What dictates successful economic integration for Indian immigrants in Canada?
Why do some Indian immigrants experience upward mobility in Canada while others never manage to fully integrate economically? Dr. Sandeep Agrawal, founding director of the graduate program in Urban Development at Ryerson University has recently completed a research project studying some of these trends. While a typical successful Indian immigrant is young, well educated and well versed in English, some immigrants will all of these traits still fail to achieve upward mobility. Dr. Agrawal notes that other factors like the economic environment at the time of immigration, the demand for a specific skill set, and the recognition of foreign credentials all impact an individual’s immigration experience. Dr. Agrawal’s study makes some interesting comparisons between the integration strategies of Indians and Chinese immigrants in Canada. He has found that many Chinese immigrants have achieved upward mobility in Canadian society by interacting primarily within their own ethnic economic sphere.
