Backgrounder - New Funding for Research on Immigration and Diversity

In 1995, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) entered into a partnership to support the national Metropolis Project. The goal of the project is to support research and public policy development on population migration, cultural diversity and the challenges of immigrant integration in cities in Canada and around the world. A second phase of the project ran from 2002 to 2007.

The Metropolis Project is funded by SSHRC and a consortium of federal departments and agencies led by CIC, which also coordinates many activities through the Metropolis Secretariat. Participating departments include the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Canada Border Services Agency, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canadian Heritage, the Federal Economic Development Initiative in Northern Ontario, Human Resources and Social Development Canada, Justice Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Public Safety Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Rural Secretariat, the Co-Operatives Secretariat and Statistics Canada.

The program, which in Canada is organized as five regional centres of excellence, is built on collaborative partnerships between all three levels of government, academic researchers and community organizations. Phase 3 research activities will include the following topics, among others:

• the role of host communities in attracting, retaining and integrating newcomers;
• how Canada’s justice and security systems can ensure a balanced and fair approach to an increasingly diverse population;
• citizenship and social, cultural and civic integration of newcomers and minorities;
• the relationship between housing, neighbourhoods and integration;
• the consequences of migration for families, children and youths; and
• economic and labour market integration.

In addition to the research funded by the centres, the third phase of the project will introduce a $125,000 a year national research competition managed by the new National Metropolis Committee (NMC). The NMC will also manage a new knowledge transfer fund of approximately $200,000 a year designed to facilitate the transfer of research results to the federal policy community.