This section provides a brief overview of the demographic characteristics of respondents to the public opinion survey. Table 3-12 shows that the average age of respondents is 43 years. Respondents from Medicine Hat are significantly older than average (49 years). Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray have larger than average households (3.05 and 3.11 persons respectively).
Eighty per cent of all respondents to the public opinion survey were born in Canada, though respondents from Edmonton and Calgary are less likely to be Canadian born (69% and 72% respectively). Most have lived in their current community for more than five years, but 24% of all respondents are more recent arrivals to their respective communities. Red Deer respondents are more likely than others to be recent residents, with 33% living there for less than five years.
As can be seen in Table 3-13, 41% of all respondents indicate they have completed a post-secondary diploma or degree. Medicine Hat had the lowest incidence of post-secondary education at 32%, while Calgary has the highest rate of post-secondary completion at 50%. The employment rate was highly variable across cities. The highest employment rate is in Fort McMurray (85%). The lowest employment rates are in Medicine Hat (55%), followed by Lethbridge (60%) and Edmonton (61%). Sixty-eight per cent of all respondents are employed. The proportion of residents in Fort McMurray with a household income over $60,000 (71%) is significantly higher than in other cities. The average income proportion over $60,000 for all cities combined is 36%. Of all respondents, 33% indicate they are "better off financially" than they were a year ago. Fort McMurray (46%) and Calgary (43%) respondents are most likely to feel better off financially. When asked whether they expect to be "better off financially in a year", respondents in Fort McMurray and Calgary are also more likely to answer affirmatively (52% and 49% respectively). Respondents in Medicine Hat are the least likely to view themselves as doing better financially in the next year.
The service providers in each city included representatives of agencies that deal specifically with immigrant and refugee concerns, such as settlement agencies and CIC staff, and individuals from other organizations whose mandate it is to serve the community as a whole (e.g., health units, police, YMCA). In each instance most respondents were female. The service providers had lived in their respective communities for an average of over 16 years. The individuals from Lethbridge and Red Deer had been in their current positions the longest (an average of roughly 12 years), whereas the mean length of time the remaining respondents had been with their agencies was between five and seven years. Approximately 58% of the service providers had previous experience working with refugees (prior to their current position), with a range of 33% in Grande Prairie to 75% in Fort McMurray. A list of participating service agencies appears in Volume 3, Part III.
As this profile shows, refugees to Alberta from the six world regions vary with respect to age, marital status, and occupational training prior to arrival. Moreover, when compared to other residents in the host communities, refugees have much lower household incomes and higher rates of unemployment. The remainder of the report elaborates on the resettlement experiences of refugees in Alberta by examining their geographical mobility, utilization of immigrant settlement services, and experiences living in Alberta. It also brings together information from the service providers, presenting their views on how settlement services can better help refugees. Information from the public opinion survey and from the community profiles is used to give context to the settlement experiences of refugees.
Profiles of the communities in which the refugees live appear in the next chapter. These profiles provide information on various community characteristics, including population size, age/sex distribution, language and ethnocultural features, major industries, unemployment rates, education levels, and mobility rates.