The first Immigrant Survey was completed in June 2023. We defined ‘immigrants’ as anyone who was born outside Canada. The survey was open to all immigrants who lived or worked in the St. Thomas and Elgin County, including:
- Permanent Residents
- International Students
- Refugee Claimants
- Temporary Workers
We asked participants about their experiences, challenges, and recommendations. We hope that the results of this survey will be used to inform community planning, policy, and programs. This survey will be repeated every two years to build an understanding of our immigrant communities over time.
It’s important to note that the survey sample size is not large enough to be a statistically significant representation of all immigrants in St. Thomas-Elgin, and, in addition to some known gaps in respondents, there may be additional unknown gaps as well. Nonetheless, these findings still provide important insight into the experiences of some immigrants in our community.
The 2023 Immigrant Survey Report
A total of 99 immigrants participated in the survey. Of this total, 68 completed the full-length survey, and an additional 31 completed a shorter version in English, Spanish or Ukrainian. Most questions were optional, so not all participants answered every question. The full report will be uploaded very soon!
Survey Findings Highlight
- 99 survey respondents.
- 71% were racialized.
- 25 different first languages reported.
- Most respondents were from St. Thomas (77%), with 11% from the east Elgin region, and 4% from the central Elgin region.
- Top immigration categories: family category (44%), economic category (20%), international student (9%), other (7%).
- Top challenges: cost of living (34%), finding healthcare (28%), finding work (24%).
- Top suggested solutions: more affordable housing (39%), better programs for immigrants to find work (36%). employer education on hiring and retaining immigrants (29%).
- 37% of respondents experienced discrimination in the past 12 months.
- Almost all the respondents had used at least one service category, which included health, recreation, police, employment, education services and more.
- The services with the highest positive ratings were language interpretation/translation (89% of users rated positively), local municipal government/bylaw (84% of users rated positively), and police (84% users rated positively). The service with the highest negative rating was transportation (76% of users rated negatively).
Further Research
Contact us if you’re interested in being involved or getting more information about future research.
We plan to repeat this survey every two years to build an understanding of our immigrant communities over time.
