MPA Major Research Papers

Date of Award

7-1-2019

Degree Type

Major Research Paper

Degree Name

Master of Public Administration

Program

Political Science

Supervisor

Graham, Kate

Geographical Areas

Toronto, Edmonton

Abstract

Canadian cities have experienced an increase of immigrants, more notably, from Nigeria and Ethiopia. Both groups have settled in Canadian cities to improve their overall Quality of Life (QOL). Areas such as education, employment, safety, and housing conditions were top priorities in choosing a new location to live. Studies, however, show a large proportion of immigrants from Nigeria and Ethiopia have settled in regions that contradict their desires and actually obtain a ‘high’ standard of quality of life. The research findings show both groups have settled in areas with high unemployment rates; highly educated populates with lower-paying jobs; and lower incomes in comparison the host city. The spatial distribution of recent immigrants is paramount to understanding how well those groups will assimilate. Local governments can use this data to create spatial distributive policies that are hospitable or antagonistic to specific groups. Many studies focus on investigating social integration at the provincial level; however, the experience of integration is intrinsically a local one. Thus, local governments have the opportunity to increase the overall quality of life for immigrants by using the structural, spatial divisions used in this study. The purpose of this study is to examine the QOL of Nigerians and Ethiopians in two Canadian cities: Edmonton and Toronto. This study has two separate, but related empirical components: (1) the first examines the spatial distribution of both groups, and the (2) second examines the overall quality of life in the primary settlement areas.

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