Settlement Outcomes Survey

1. Settlement Outcomes Survey Presentation to the National Metropolis Conference Sharon Springer, Senior Advisory Policy and Programs Citizenship and Immigration Canada March 13, 2014

2. Background Under the Canada-Québec Accord relating to immigration and temporary admission of aliens, Québec fully assumes sole responsibility for establishing immigration levels, and for theselection, francization and integration of immigrants.  In areasunder its responsibility, Québec develops its policies and programs, legislates, regulates and sets its own standards. • In 2009, federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) Deputy Ministers identified a need to better understand settlement outcomes for newcomers as well as what roles the various settlement actors should play. • In 2010, FPT Ministers tasked the FPT Settlement Working Group with developing a Pan-Canadian Framework for Settlement Outcomes to establish a cohesive, national approach to measurements on settlement across Canada. • A national set of settlement outcomes and indicators was jointly developed and a the Pan-Canadian Settlement Outcomes Survey was administered by BC Statistics to over 20,000 newcomers between June and September 2012. • The survey goals were to: • Assess settlement outcomes for newcomers across Canada • Identify the factors influencing successful settlement within the first five years. • The intent of the survey was not to assess the outcomes of specific settlement services. It serves as a snapshot of newcomer settlement and serves as a baseline from which to assess changes in settlement outcomes over time.

3. Settlement Outcomes Agreed to by PTs • Goals: Newcomers acquire the knowledge, skills and experience to be able to fully participate in Canada’s society and economy, and Canada welcomes and includes newcomers. • Key Success Factors • Newcomers: • Understand life in Canada • Know how to access public services and community resources • Have the official language skills to function in Canadian society and the labour market • Have knowledge of the Canadian work environment and are aware of local labour markets • Have the skills to become employed in their chosen occupation • Are connected to social and economic networks, as well as the broader community • People, communities, and workplaces are welcoming and inclusive of newcomers

4. About the Survey • First large-scale, nationwide study of settlement outcomes in Canada. • Data was collected from 20,818 randomly selected newcomers across Canada who were 18 years of age or older and become permanent residents between 2007 and 2011. • Provides information on how newcomers are faring on key settlement outcomes nationally and across jurisdictions. • Suggests how different areas of settlement impact each other to influence newcomers’ settlement experiences. • Limitations: • Responses may or may not reflect “recent” settlement experiences. • Results refer to a snapshot of newcomers’ perceptions at a single point in time. • Not based on quantitative data such as employment earnings, employment patterns or language test scores. • Results are not broken down by newcomers who have received settlement services, by settlement program service type, length or performance, etc.

5. Demographic Representation • The survey considers a number of demographic characteristics, including:

6. Jurisdictional Breakdown *Data for the territories (Yukon: 164; Northwest Territories: 82; Nunavut: 26) will be grouped.

7. What the National Results Tell Us • The following areas appear to have a significant impact on newcomer settlement experiences: • Life Essentials/Meeting Basic Needs • Rights and Responsibilities • Service Awareness and Accessibility • Ease with Official Languages • Employment Fit (in the labour force) • Social Connection • Settlement Satisfaction and Attachment • Together, newcomer perceptions of how successful they are in these areas were shown to have a larger impact on overall settlement than demographic characteristics.

8. Successes Overall, the results point to a positive picture of newcomer settlement. Newcomers in all jurisdictions indicate that they are satisfied with their settlement and would rather remain in Canada than live elsewhere. Other Areas of Strong Success

9. Moderate Results • Newcomers perceptions of Social Connections and Service Awareness and Accessibility are moderately positive.

10. Areas of Challenge for Newcomers • Many newcomers have more negative perceptions regarding Employment Fit. • Newcomers who are not in the labour force are much less likely than their labour force counterparts to feel at ease communicating in one of the official languages. • Survey results also suggest that newcomers face difficulty accessing accurate pre-arrival information on foreign qualification recognition (FQR) and knowing the steps needed to get qualifications recognized in Canada.

11. Understanding Connections between Areas of Settlement: An Example The study also provided a statistical sense of how different areas are connected to one another. For example, for those in the labour force, employment fit is influenced by: • Meeting life essentials/basic needs • Ease with using official languages • Understanding and knowledge of rights and responsibilities In turn, it impacts: • Making social connections • Settlement satisfaction and attachment This suggests that there are many possible pathways to supporting newcomers in Canada.

12. A Note on Jurisdictional Results • Overall, jurisdictional results mirror the national results. • Findings point to the importance of meeting basic needs in influencing settlement satisfaction and attachment and perceptions in other areas of settlement. • Settlement satisfaction is the most commonly recurring strength across jurisdictions, followed by ease with official languages, life essentials/basic needs and rights and responsibilities. • Social connection, employment and FQR are the three (3) most frequently cited areas for growth.

13. Next Steps Research: • FPT partners continue to work with the data to expand our understanding of what the results mean for policy. FPT Multilateral Action: • Based on the findings, CIC and our PT partners have updated the Pan-Canadian Framework for Settlement Outcomes to include a Roadmap for Improved Outcomes. • The Roadmap identifies key areas where we believe joint FPT action would support newcomer settlement and integration. • The Framework and Roadmap will be presented to Ministers next week for approval. • Once approved, FPT partners will publicly share a summary of the results.