A main premise of this study is that the success of refugee settlement, and refugees’ decisions to stay in the community to which they were initially destined or to relocate, are likely to be influenced by a multitude of factors. Some of these factors may be personal, while others may be a function of the host community. The present study consists of several components to provide insights into how community attitudes and demographic characteristics, and refugee attitudes and inclinations, may interact and thereby influence not only the quality of the settlement experience but also the mobility inclinations of refugees. This chapter, based on government statistics and the results of our public opinion survey, compares the seven host communities in Alberta in terms of (a) selected social and demographic characteristics that may positively or negatively influence the refugees’ settlement experience and geographical mobility, and (b) general public attitudes toward immigrants and refugees, and toward cultural diversity.
The chapter is divided into five sections. The first section is largely demographic as it provides information on population size, age-sex composition, home ownership, and educational and family characteristics of the host communities. Section C examines the extent of social and cultural diversity within these communities, while the next section focuses on labour force characteristics and related economic indicators. Comparative statistics on the mobility status of community residents are presented in Section E, while the final section reports findings from the public opinion survey concerning attitudes toward cultural diversity; opinions about immigration, immigrants and refugees; and perceptions of openness to outsiders. The chapter concludes with a summary profile for each of the seven target communities in terms of major social and demographic characteristics.
Most of the statistical tables included in this chapter are derived from the 1996 Canadian census. Census data for 1991 are used only in those instances where 1996 census data are not yet available. Preference is given to the utilization of 1996 data partly because they give a more up-to-date picture of the social and demographic characteristics of the host communities, and partly because a majority of the refugees interviewed in this study were destined to these communities between 1995 and 1997. Thus, the refugees’ settlement experiences are more related to what these host communities were like in 1996 than in 1991.