J Hous and the Built Environ Article 2022

A R T I C L E
Settlement and housing experiences of recent immigrants
in small- and mid-sized cities in the interior of British
Columbia (Canada)
Carlos Teixeira 2 • Julie L. Drolet1
Received: 11 April 2016 / Accepted: 11 April 2017
Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2017
Abstract Relatively little is known about immigrants’ settlement experiences in small-
and mid-sized Canadian cities, including their access to local services and their housing
experiences and outcomes—both of which are key factors in successful integration. This
study considered immigrants’ settlement experiences, including their access to local ser-
vices and their housing experiences and outcomes, in the cities of Kelowna and Kamloops,
with a focus on the housing rental market, and reliance on community services. The results
of the study include recommendations for improving immigrants’ settlement and inte-
gration in urban areas in the interior of British Columbia. Survey data were gathered
between April and August 2015 from 80 recent immigrant renters in the cities of Kelowna
(40) and in Kamloops (40). Findings suggest that immigrants find their housing more
difficult than anticipated, largely due to unexpectedly high costs and unfamiliarity with the
Canadian housing system. Few immigrants in either city relied on local community
organizations or government-sponsored ones to find a place to live and/or a job upon
arrival in Kelowna or Kamloops, although those who did found them very helpful.
Immigrants relied mostly on their family and friends for initial assistance, but would have
preferred to have received more information prior to or on their arrival. They recom-
mended that settlement and housing services offer more direct assistance to new immi-
grants. For policies to succeed in attracting and retaining immigrants to these cities in
British Columbia’s interior depends on the presence of (a) more subsidized/affordable
housing; (b) job opportunities that match immigrants’ qualifications and that offer an
adequate income; and (c) quality services and programs to integrate new immigrants into
the community.
& Julie L. Drolet
[e-mail]
Carlos Teixeira
[e-mail]
1 Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Edmonton, Canada
2 University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, Canada
123
J Hous and the Built Environ
DOI 10.1007/s10901-017-9550-9

Keywords Community services  Employment  Housing  Immigrants  Integration 
Small cities  Western Canada
1 Introduction
Canada’s increasingly diverse immigration flows have come to be understood not only as
contributors to population growth but as engines of economic growth and social trans-
formation, including ‘‘balancing’’ an ageing population. Most immigrants prefer to settle in
the major metropolitan cities of Canada (Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal), a pattern that
has led to regionalization policies intended to redirect immigrants to smaller cities and
communities. These policies encourage provincial and municipal governments to consider
how to attract immigrants to their less populated regions or smaller urban centres (Carter
et al. 2008; Frideres 2006), presenting both opportunities and challenges for destination
areas. In fact, Canadian census data show some immigrant dispersal to smaller centres in
the last two decades (CMHC 2014; Teixeira et al. 2012; Drolet et al. 2010; Bonifacio and
Drolet 2017). The interior of British Columbia (the westernmost province of Canada),
including the cities of Kelowna and Kamloops, has been identified as a region that could
benefit from additional immigration (Drolet et al. 2012; Nolin et al. 2009; Depner and
Teixeira 2012) (Fig. 1). Scholarship needs to address the new realities of immigration
outside major Canadian urban areas and the role of multi-stakeholder partnerships. With
such research, ‘‘we would be able to better assist policy-makers and researchers in their
assessment of recent government initiatives aimed at the redistribution of immigrants
throughout Canada and inform future policies aimed at accommodating immigration in the
critical years to come’’ (Radford 2007, p. 47).
While scholars in Canada have examined the settlement experiences and barriers or
challenges that immigrants face in the housing market, these studies have either been
national in scope or have focused on the major gateway Canadian cities where most
immigrants live (Blostein et al. 2015; Teixeira and Li 2015). National data show that new
immigrants spend high proportions of their income for shelter. In 2011, 29.6% of new-
comer households were considered to be ‘‘in core housing need’’, meaning they spent more
than 30% of their income on housing; this was almost three times the rate for non-
immigrant households (CMHC 2014). We know relatively little about immigrants’ set-
tlement experiences, including their access to local services and housing, in smaller cities
or in rural regions (Walton-Roberts 2005; Teixeira 2011, 2009; Drolet et al. 2008; SPARC
BC 2014). Vatz Laaroussi and Walton-Roberts (2007) discuss how ‘‘the local, regional and
provincial contexts vary widely (rural, semi-urban, second-tier cities, provinces with
declining demographics, minority communities) and must be analyzed in light of their
specific and complex features’’ (p. 166). The literature on settlement in small cities con-
siders social planning and government cooperation to stimulate immigration flows (Vatz
Laaroussi and Walton-Roberts 2005), and case studies on small city contexts in second-
and third-tier cities (Frideres 2006; Garcea 2006; Derwing and Krahn 2006; Lai and Huffey
2009). The capacities, challenges and prospects of small cities context and place are
important attributes to consider in Canadian immigration (Bonifacio and Drolet 2017).
Immigrant settlement in small cities can present opportunities for newcomers that may
include employment prospects, family reunification and a higher quality of life, as well as
challenges for newcomers such as a potential lack of specialized services to support
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settlement and a host population less familiar with diversity (Esses 2017). ‘‘The context of
place is paramount to the type and range of experiences that immigrants and refugees will
likely have, and the geographic location to which newcomers settle greatly influences how
they experience settlement’’ (Sutherland 2017, p. 122). It has been argued that housing is a
key component of the settlement experience (Wayland 2010; Carter et al. 2009). However,
few immigrant serving agencies are explicitly mandated to deliver housing-related ser-
vices; for example, ‘‘on an informal level, settlement services provide assistance in theS. ThompsonU.S.A.OliverOsoyoosSalmon ArmOsoyoos L.OkanaganRiverN00m0 k4i.0 m202 031010ShuswapLakeR. Mabel L.ShuswapSalmonR.SimilkameenR.O KANA G A NV A L L E YM T N S .M O N A S H E EShakaL.R.OkanaganLakeBRITISHCOLUMBIACANADA005 0 km02 052 0 m5 i.MAP AREAEdmontonCalgaryVancouverALBERTAVernonCOLUMBIABRITISHKamloopsPentictonKelownaPrinceton
Fig. 1 Location of the cities of Kelowna and Kamloops, British Columbia
Settlement and housing experiences of recent immigrants in...
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form of orientation to various neighbourhoods and types of accommodation, tenants’ rights
education, and the like’’ (Wayland 2010, p. 23). It is important to consider the range of
housing-related barriers and challenges that intersect with immigration category (skilled
immigrant, family class, refugee) and how these interconnections affect newcomers’ set-
tlement experience in terms of employment and labour market integration, language
training, health, and social connections at the local community level.
The successful integration of immigrants and refugees is based on several factors
including access to: (1) settlement and community services; (2) affordable, suitable, and
adequate housing in a welcoming community; (3) employment opportunities providing
adequate income; (4) the education system; and (5) knowledge about, and engagement
with, the new society (Teixeira and Li 2015; Murdie and Teixeira 2003). Municipal
governments, community organizations, post-secondary institutions, and other stakehold-
ers play an important role in fostering welcoming communities (Drolet 2017b; Welcome
BC 2012). Esses et al. (2010, p. 9) define the latter concept as ‘‘a location that has the
capacity to meet the needs and promote inclusion of newcomers, and the machinery in
place to produce and support these capacities’’, and provide a rank-ordered list of 17
characteristics of a welcoming community, which includes affordable, suitable housing.
Municipalities, provinces, and territories are working to attract and retain newcomers to
smaller communities by responding to the unique needs of immigrants and refugees (Burr
2011). To attract and retain immigrants, research evidence suggests that smaller centres try
harder to be more welcoming by increasing access to social services, including housing,
and the development of community events and activities to foster community support and
acceptance (Derwing and Krahn 2008; Brochu and Abu-Ayyash 2006). Local Immigration
Partnerships (LIPs) bring together mainstream and immigrant stakeholders to address the
opportunities and challenges associated with the attraction and retention of immigrants and
to foster a more welcoming and inclusive community (Drolet 2017a). There are a number
of individual factors (age, education, immigrant class, presence of family/friend and social
supports), community factors (presence of an established ethnic/cultural community,
availability of economic, education and employment opportunities, access to services, and
community receptivity), and quality of life factors (climate, housing, recreation, arts and
cultural opportunities) that influence the attraction and retention of immigrants (Cook and
Pruegger 2003). Welcoming community strategies (e.g. multi-sector partnerships, sharing
information) are required to attract and retain new immigrants to a community (Gibson
et al. 2017).
Immigrant settlement services are designed to address the multiple and varied needs of
newcomers (Drolet et al. 2015). Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC),
formerly Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), has adopted a modernized settlement
approach with six core themes: (1) information and orientation, (2) language and skills
development, (3) labour market participation, (4) community connections, (5) needs
assessment and referrals, and (6) support services. Funding is available to support settle-
ment programs and services in each core thematic area on a competitive basis through calls
or requests for proposals. A network of settlement services is necessary where immigrants
settle, and this includes smaller communities (Drolet 2017b), where it may be more
challenging to establish such a network.
In the initial stages of settlement in a new community, access to reliable/efficient
settlement and community services (preferably in the immigrants’ own language) in a
welcoming community, and access to adequate, suitable, and affordable housing are
paramount as primary routes for immigrants’ social, cultural, and economic integration
into the host society. Small, growing cities such as Kelowna and Kamloops face challenges
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in attracting and retaining new immigrants due, in part, to a less developed network of
settlement, ethno-cultural, and community services that are culturally oriented to new
immigrants, and to expensive housing markets that do not match the needs of newcomers.
The latter issue has become more acute since the mid-1990s, given low levels of new social
housing construction, relatively high market rents, and funding cuts affecting social
assistance and non-governmental organizations that normally assist new immigrants and
refugees (Teixeira and Li 2015; Drolet 2017a). Wiginton (2013) identified a number of
challenges that immigrants face in smaller communities; these relate to settlement services,
appropriate housing, transportation, suitable employment, cultural amenities, diversity in
the school system, and community tolerance. These constraints narrow new immigrants’
choices about whether to move to, or remain in, small cities in the interior of B.C.,
especially Kelowna which has a reputation as a city to which affluent people retire and has
the third most expensive real estate market in the country (Demographia 2015; Gerding
2016).
Scholars recognize that race and ethnicity remain major barriers to equal treatment in
Canada’s housing markets (e.g. Darden and Teixeira 2016; Mensah 2005; Hulchanski and
Shapcott 2004). Research in larger Canadian metropolitan areas suggests that immigrants
in general and particularly members of visible minority groups may be disadvantaged
when looking for and assessing housing as renters or purchasers. Finding and applying
information about housing vacancies, particularly in complex housing markets, can be
stressful for recent immigrants to Canada, who are often unfamiliar with the Canadian
system, may lack access to services or relevant programs, and often have limited financial
resources, and face language barriers and various forms of discrimination in tight and
expensive housing markets (Ray and Preston 2009; Drolet et al. 2008; Teixeira
2009, 2014). These constraints can contribute to the creation and perpetuation of high
levels of involuntary residential concentration of immigrants and racial and ethnic seg-
regation; this can form a crucial aspect of the immigrant integration trajectory (Darden and
Fong 2012; Fong and Chan 2010; Ray and Preston 2009).
It has been established that recent immigrants are more likely than Canadian-born
residents to spent large proportions of their total household income on housing costs
(CMHC 2014; Preston et al. 2009). Thus, more research is needed on vulnerable house-
holds (those spending at least 30% of their income on housing), particularly in small- and
mid-sized Canadian cities. Recent immigrants and refugees with low incomes are partic-
ularly at ‘‘risk of exclusion, marginalisation, poverty, or even homelessness’’ (Teixeira
2014, p. 169).
This study considered immigrants’ settlement experiences, their access to local services
and their housing experiences and outcomes, in the cities of Kelowna and Kamloops. With
very little published data/literature on the settlement and housing experiences of immi-
grants in this region of British Columbia, and even less on the settlement and housing
barriers/challenges that they face, this study addresses an existing gap in the scholarly
literature by focusing attention on a population and a unique geographical region that have
been largely ‘‘off the radar’’ of scholars and public policy debate. Based on interviews with
recent immigrants living in Kelowna and Kamloops, this study explored what housing and
other services exist to support immigrant settlement; the major barriers/challenges that
immigrants encountered in settling; their current housing situation, how they found
housing, and whether their situation was improving; and what would better assist their
settlement and integration.
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2 Methodology
The data for this study were gathered between April and August 2015 from interviews with
recent immigrant renters in Kelowna and in Kamloops. Due to the limited resources and
exploratory nature of this study, the target sample population size was 40 immigrants in
each city, sufficient to provide the depth and breadth of information necessary to meet the
objectives of the study.
The 95-item questionnaire was organized into six categories of closed and open-ended
questions that covered individual and household migratory trajectories; settlement patterns,
including access to settlement services and housing experiences on arrival; the housing
search process; the housing search outcome, including housing costs and satisfaction with
housing and neighbourhood; current housing situation, reasons for moving, settlement and
housing services used and degree of satisfaction with them; suggestions on how to improve
the housing options and conditions for newcomers in Kelowna or Kamloops; and socio-
economic and demographic characteristics of the participants. Responses to the open-
ended questions, which tended to be brief, were the source of quotations used in this paper
to add some detail on immigrants’ views and experiences. Completion of the questionnaire
took approximately 40–50 min on average; each respondent who completed the ques-
tionnaire received $30 for his or her participation.
To be eligible for the survey, respondents had to be immigrants (born outside Canada)
who arrived in Canada between 2000 and 2014 and were renters in Kelowna or Kamloops.
Eligible participants were recruited through the authors’ contacts with members of the
local communities (18 respondents) and with the assistance of staff members of local
organizations that provide settlement and housing services for immigrants (62 respon-
dents), notably Kelowna Community Resources (KCR) and Kamloops Immigrant Services
(KIS). Due to this outreach strategy, the sample may over-represent people who contact
settlement and community services and are in more need of assistance. The relatively small
sample size, together with the exploratory nature of this study, means that the results do not
support generalizations and must be interpreted with some caution.
3 Immigrants’ settlement experiences in Kelowna and Kamloops
3.1 Kelowna and Kamloops immigrant population and housing markets
Urbanization is redefining the social and physical landscape of Kelowna and Kamloops,
two important regional centres in the interior of British Columbia. Kelowna is considered
the economic engine of the Okanagan Valley, as well as a tourist and retirement desti-
nation, and is one of the fastest growing cities in the province, with a 9% increase from
2006 to 2011 (population of 117,312 in 2011). Kelowna’s population tends to be older,
with a median age of 43 years compared to 41.5 for Kamloops and 41.9 for British
Columbia. The population of Kamloops is also growing quickly, with an increase of 6.2%
from 2006 to 2011, reaching 85,678 in 2011 (Statistics Canada 2015a, b).
Despite this significant population growth, both Kelowna and Kamloops have
encountered problems in attracting and retaining new immigrants, who usually avoid the
region in favour of larger and more multicultural gateway cities like Vancouver, Calgary,
Toronto or Montreal, where they find jobs and economic opportunities, social support
networks and multicultural diversity. Consequently, the immigrant population in these two
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