Beyond Assimilation: The Immigrant Family and Community in a Canadian Metropolis

Abstract

This paper draws on an empirical research focusing on immigrant families in Winnipeg, Canada, which is based on a sample of 440 south Asian, Filipino, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European respondents. When immigrants are under pressure to assimilate, the immigrant family and community can make a difference if they are able to mobilise resources and provide social capital. The author raises a few pertinent questions: In the process of immigrant adjustment, what roles do immigrant family and community play in the integration into Canadian urban milieu? Will immigrant families and ethnic communities persist in affecting the lives of children of immigrants? What is the role of the policy of multiculturalism in the process of immigrant family adaptation?