成人大片

FEATURE STORY

When we talk about immigration in Canada, the spotlight rarely shifts from the big cities. But for many small and mid-sized communities, welcoming newcomers is becoming an urgent necessity. Aging populations, labour shortages, and shifting economies are pushing municipalities beyond the metropolis to rethink how they attract and support new Canadians.

That鈥檚 where a bold idea took root: what if researchers and local partners could come together across different regions and countries to learn from each other? What if they could generate new insights that help smaller cities not only welcome immigrants, but thrive with them?

The Beyond the Metropolis (opens in new window)  project did just that.

Led by Melissa Kelly, a researcher affiliated with the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration (CERC Migration) at 成人大片, the project brought together scholars and community organizations across Alberta, Ontario, Australia, and New Zealand. Their goal: to understand the dynamics of immigration in eight small and mid-sized cities, each with its own unique challenges and opportunities.

What made the project stand out wasn't just its geographic spread or international reach. It was its commitment to collaboration, from start to finish.

鈥淎cademic and community partners worked together on this project right from the start,鈥� says Kelly.

鈥淲e developed the research design and decided on the research questions in collaboration. Effectively addressing the needs of the communities being studied was a central goal from the beginning. I believed that a community-based, collaborative model that took partnership seriously was the best way to move forward.鈥�

Listening as a research practice

At the heart of the project was deep, grounded fieldwork. Researchers conducted over 250 interviews with immigrants and held focus groups with service providers, employers, local government officials, and community leaders. From the start, Beyond the Metropolis emphasized trust and mutual learning. In each city, the academic team embedded themselves in the local context by partnering with organizations that had long-standing relationships within the community.

Whether it was a city council in New Zealand or an immigration partnership in Medicine Hat, local organizations played a central role 鈥� not just as informants, but as co-creators of the research.

Kelly herself led fieldwork in Thunder Bay and North Bay, working closely with local partners like the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association and the North Bay & District Multicultural Centre.

鈥淲orking with local partners like the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association gave me a new perspective on the research,鈥� she says. 鈥淏y spending time at the Association, I had the opportunity to see how things work on the ground in smaller communities. I also gained a deeper appreciation for the work they do and the challenges they are facing.鈥�

As the project unfolded, collaboration remained at the core of the research process. When significant changes to Canada鈥檚 immigration policy were announced mid-project, Melissa Kelly knew it wasn鈥檛 enough to adjust from a distance. 鈥淚 packed my bags, travelled to Thunder Bay, and sat down with Tejraj Shah, the coordinator of the Local Immigration Partnership, to discuss the recent developments.鈥� That discussion with Shah helped shape the direction of the study going forward.

Shah remembers that conversation as one moment in a larger, meaningful collaboration. His role in the project was to serve as a bridge between the research team and the community in Thunder Bay, helping ensure the voices of newcomers in smaller and rural centres were not only heard, but respected and amplified.

"Supporting a project that genuinely valued the lived experiences of newcomers 鈥� and helping to amplify those voices through our networks 鈥� was deeply meaningful," says Shah.

"Being part of a process where community connections actively shaped the research felt both collaborative and impactful."

From insight to action

Now that the research is wrapping up, the team is turning its findings into action. Reports for each city are in the works, offering concrete recommendations on everything from infrastructure and public transit to affordable housing and anti-racism initiatives. The goal is to give local decision-makers tools they can actually use.

For Shah, the research has the potential to inform more inclusive policies and services in regions often overlooked in immigration discourse. 鈥淚t sheds light on the realities and resilience of newcomers living in smaller and more rural communities. I believe its impact will be lasting.鈥�

The team is also planning an online symposium that will bring together municipal leaders, service providers, and researchers to discuss the findings and explore next steps, turning collaborative research into shared action.

Parallel pathways to understanding place

While Beyond the Metropolis explored immigrant integration outside of the big cities across international contexts, another research team at 成人大片 is asking similar questions closer to home, through a different lens.

Zhixi Zhuang and her team with the Bridging Divides program are advancing the inquiry into how welcoming infrastructure is constructed, accessed, and experienced in non-traditional gateway cities. Their project, Suburban Place-Making: Ethnic Retailing, Social Infrastructure and Migrant Well-being (opens in new window) , examines the lived experiences of newcomers in Peterborough, Brantford, and Sault Ste. Marie, three small and mid-sized Ontario cities that represent different urban typologies.

Rather than taking a comparative or cross-national approach, the project zooms in on under-explored smaller communities and suburban fringes, highlighting stories of settlement and integration that often go unheard. It looks at how 鈥渨elcoming spaces鈥� are imagined by policymakers and service providers, and how those same spaces are navigated and experienced by migrants in their daily lives.

Central to this inquiry is the concept of ethnic-oriented third places, spaces outside of home and work that allow for social connections. The research also considers access to public amenities, informal networks of care, and entrepreneurship opportunities. Together, these elements form a kind of infrastructure that, when designed well, can strengthen communities as a whole while improving migrants' well-being.

鈥淲e must pay close attention to the design of social infrastructures,鈥� says Zhuang, 鈥渁s they can either facilitate or hinder integration. Poorly connected institutions or isolated public designs often exacerbate barriers to access for newcomers.鈥�

Her team is working with newcomers to document their experiences through story maps and digital storytelling, surfacing typically underrepresented voices and perspectives. These lived experiences, Zhuang explains, have the potential to inform better urban design and more responsive municipal policies.

While the Beyond the Metropolis project offers a wide-angle view of integration across different national contexts, Suburban Place-Making turns the focus inward to the nuances of daily life in Ontario鈥檚 smaller cities. Together, the two projects illustrate how complementary approaches can uncover new insights, whether through international comparison or local immersion.

Both efforts show that integration does not happen in theory or through policy alone. It takes shape in everyday places, through the environments people help to shape. They also show that welcoming communities are not accidental. They are imagined, invested in, and brought to life through careful planning and ongoing collaboration.

Building more than knowledge

Ultimately, both Beyond the Metropolis and the newly launched Suburban Place-Making project highlight something essential: research can do more than generate insight. It can build relationships. It can help communities see themselves differently. And it can shape real-world change, not by parachuting in solutions, but by working alongside the people who are already doing the work.

For Kelly, one of the most rewarding aspects of the project was the knowledge gained through collaboration with community partners. 鈥淭he relationships we've built have laid a strong foundation for future partnerships, and I look forward to continuing our mutual learning well into the future.鈥�

While individual projects may wrap up, their legacy lives on in the relationships they build and the change they help set in motion. Bridging Divides is one of the many threads carrying that momentum forward, deepening relationships with communities and partners who are essential to shaping more inclusive, welcoming futures. It鈥檚 a reminder that the most meaningful outcomes of research have the potential to live on beyond the final report, in the people and partnerships that continue the work.

In this issue of Bridges:

From Idea to Impact: Partnering Beyond the Metropolis

Partnership and Innovation in Canada鈥檚 Most Diverse City

Shaping the Future of Migration Research in Quebec

Rooted in Research, Growing Through Community

West Coast Connections

Bridging Cultures Through the Arts

Pass the Microphone!

Plus: Spring 2025 Allies in Action