Immigrant labour, rural economies, and the question of housing

Abstract

There is a renewed interest in policy initiatives that aim to ruralize and regionalize immigration in Canada. These efforts are visible through temporary foreign worker programs linked to Provincial Nominee Programs, as well as the increase in the number of refugee resettlement programs in smaller communities. Against this backdrop, cities in Canada are experiencing a housing crisis. There is a tacit assumption that immigrants in smaller and more rural settings will fare better with respect to housing. This paper examines the assumptions underpinning efforts to ruralize and regionalize immigration—namely that immigrants to smaller centres will find more affordable and available housing. By presenting two case studies of small towns that have successfully leveraged immigration to meet their labour market needs, this paper demonstrates that housing remains a critical issue for newcomers, even outside of large urban centres. Further, the paper argues that discussions about housing need to be linked to broader policy conversations about immigration and labour, especially in contexts where transnational corporations leverage immigration and temporary labour programs to secure their workforce, without parallel investments in infrastructure and housing.