Image source: Photograph: rkelland
What are the housing experiences of international migrants in Northern contexts?
Increasingly, Canada’s Federal, Provincial, and Territorial governments are promoting both immigration and temporary labour migration to the Canadian North. But these new populations may encounter significant housing insecurity as many cities across the Canadian North face acute housing shortages. This challenge is evident in new initiatives by fast food chains to provide rent subsidies to Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) in places like Whitehorse, Yukon. To date, however, there has been no systematic study of the implications of international migration on housing infrastructure in Northern communities, nor the housing experiences of recent migrants to Northern cities. To fill this gap, this project undertakes a comparative analysis of three urbanizing centres: 1) Whitehorse, Yukon; 2) Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; and 3) Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland & Labrador. This research will: 1) compare the housing barriers of newcomers in these locations; 2) examine the impact of international migration on their infrastructure and services; 3) consider how barriers can be addressed; and 4) promote social action through a graphic design output meant to engage the Northern public. We use the term ‘newcomer’ as an umbrella term encompassing different recent arrival experiences, including TFWs and permanent residents admitted as immigrants in the 10 years.
