Migrant Integration in the Mid-21st Century: Bridging Divides
Immigration plays an important part in Canada’s postpandemic economic recovery and future growth. The pandemic has highlighted immigrants’ contributions to society and the economy as well as the challenges they face. It has also accelerated socio-economic and political transformation that was already under way.
One of these transformational processes involves the role of advanced digital technologies in providing services, organizing work, and participating in civil society. While settlement and integration are established policy priorities in this country, the current conceptual paradigms and public policies are lagging behind the rapid transformation of society and the economy. Understanding the challenges and opportunities that immigrant integration involves in Canada (and internationally) requires a robust interdisciplinary engagement among the social sciences (sociology, politics, economics, social work, urban planning), health sciences (nursing, cognitive sciences, public health, occupational health), engineering and information technology (artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, human-robot interaction, transportation) and digital humanities. The Bridging Divides research program aims to fill this gap by investigating how accelerating technological transformation interacts with immigrant integration. The research initiative will be organized in four research themes:
- immigrant health and well-being;
- work and lifelong learning;
- place and infrastructure; and
- citizenship and participation.
These areas are intentionally broad to allow for interdisciplinary and intersectoral work but also closely intertwined to examine horizontal connections. The research will focus on the urban context, including both large urban centres and small and mid-sized cities, as these are the main destinations for both newcomers and settled immigrants. Building on the multiple strengths and international leadership of Toronto Metropolitan University in immigration and settlement studies, including the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration, the university is partnering with three other highly competitive universities engaged in studying immigrant integration from interdisciplinary and intersectoral perspectives: the University of Alberta, The University of British Columbia and Concordia University. The innovative methods, analytical models, data, software tools and policy outcomes generated by the program will contribute to making Canada more inclusive, equitable and resilient, while improving social and technological innovation ecosystems.