1. Immigrant integration and inclusion:
Investigating the Canadian partnership model from a complex-system perspective
The integration of newcomers to Canada and the creation of an inclusive Canadian
society is a complex undertaking that involves many players working together in various formal
or informal partnership arrangements. At the most informal level, family and friends play an
important role in helping newcomers acclimatize; more formally, governments at all levels
design and fund various programs to help immigrants embark on their new lives. Governments
are also instrumental in formulating policies and programs to break down barriers and create a
welcoming and inclusive society. Public, private and nongovernmental organizations then
implement these programs. The purpose of this research is to examine how the elements of this
complex partnership work together to serve both the new immigrant and Canadian society as a
whole. Understanding the interactions involved in these complex relationships paves the way to
improving the overall effectiveness of immigrant integration and inclusion.
Figure 1 illustrates this
complex system from the
perspective of the new
immigrant, located in the centre
of the diagram. The ring
represents the players with
which the immigrant comes into
direct contact. The second
depicts various jurisdictions of
responsibility and funding
sources for relevant services.
The model also provides a
temporal perspective,
differentiating between
settlement programs aimed
primarily at the short term
integration of the newcomer,
and programs with a longer
term, more general perspective
that promote multiculturalism
and antiracism in all sectors and
the community. The broken
lines separating the annuli represent the permeability of the interfaces that make up the network
of partnerships among levels of government, between government and both immigrant settlement
organizations (ISOs) and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), among the various
NGOs, and also among nonprofit and for-profit organizations.
This model, depicting as it does a complex, multi-level social system, informs the
methodology of this research. Ultimately all the concentric circles have to work in synergy with
each other and the new immigrant in order to achieve equal and full-fledged citizenship in an

2. inclusive Canadian society. Understanding the complex whole demands knowledge not only of
its separate parts but also of how they are interrelated.
A growing body of literature has examined various aspects of the settlement experience,
from the perspective of both the service recipients and those of the providers. The proposed
study will focus on relationships among the various players in six individual but related
programs of research discovery or PODs. Coordination, communication and shared
understandings are critical aspects of all partnerships and ultimately influence the quality of
service experienced by newcomers as they move through the integration and inclusion process.
The intent of this study is to provide a more holistic picture of the settlement and integration
process across Canada in order to reveal how the various partnerships in the model work, and
how they can be improved. In this way, it can be useful in informing new policies to better serve
immigrants through the various phases of their integration.
Pod 1 examines the elusive term “effectiveness” which means different things to
different stakeholders. By combining a historical analysis of the evolution of “effective”
immigrant services with an investigation of current usages of the term from the perspective of all
stakeholders, we will achieve a common understanding of the meaning of ‘effective’ integration
policies and practices. Pod 2 investigates interprovincial variations in services which may be
rooted in the history of different intergovernmental partnerships, different policy decisions taken
at the provincial level, different relationships between the province and their service providers,
and various exogenous factors. Exemplars of excellence will be presented as part of the outputs
from this pod. Pod 3 moves towards a different, less studied aspect of the partnership – the role
of municipalities and neighbourhoods in the integration of newcomers. This pod examines some
of the issues municipalities contend with, such as the undefined nature of their role in the
partnership model. Many innovative partnerships and programs have been initiated by
municipalities; some of them will be examined and presented as exemplars. Pod 4 focuses on
one of the most studied aspects of the partnership, the role of the immigrant serving NGOs;
however it looks at them in a novel way, examining their role in helping immigrants and
racialized communities to bridge to the general community and/or to bond with their own
communities. Pod 5 involves an extensive literature review and critical evaluation of various
models of integration and social service provision as practiced in both in Canada and abroad.
This literature review will be augmented by an empirical investigation of mixed model services
in different parts of Canada. Finally Pod 6 looks directly at the impact of policy as the key driver
in social changes leading to effective long-term integration and the creation of an inclusive
society.
Although each research pod investigates a different aspect of the theoretical model, the
common thread linking each is the focus on the quality of the partnerships in terms of
communication, coordination, support and accountability and the effectiveness of the services.
The data from all the pods will be synthesized to reflect the holistic nature of the integration
process. A pan-Canadian team of researchers and community collaborators representing all
Metropolis Centres will conduct the research.