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This study examines the role of support networks in the integration process of Ghanaian immigrants to Canada. Although social support networks have been widely argued to shape the immigrants' pre- and postmigration experience, their presence and roles are neither self-evident nor constant. Common conceptualizations of social support exchange often perceive support as unidirectional, flowing only from network members to immigrants. This underlies a rather linear notion of support networks among immigrants. Given this, this study investigates the directionality of support regarding emotional, instrumental, and informational support and the extent to which closeness, delineated as familial (kinship), perceived (importance of relationship), temporal (frequency of interaction), and geographic (location) influence these support exchanges. The study employs a multilevel multinomial analysis of 172 egocentric networks in Toronto, Canada, using a social network analysis approach. Results show that geographic closeness was consistently less important than kinship, temporal, and perceived closeness in both emotional, instrumental, and informational support—regardless of directionality. This broadly support the assertions about "death of distance" and that spatiality might no longer be a key influencer within the social support networks of immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we investigate the construction, composition and rationale behind the personal networks of recent immigrants to Canada. Drawing on egocentric‐network analysis and interviews with 172 Ghanaian immigrants in Toronto, we reveal their networking strategies during their integration. First, we identify social locations that help create ties with different groups: workplaces and schools offer access to ties with non‐immigrants and other immigrants alike, while religious and ethnic organizations facilitate ties to co‐nationals (i.e., Ghanaians). Second, most individuals within immigrants' network are co‐nationals whose relationship began in Canada, followed by sustained transnational ties in the origin and diaspora and few ties with the non‐immigrant. The nature of this network is explained by examining the migration project of immigrants together with the context of reception in Canada, which suggests a desire by immigrants to stay in Canada and make Canada their second home. The implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the resilience of Canadian cities to the 2020 economic crisis that followed the 2019 coronavirus pandemic. It specifically investigates the resistance and recoverability (i.e., very short‐term recovery) dimensions of resilience. It reveals that Canadian cities exhibited heterogeneous resiliency to the crisis, resulting in economic restructuring. Further, the paper decomposed resilience into an industrial mix effect and local‐specific effect using a shift‐share analysis, to move away from the industrial‐structure dominated focus in the resilience literature by examining the influence of local‐specific effects. The analysis found that local‐specific effects played a dominant role in determining the resiliency of cities, while their industrial mix had a marginal influence. Moreover, the determinants of resilience are complex having different effects and functions depending on the dimension of resilience under examination. Also, the determinants of resilience may change depending on the type of shock cities experience. A key policy implication is that localities' capabilities largely determine their resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canadian immigration documents such as the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act 2001 stipulate that it is the responsibility of the government to help immigrants to integrate successfully. In part, this is due to the recognition that immigrants have the capital vital for economic and demographic enhancement of the country. To this end, successful integration is an important policy objective, with policymakers outlining indicators that measure the degree of immigrant integration. However, it is unclear the extent to which such policy indicators reflect the perspectives of immigrants. Drawing on in-depth interviews with African immigrants in London, Ontario, we report on a qualitative study that explored the meaning of successful integration. The findings capture some dimensions of successful integration. They indicate that creating avenues for personal growth and development in a context where immigrants have options and opportunities for advancement is an important marker of integration. Moreover, the findings show that achieving pre-migration aspirations – dreams and goals set prior to arrival in the host country are central to immigrants' conceptualisation of integration. Furthermore, as opposed to an action with a definite endpoint, immigrants understand integration as an ongoing process in which immigrants continuously adapt in response to changing demands of the host country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure for local economic development is an important part of the development process. In recent years, local governments have been switching structures, leading to debates about the most appropriate structure for an effective economic development delivery. Based on in-depth interviews with practitioners of local economic development, the paper examines the strengths and drawbacks of the two primary structures in the Province of Ontario: In-house and Arms-length. In doing so, the paper accomplishes two things: first, it adds to the empirical discussion on organisational approaches to economic development; second, it provides an informed perspective to assist communities that might be considering switching their structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess restaurant children's menus for content and nutritional quality; and to investigate the relationship between the restaurant consumer food environment for children and neighbourhood-level socio-economic characteristics within and between one Canadian city and one US city.Design: Cross-sectional observational study.Setting: London, ON, Canada and Rochester, NY, USA.ParticipantsRestaurant children's menus were assessed, scored and compared using the Children's Menu Assessment tool. We quantified neighbourhood accessibility to restaurants by calculating 800 m road-network buffers around the centroid of each city census block and created a new Neighbourhood Restaurant Quality Index for Children (NRQI-C) comprising the sum of restaurant menu scores divided by the total number of restaurants within each area. After weighting by population, we examined associations between NRQI-C and neighbourhood socio-economic characteristics using correlations and multiple regression analyses.Results: Nutritional quality of children's menus was greater, on average, in Rochester compared with London. Only one variable remained significant in the regression analyses for both cities: proportion of visible minorities had a positive effect on neighbourhood NRQI-C scores in London, whereas the reverse was true in Rochester.Conclusions: Results suggest the presence of a socio-economic disparity within Rochester, where children in more disadvantaged areas have poorer access to better nutritional quality restaurant choices. In London, results suggest an inverse relationship across the city where children in more disadvantaged areas have better access to better nutritional quality restaurant choices. Given these disparate results, research on restaurant nutritional quality for children requires additional consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine how social media is used as a promotional tool for economic development at the municipal level through place marketing and branding, to identify and explore what specific tools are being used, and to discuss the strengths and limitations of use. Primary data was collected through in-depth interviews with 16 municipal economic development practitioners in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Additional data collected from municipal social media accounts was used to further reinforce the qualitative data and allow for triangulation and greater breadth of analysis. The findings suggest that social media is being used as a tool to promote local services and political information rather than communicate a brand position. Additionally, limited interaction with the audience reduces not only the effectiveness of place marketing efforts but also enhancement of place brands. While some findings are place specific (as study design limited research participants to municipalities in Ontario), these findings can be shared with other locales in advanced economies to provide them with information to make improvements in the way communication technology is utilised. This research paper provides a better understanding of how social media is being used by municipalities and how it fits into place marketing and place branding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transnational housing investment is a pervasive practice among many migrant groups residing in various destination countries; including Ghanaian migrants living in Canada. For many, the need to engage in transnational housing investment is beyond the standard rationale and has two prime significance; symbolic and practical utility. Engagement in this endeavour requires substantial financial commitments over extensive periods of time with potential consequences for various aspects of immigrants’ lives in their destination areas including their housing consumption. This paper examines perceived influence of such long-term commitments on housing consumption decisions among Ghanaian immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The findings show that although engagement in transnational housing is associated with constraints on immigrants’ decision to enter homeownership, type of dwelling to rent and the neighbourhood choices, it was also associated with a sense of pride, success and integration into Canadian society. The paper concludes that a broader theoretical discussion of housing integration is necessary. Specifically, it calls for a redefinition of the measures of immigrant housing integration in particular – which narrowly considers destination parameters – to one that includes transnational factors as critical in moving the debate on understanding immigrant integration in general. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The housing outcomes of immigrants in Canada vary mainly along ethnicity. However, many other factors including place of birth, length of stay in Canada, labour market outcomes, and discrimination among others also play a role. Although general patterns are observable at broad ethnic group levels, vast intra-group differences exist—with housing outcomes potentially being influenced by specific group behaviours such as transnational (housing) activities. This study investigates the relationship between homeownership in Canada and Ghanaian immigrant transnational housing investment. Logistic regression models are fitted on survey data collected among Ghanaian immigrants resident in the Greater Toronto Area. The results show an association between homeownership status in Canada and transnational housing investment. Interestingly, we found that immigrants with on-going housing projects in Ghana were more likely to own a house in Canada. Theoretically the findings demonstrate the importance of including a transnational perspective in immigrant housing integration research. The findings show that it is possible to simultaneously engage in transnational activities and remain integrated in the society of destination areas. This has wider implications for the transnationalism-integration debate within immigrant receiving nations across the world. Recognition of transnationalism as a possible conduit for enhancing integration in destination societies should result in eschewing alarmist perspectives which have been relied on to formulate anti-immigration policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although homeownership is recognised as an important marker of immigrant integration in Canada, overall evidence suggests a declining trend in homeownership among immigrants in the last two decades. The factors scholars have focused on in their attempt to explain immigrant housing trajectories and overall homeownership trends tend to be dominated by immigrant characteristics and the circumstances prevailing in the housing market. This research extends this attempt at understanding immigrant housing trajectories by examining the influence of remittances. Using data from the longitudinal survey of immigrants in Canada we applied negative log-log regression modelling techniques to examine the influence of remittances on homeownership over time among recent immigrants in Canada. The results indicate that participation in remittance has negative consequences for homeownership over time. The findings make a case for the inclusion of immigrant transnational engagement in the attempt to explain immigrant integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to the discussion on communities’ economic development efforts by providing empirical evidence from cities in Ontario, Canada. This article provides information on activities that cities in Ontario are emphasizing to foster economic development. Analysis of study data suggests that economic development efforts are generally institutionalized, as evidenced by the high number of cities adopting written economic development plans. This finding contrasts the “act now, think later” approach previously reported. However, the vast majority of economic development practices are traditional and conservative due to such reasons as the regulated institutional environment within which the cities operate, similar economic challenges that confront them, and the historical and geographical links that bind the majority of the cities. The article concludes by suggesting key avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In some communities in the Province of Ontario, Canada, economic development functions have been outsourced from departments within the city structure to external organizations such as economic development corporations (EDCs). This study takes an in-depth look at the activities of EDCs, with a focus on the rationale for outsourcing, EDCs' policies and strategies, cooperative efforts, and the challenges EDCs face. The paper is based on extensive interviews with 21 CEOs/presidents of these corporations. The findings indicate that EDCs are typically private-public partnerships that exist at local and regional levels, that this approach is part of a comprehensive strategy to deal with the changing field of economic development and the uncertain global economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In Canada, immigration is increasingly vital to offset stagnant population growth and a declining domestic labour force. • Increasingly, cities are using place branding to attract immigrants. • Place branding appears to be effective in changing immigrant perceptions and facilitating the decision of where to live. To stabilize and grow their local economies, cities in Canada and other advanced economic regions have begun using place branding to attract high-skilled and well-educated immigrants. This is part of a larger trend where place branding is viewed as a necessary undertaking to respond to local issues. Despite the increased attention, there is considerable uncertainty over whether place branding is effective. To address this question, this research investigates place branding's role in influencing immigrant place perception and decision-making on where to live. A seven-factor model was used to capture 739 evaluations of the City of London, Canada and five other cities in the Province of Ontario. Responses were analyzed with ANOVA contrast tests and multivariate regression to identify differences in place and brand perceptions between the five cities. Findings identified that immigrant views of the cities differed and influenced decision-making on where to live. Interestingly, perceptions about the economy and housing were the key drivers of the evaluation of cities, rather than traditional branding and promotional efforts. The implication is that cities need to be strategic in their branding efforts to ensure they promote the features of the city that are meaningful to the target audiences being pursued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to evaluate how retail food environments for children in the City of London and Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada, vary according to level of urbanicity and level of socioeconomic distress. Urbanicity in this study is defined as a neighbourhood's designation as urban, suburban, or rural. We assessed community food environments (e.g., the type, location, and accessibility of food outlets) using 800m and 1600m network buffers (school zones) around all public and private elementary schools, and we calculated and compared density of junk food opportunities (JFO) (e.g., fast food and full-service restaurants, grocery stores, and convenience stores) within each school zone in urban, suburban and rural settings. The study also assessed consumer food environments (e.g., the price, promotion, placement, and availability of healthy options and nutrition information) through restaurant children's menu audits using the Children's Menu Assessment tool. Results suggest JFO density is greater around elementary schools in areas with higher levels of socioeconomic distress and urbanicity, while urbanicity is also associated with greater use of branded marketing and inclusion of an unhealthy dessert on children's menus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities in Canada and abroad are engaging in place branding initiatives without any true understanding of whether they are likely to succeed. A key reason for this uncertainty is that there is a lack of understanding of what local conditions are needed to ensure the best chance for success. This study addresses this uncertainty in two ways: first, a theoretical framework is developed to identify local characteristics and conditions that are requisite for place branding; and second, the City of London, Ontario is used as a case study to examine whether small and midsized cities should be branding. Based on an extensive review of the literature domain a framework of seven criteria was developed: is there a need? Is there something to be branded? Is there local capacity and knowledge? Is it part of strategic planning? Is there leadership? Is there coordination? And is the process inclusive? Based on interviews with sixteen key stakeholders in London (both local officials and community stakeholders), it is clear that the city meets very few of these criteria. This suggests that London - and likely most other small and midsized cities in Canada and abroad need to be measured in their approaches to place branding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]