canadians

This study analyzed the impact of multiple immigration experiences in childhood on ethnic self-identity of a group of immigrants who were born in Former Soviet Union states, who immigrated to Israel in childhood and immigrated to Canada as teenagers. The research question was: “What is the ethnic self-identity of Russian-speaking Canadian immigrants born in FSU countries who also lived in Israel and what contributes to it? Qualitative interviews with 8 participants were conducted and analyzed. Results showed that the majority of participants have mixed identities (often with strong connection to their FSU country of origin) developed due to the factors such as their immigration experiences, influence of their family, peer-groups and both negative (i.e. bullying) and positive experiences within the neighborhoods in which they resided. Few participants chose a single ethnic identity. Length of time residing in Israel seemed to matter in whether Israeli was part of their identity.

Citizenship and the Economic Assimilation of Canadian Immigrants

In this paper, we examine whether acquiring citizenship improves the economic assimilation of Canadian migrants. We took advantage of a natural experiment made possible through changes in the Canadian Citizenship Act of 2014, which extended the physical presence requirement for citizenship from three to four years. Using quasi-experimental methods, we found that delaying citizenship eligibility by one year adversely affected Canadian residents' wages. Access to better jobs explains a citizenship premium of 11 percent in higher wages among naturalized migrants. Our estimates are robust to model specifications, differing sampling windows to form the treatment and comparison groups, and whether the estimator is a non-parametric rather than a parametric one. We discuss how our findings are relevant to the optimal design of naturalization policies regarding efficiency and equity.

Identifying English Language Use and Communication Challenges Facing “Entry-Level” Workplace Immigrants in Canada

Canada has one of the world’s largest immigrant populations, with one in five people in Canada born outside the country. Among these immigrants, a great majority started their lives in Canada working in entry-level jobs. This study examined the English language use and communication challenges among these new Canadian immigrants in entry-level workplace settings. Fourteen participants were interviewed. The results showed four distinct patterns of categories: topical knowledge, language knowledge, personal attributes, and communication strategies. These patterns of language use and communication challenges were narrated in each workplace where these immigrants survive and thrive using English. This study addresses the research gap of entry-level workplace immigrants in Canada and provides a nuanced understanding through work and life stories in reference to their English language ability.

Sanitation, Sanity, and (Moral) Suitability: The History of the Medical Inadmissibility of Immigrants into Canada

Study of the history of medical inadmissibility and deportation of Canadian immigrants uncovers three important themes as criteria for immigration selection and control: sanitation, sanity, and moral suitability. As the understanding of human health changed with history, so too did the basis for exclusion and deportation of Canadian immigrants for medical purposes. Immigration policy mirrored then current notions of health and disease, growing in complexity as immigration policy increased its selectivity contemporaneous to increasing immigration rates. Immigration control developed from simple quarantine measures to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases from other continents, to physical and mental health inspections to prevent the propagation of hereditary dysfunction, to selection of morally fit immigrants resembling Canadian values for easy assimilation into society. Physical, mental, and moral health were key criteria in the first century of Canadian immigration policy, highlighting Canada’s history of anti-immigrant sentiment through the medicalization of specific ethnic groups.