the CanadaVisa Team - 20 July, 2015
Four years ago, Statistics Canada launched a new program tracking the successes, challenges and attitudes of new immigrants to Canada over a number of years. The first crop of results are in, and recent immigrants are giving the thumbs-up to their newly adopted nation.
The recently released report is the first publication from the program launched by Canada’s government in 2003 with the aim of better understanding the immigrant experience. The initial report presents a very promising picture. Three quarters of the immigrants surveyed reported that they were very happy with their new lives in Canada, while only 9 percent were not satisfied. The most important factors mentioned by respondents in contributing to this happiness were quality of life, future prospects for their family, and Canada’s peaceful nature.
The group of new arrivals felt strongly that they would make the choice to come to Canada if faced with the same decision today. After arrival over 90 percent of the immigrants participating in the study planned to settle permanently and apply for citizenship. In addition approximately half hoped to bring more of their relatives over through family sponsorship.
Four years after arrival, over 2/3 of the recent immigrants who participated in the study said that their life in Canada had already met or exceeded their expectations. There were a number of challenges reported by the group, such as difficulty with learning English or French. Unsurprisingly, Canadian weather was an unpopular adjustment for many immigrants unfamiliar with snow-filled winters. According to this study however, dealing with the cold was more than worth it to be able to enjoy the benefits of living in Canada.
