Grant: Canada First Research Excellence Fund

Immigration plays an important part in Canada’s post-pandemic economic recovery and future growth. The pandemic has highlighted immigrants’ contributions to society and economy and the challenges they face. It has also accelerated socio-economic and political transformation processes that were already under way, particularly as regards the role of Advanced Digital Technologies in providing services, organizing work, and participating in civil society. While settlement and integration are established policy priorities in this country, we firmly believe that current conceptual paradigms and public policies are lagging behind the rapid transformation of society and the economy. Understanding the challenges and opportunities that immigrant integration involves in Canada (and internationally) requires a robust interdisciplinary engagement between the social sciences (sociology, politics, economics, social work, urban planning); health sciences (nursing, cognitive sciences, public health, occupational health); engineering and information technology (AI, cybersecurity, human-robot interaction, transportation); and digital humanities. The Bridging Divides research program aims to fill this gap by investigating how accelerating technological transformation interacts with immigrant integration processes. We organize our work in 4 Research Themes: Immigrant Health and Well-Being; Work and Lifelong Learning; Place and Infrastructure; Citizenship and Participation, areas intentionally broad to allow for interdisciplinary and intersectoral work but also closely intertwined so as to examine horizontal connections. Our work will focus on the urban context, including both large urban centres and small and mid-sized cities–as these are the main destinations of both newcomers and settled immigrants. Building on the multiple strengths and international leadership of Ryerson U in immigration and settlement studies, including the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration, we partner with three other highly competitive universities equally engaged in studying immigrant integration from interdisciplinary and intersectoral perspectives: the U of Alberta, the U of British Columbia, and Concordia U. The innovative methods, analytical models, data, software tools, and policy outcomes generated by the Program will contribute towards making Canada more inclusive, equitable, and resilient, while improving social and technological innovation eco-systems.