Population Growth without Regional Development?...

The Canadian government has increasingly relied on region-specific immigration programs to counter demographic decline and labour shortages in non-metropolitan areas, particularly those experiencing youth out-migration. These initiatives are often framed as mutually beneficial—for immigrants seeking opportunity and for communities in need of revitalization. Yet such narratives frequently obscure the complex, and often precarious, realities that emerge on the ground. Drawing on fieldwork in rural Canadian communities actively implementing regional immigration policies, this paper critically examines the gap between policy intentions and lived outcomes. It highlights how these policies can leave migrants in vulnerable positions, as they struggle to secure stable housing, employment, and a sense of belonging in communities that may be under-resourced and poorly prepared when it comes to receiving new arrivals. The paper argues that to be truly successful, regional immigration strategies must confront the deeper socio-economic and political structures that shape migrant integration, as well as the uneven capacities of receiving communities to support meaningful settlement.

Melissa Kelly is a Lecturer in Human Geography at Southampton University and is affiliated with the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her research adopts a place-based approach to examine how international migrants and refugees experience settlement, integration, and belonging across diverse urban and rural contexts in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.