Coming to Canada: Immigrants Views about their New Home
Written By Diana Hart
Canada is one of the world’s most proudly diverse nations, with thousands of immigrants arriving each year from countries across the globe. A new poll found most new Canadians are both glad to be here and hopeful about their futures.
The Ipsos Reid poll conducted for RBC learned eight in 10 new Canadians ‘strongly’ or ‘somewhat agree’ they are “happy to be in Canada,” with an equal number of people optimistic about their new lives in the country.
South Asian immigrants are particularly cheery about their new country, with 87 per cent saying they like living here and 90 per cent saying they’re hopeful about their futures.
How easily immigrants adapt to their new lives here varies. Though three quarters of new Canadians agree the people of Canada are making them feel welcomed, there is also one third of immigrants who report they are “lonely” and “not feeling part of Canada.” Unfortunately, one third of immigrants also disagree that they are “having an easy time making friends.”
Chinese immigrants reported having more trouble befriending Canadians than newcomers from South Asian, while 84 per cent of South Asian immigrants say they’re easily making friends, only 58 per cent of Chinese newcomers say they are having similar success.
New Canadians are almost equally divided over whether they feel overwhelmed with their new lives. The majority of immigrants (54 per cent) say they are still in the process of “getting settled” in the country.
The longer immigrants have stayed in Canada, the more common is that they’d report they felt established here: 37 per cent of immigrants who have called Canada home for 5-10 years say they feel established vs. 20 per cent of those who have been here 3-5 years.
Adding to feeling linked to Canada, almost 7 in 10 immigrants say they are connected to people or activities outside of their own ethnic or immigrant community.
Setting down firm roots in their communities is what immigrants say makes them feel truly at home in Canada. The top way they say they feel connected to their new country is a good job (28 per cent). Other ways they say establishes them include owning a home (20 per cent), getting their citizenship (11 per cent), having their own business (8 per cent) and putting their kids through school (5 per cent).
As new Canadians search for the best jobs, many immigrants report their talents are not being fully taken advantage of. Under 40 per cent of Chinese immigrants say they are using their skills to the best of their ability. South Asian newcomers report feeling slightly more satisfied, with 67 per cent saying they were fully tapping into their talents.
