Immigrating to Canada for a "Better Life" : A Qualitative Study on First Generation Vietnamese Immigrant Youths in Canada in the Twenty-First Century

Through five in-depth interviews, this research paper examines factors influencing recent Vietnamese immigrant youths' decisions to come to Canada, and their initial settlement experiences upon arrival in the first three years. This study mainly focuses on the context of departure, exploring the youths' every-day interactions with their social surroundings in Vietnam, prior to their arrival in Canada. This study found that Vietnamese immigrant youths immigrate to Canada to obtain a 'better life'. The three main factors influencing their decisions to come are: (a) their interactions with overseas Vietnamese (including relatives and non-relatives), (b) their level of paid and domestic work responsibilities in Vietnam compared to Canada.