Making Rural Immigration Work
Settlement Services in Small and Rural Communities
March 31, 2022
How Can Immigration Work Well for Small and Rural Communities?
Small and rural communities benefit from welcoming and retaining immigrants as new residents. Immigrants bring new ideas, join the workforce, start new businesses, and shop at existing businesses.
Infrastructure for a Growing Community
To make a life in a new community, immigrants need job opportunities and infrastructure. Improving local infrastructure also benefits Canadian-born residents.
Job opportunities
- Are there local employment opportunities?
- Are there employers engaged in recruiting and retaining immigrant employees?
Housing
- In 2018, more money was spent on hunting than fishing in the territories and three of the Atlantic provinces
- 1.3 million hunters in Canada
- $10 billion spent on fishing in 2018
Child care
- Will families be able to find child care spaces for their children?
Health
- Can new residents access health care?
Transit
- Can new residents that do not have a driving licence or car still get around?
- Is there a driving instructor to help new immigrants get a driving licence?
Support for immigrants
- Who will help immigrants get settled in the community?
- Are there settlement services to support immigrants with the unique challenges they might face?
A Welcoming Community
Asked what advice she would give to a community looking to welcome immigrants, a representative of an association of immigrant-serving agencies said, “Communities need to reflect on what will make [them] more welcoming. Until that is done, we can offer all the services in the world, but I don’t think that’s enough. It needs to be so much deeper and really baked into the fabric of the municipality.”
Community leaders can:
- convene meetings with residents to envision the future of their community;
- discuss why the community is recruiting immigrants;
- consider what resources will be dedicated to recruiting and supporting immigrants.
Municipalities can:
- list information about local social services and settlement services on their website and/or in a welcome package;
- provide resources for stakeholder meetings, such as meeting space and a staff member to send invites and take minutes;
- offer space for a settlement service provider to meet clients until the agency has funding to obtain dedicated space.
Local institutions can:
- ensure that staff know how to register new immigrants as service users;
- partner with settlement services to hold events that are aimed at immigrants;
- advertise in the community’s welcome package.
The Role of Settlement Services
Immigrants sometimes face unique challenges and need support services to help them overcome those challenges. Settlement services help immigrants get connected to their community, learn the local language, and prepare for the Canadian job market. Settlement services are most effective when they are connected to and supported by the community.
How do settlement services get started in a community that has none?
- Expand the geographic reach of an existing settlement service in a nearby community.
- Expand the mandate of a local service provider.
- Cultivate a new settlement agency.
For more information about attracting and retaining newcomers:
Read the impact paper
Making Rural Immigration Work: Settlement Services in Small and Rural Communities
March 31, 2022 • 59-min read