Page 60 - IJPS-11-6

International Journal of
Population Studies Migration to non-metropolitan Canada

of functional expectations and values that a place offers 2023c). Hence, under this definition of integration, both
to an individual/community, facilitating their preferred the host community and the newcomer community play
activities and satisfying their needs” (Erfani, 2022, p. 461). a role in integration. Despite the benefits of living in a
The concept of place attachment is conceptually similar to smaller city as perceived by immigrants, studies have also
“place attachment,” which refers to “a (positive) emotional suggested that smaller cities may be challenging settlement
bond to a specific place developed through interactions and integration locations for immigrants. Relative to
between an individual/community and the place over larger cities, smaller cities may have deficiencies in service
time” and perceptions of belonging (Erfani, 2022, p. 461). amenities such as public transportation or specialized
However, place satisfaction discerns the perception of the healthcare services, which can be particularly challenging
functionality of a place (broadly conceived) as satisfaction for newcomer integration, especially for those with fewer
(Erfani, 2022). Immigrants have been attracted to larger resources (Dennler, 2022; Esses & Carter, 2019). Other
cities such as Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver, where the settlement and integration challenges in smaller cities
suburbs of those cities have been desirable and satisfactory include having less access to ethnic and cultural networks
settlement locations (Agrawal & Kurtz, 2019; Vézina & (Pottie-Sherman & Graham, 2021), ethnic goods and
Houle, 2017; Zhuang & Chen, 2017). In larger cities, there services (Zhuang & Lok, 2023), proneness to experiences
is greater access to ethnic and cultural amenities such as of social isolation (Chai, 2021), and the inadequacies of
ethnic retailing, places of worship, and social services culturally appropriate support systems (Patel et al., 2019).
(Burayidi, 2018); thus, these contexts play a role in place Drolet & Teixeira (2022) highlighted that immigrant
satisfaction. While immigrants may still prefer to settle service organizations played a formal role in immigrant
in larger cities, there are a multitude of factors that may settlement and integration in the small cities of Kelowna
contribute to the de facto regionalization of immigrants and Kamloops, which was essential in contexts with less
toward smaller cities. Those factors can be economic, informal support infrastructure in communities. With
such as smaller cities being more conducive to housing consideration of the challenges of immigrant settlement and
affordability (Brown, 2017; Teixeira & Drolet, 2018), a integration in smaller cities, scholars studying immigrant
lower cost of living (Kelly & Nguyen, 2023), and having settlement and integration in those contexts emphasized
employment opportunities (and immigration pathways) the importance of taking into account community factors
for skilled and unskilled labor (Esses & Carter, 2019). that shape the lived experiences of immigrants (Kelly &
However, researchers should be mindful that those factors Nguyen, 2023; Zhuang, 2023). Immigrants are less likely to
are relational and contextual. As an example, Drolet and migrate to rural areas (Finlay & Haan, 2024). Furthermore,
Teixeira (2022) highlighted that housing unaffordability understanding the local context of reception is imperative
was a main concern of immigrants settling in the small cities in acquiring a nuanced perspective toward inclusion
of Kelowna and Kamloops. Characteristics of a smaller and belonging. This notion, exemplified in Banack’s
city may play a role in immigrant settlement decisions (2023) ethnographic study of rural Albertan attitudes
where those contexts may provide benefits, such as the toward cultural minorities, was attributed in part to rural
conduciveness for community interaction (Sanchez-Flores, Albertans’ sense of alienation and rural identity. Overall, the
2018), local proximity to amenities (Zhuang & Lok, 2023), literature and policy attention on immigration in smaller
and a quieter lifestyle that is supportive of life-trajectories, cities in Canada tend to focus on policy approaches of
such as raising a family (Kelly & Nguyen, 2023). Studies of attracting immigrants through regionalization programs.
small and medium-sized municipalities inferred that the Although there is an emerging body of literature that
sense of belonging perceived by immigrants was related to examines the implications of smaller cities in attracting
employment security and homeownership (Kitchen et al., and retaining immigrants in Canada (Kelly & Nguyen,
2015) or could be experienced in specific places such as 2023), these studies typically examine contexts that are
settlement agencies or religious spaces (Chai, 2021). Hence, proactively seeking to attract and retain immigrants to
immigrants in part make settlement considerations toward understand the implications of policy approaches (Kelly
a smaller city based on how they perceive that community, & Nguyen, 2023; Pottie-Sherman & Graham, 2021).
highlighting the role of individual agency in settlement These studies are important for further understanding
decisions (Esses & Carter, 2019). immigrant experiences in smaller cities. In spite of that,
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada there are opportunities for empirical examination of the
defines integration as “a two-way process that involves perspectives of place from the experience and perspectives
commitment on the part of immigrants to adapt to life in of immigrants living in lesser-studied, but emerging in
Canada and on the part of Canada to welcome and adapt importance, contexts of non-metropolitan cities. Hence,
to new peoples and cultures” (Government of Canada, this study will contribute to this discussion by exploring

Volume 11 Issue 6 (2025) 54 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.6309