GRSJ224/Challenges that Children of Immigrants Face in Canada

With the growth of the immigrant population and changes in the source countries of immigration over the decades , they have shaped the diversity of the Canadian population.

Statistics of Children of Immigrants in Canada

According to the 2016 Census, almost 2.2 million children under the age of 15, or 37.5 percent of all Canadian children, had at least one foreign-born parent. The proportion increased from 34.6% in 2011. The report also notes that children with an immigrant background could continue to grow and could represent from 39.3% to 49.1% of children under the age of 15 by 2036. These statistics show that children of immigrants account for a significant portion in Canada and it would become more significant in the future. Thus, it is important to consider this group of people in Canada in our discussion.

Regarding the main source countries of immigrants, in 2015, almost half (48.1%) of the foreign-born population was born in Asia (including the Middle East), while a lower proportion (27.7%) was born in Europe. Furthermore, there is a growing share of African-born immigrants in the foreign-born population, increasing from 1.4% in 1971 to 8.5% in 2016.

Challenges: Peer Relationships

Children with an immigrant background often struggle with multiple challenges as they adapt to a new environment with different culture. This is also often with completely different social structures and new peer relationships. As they move to Canada, the most direct mean to help them to assimilate to the new culture is through education. During the process, they may face challenges in their peer relationships.

Children born in Canada with at least one foreign-born parent were most likely to live in a multigenerational household, with grandparents, parents, and children under the same roof . The youth’s social identity among peers are being affected by conflicting ideals caused by the parents of immigrant youth and peers. In order to help their parents to go through the transitional challenges such as language barriers, it may limit some children to interact or to establish a peer relationship with their peers . In addition, children may attempt to preserve their old cultures values or beliefs and adapt to the new one at the same time . This may also hinder the children’s opportunities in establishing a healthy peer relationship.

A study that examines new comer immigrant children from China, Hong Kong, and the Philippines living in Canada, shows that 25% of children reported being treated unfairly by peers because of who they are . It reports one in five children stated feeling like an outsider among the peers, in which boys are experiencing higher levels of psychological isolation than girls. More than one in 10 were reported socially isolated and never participated in any organized activities . Additionally, one third of the respondents belonged to families living below the Canadian Income Adequacy Measure . As a result, it shows immigrant youth may feel greater pressure to fit in their peer relationship, and this is one of the challenges that they have to face.

Analysis Through an Intersectional Lens

There are various factors that interact to affect children’s health development, particularly through the peer relationships. The factors that makes children of immigrants more vulnerable to the challenge includes age, sex, race, class, language barriers and expectations and pressures from parents. Chinese immigrants’ children aged 8-13 have reported experiencing discrimination in the classroom mainly due to racial and linguistic differences . While the statistics show that South Asians, Chinese and Blacks were the three largest visible minority group, each with a population exceeding one million in Canada . In addition, children are at their young age which is more prone to the challenges as well. Being a young immigrant of children with a non-white race, they have higher perceptions of unfair treatment and experiences of social exclusion that have the potential to hinder children’s development on relationship with their peers. Furthermore, “immigrants stay poor and, like their poor nonimmigrant counterparts, become part of a chronically impoverished, socially troubled, and psychologically stressed underclass.” It has stronger negative effects on children’s externalized behaviors, and thus their interaction with their peers. Through analysis, it shows that race, class, gender, and age further segment immigrants and their children in Canada. These discrimination and social exclusion may increase risk and giving children a greater chance of negative developmental outcomes.

Impacts to society

There are potential implications for Canadian social, political and economic life. Since the first and second-generation children of immigrants contribute to the renewal of the population and to the diversity of Canada’s population , it is essential for the government to account for the children of immigrants lived experiences when designing and framing programs and services for the future economy of Canada.