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Migrant trends are changing Edmonton’s demographics and the City of Edmonton needs to recognize that with a new policy for migrants, the city’s community and public services committee heard Monday.

The updated city policy, the result of three years of work and feedback and data-crunching, now titled migrant inclusion, will go to city council for approval. It is expected to provide clear guidance for the city administration to support migrants, foster partnerships, and advocate for their needs.

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The policy defines migrants as individuals born outside of Canada or their immediate descendants who have settled in Edmonton.

It builds on a watershed document set down in 2018, ensuring all residents, regardless of their immigration status or citizenship status, could access municipal services like library cards, transit, and recreation passes, without fear or discrimination of deportation.

Migrants by the numbers

According to city numbers, greater Edmonton is poised to hit a population of two million people and immigration will be the largest driver of that growth.

As of 2021, 32.5 per cent of Edmonton’s population were immigrants, the committee heard.

City numbers show between 2022-2023, net international migration was estimated at 38,491 in the Edmonton census metropolitan area.

According to the Government of Alberta (2023), immigration is one approach to filling critical labour gaps created by an aging population, a growing and unmet demand for skilled workers (e.g., technical trades), and structural shortages in knowledge-intensive sectors such as information technology (IT) and health care.

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Migrants speak out

A three-year planning process involved feedback from many people across the migrant community.

Among the responses came a wish for migrants not to be stereotyped and to be able to contribute their diverse abilities.

“Migrants come with their laptop these days, not their baskets. The city is not using these talents they have well,” one commenter said.

Samuel Juru, executive director of the Africa Centre, shared concerns about struggles by new migrants in Edmonton

“We are seeing huge numbers of African descent migrants arrive in Edmonton these last four years, particularly. However, the new migrants are struggling with access to basic social, economic and cultural drivers, including areas around employment, starting new businesses, recreational activities, housing, as well as general information on municipal services and supports,” he told the group.

The proposed policy works with social policies council has put in place in the last few years, including the annual state of immigration and settlement report, the refugee housing initiative, the Access Without Fear community safety and well-being strategy and aligned funding, as well as the City of Edmonton’s anti-racism strategy in general, Juru said.

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“We recognize that close to half of the city of Edmonton’s population is now comprised of migrants, or the children of migrants,” he said.

“We have a vision in terms of being able to have equity and access to resources and opportunities,” Juru said, adding he was pleased to see almost 60 city staff participate in the engagement.

Proposed updates to the policy are a tangible way in which all migrants to Edmonton would have access to economic, social and cultural benefits, Juru said.

Coun. Jennifer Rice, an Edmontonian who was herself a migrant, said the migrant experience is close to her heart.

“I cannot say thank you enough to our city. I cannot say thank you enough to our Edmontonians and even many, many strangers who support lending a hand to our newcomer immigrants to this city. I really appreciate our city trying to advance the work, to provide more support and more access to the immigrants.”

The councillor for Ward Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi stressed the importance of collaboration with different levels of government to help migrants feel at home in Edmonton.

The challenge, Rice said, is to work with the city’s 70-plus minority communities to make sure “everyone feels like they have same access, and they have same services, they have the same connection with our city, and the involvement and engagement with our city, and they feel everyone is equally included.”

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Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said the city is an integral link for migrants being able to access provincial and federal resources.

“I absolutely understand that immigration is a federal and provincial jurisdiction, but when people move to our city, they are Edmontonians, like every other Edmontonian, and access to services that we provide is our responsibility, right? So everything that we do, from community safety, well-being, public transit, green space, we touch people’s lives every day,” Sohi said.

“How are we doing on making sure that services are equitably accessible to newcomers?”

‘They’re actually the majority now’

Migrants are essential for Edmonton’s growth and development, said Ward Anirniq Coun. Erin Rutherford, .

“It’s funny that we still use the term minority sometimes, because, as we know, by the time we hit two million, newcomers, migrants, people of colour, are not the minority. They’re actually the majority now, and so I think we need to recognize them as the important, integral tapestry of the community that they are,” Rutherford said.

The councillor said she hears accounts of migrants experiencing difficulty.

“I hear about Ukrainian refugee families that have actually left Edmonton and gone back to Ukraine because it was just so hard to make a go of it. I hear from the Africa Centre about all the barriers they have to getting jobs because they have these amazing qualifications, but they’re not recognized. I hear about people that want to find a job, but transit isn’t as accessible to them, or they don’t even know how to navigate it, because maybe English isn’t their first language, and it’s just really intimidating,” she said.

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