Attraction and Retention of Immigrants in Small Centres: The Case of Kingston, Ontario

Rising concern over the large number of immigrants who have settled in Canada’s three largest municipalities (Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver) in the last two decades, has combined with recent concern over economic decline in some of Canada’s less populated regions to create a push for an increase in municipal government responsibility for issues related to immigration. This has sparked a trend in small municipalities taking action to increase their ability to attract and retain newcomers to their area. This paper explores this process through a case study of Kingston, Ontario, using 2001 and 2006 Census data and interviews with key informants in the community. Analysis of a number of factors in Kingston related to immigrant needs and community attitudes, resulted in the conclusion that this third-tier municipality is in the beginning stages of taking appropriate steps towards the sustainable attraction and retention of immigrant residents.