Choosing to Stay: Understanding Immigrant Retention in Four Non-metropolitan Counties in Southern Ontario

Every year, Ontario attracts more international migrants than any other province in Canada. The majority of these immigrants settle in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Policymakers at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels have identified a need to reduce the concentration of immigrants and to spread the benefits of immigration more evenly across the province. Despite policy and community interventions, most immigrants continue to move to larger centres. Previous academic research has mostly focused on the challenges smaller cities face in trying to attract and retain immigrants, suggesting that smaller cities lack what larger cities have to offer. We have taken another approach and instead considered what makes some immigrants choose to stay in non-metropolitan areas. Focusing on two sets of adjoining counties in Southern Ontario (Grey & Bruce counties and Lanark & Renfrew counties), we adopted a qualitative case study approach to understand what has led some immigrants to live in one of these regional areas for 3 years or more. The findings reveal that living outside of a metropolitan area comes with many benefits including relative affordability and easy access to nature. Moreover, study participants were inclined to stay in the counties under study because they could meet their needs there, at least for the time being. Interestingly, only some of the study participants viewed social attachments as a reason to stay. These were mostly individuals who had lived in one of the counties for a significant amount of time.