Researchers aim to make Sudbury a welcoming city

Research is underway in Sudbury about how the city can be a welcoming community.

Several newcomers recently took part in workshops hosted by the Sudbury Local Immigration Partnership and the Northern Policy Institute.

"The goal of this research is to use these experiences to help inform either current ongoing initiatives or to inform new programs and projects," said Mercedes Labelle, lead analyst at NPI.

Participants were asked about the advantages and barriers they faced when settling and living in the community.

"Sudbury is the only city in northern Ontario showing population growth in the last census which is wonderful news but as we all know workforce is a huge issue for us," said Meredith Armstrong, the director of economic development at the City of Greater Sudbury.

"We want to attract the best of the best, we want to attract new talent and new residents and grow our population."

Newcomers to the city from diverse cultures were asked about the advantages and barriers they faced when settling and living in the community.

"Some of the benefits have to do with Sudbury being less crowded than other communities, being a great place to raise a family," said Labelle.

"The cost of living is a little bit lower in Sudbury compared to Toronto, Ottawa. And then also entrepreneurship opportunities for immigrants."

Researchers say barriers that were identified include finding meaningful employment opportunities and the limited availability of cultural activities and ethnic foods.

Big picture, NPI said immigration is needed in northern Ontario to sustain our workforce.

"Northern Ontario on average is aging at a faster rate than the rest of the province and we have high levels of youth outmigration and low birth rates meaning that once these people age out of the labour force there is not enough people to backfill them," said Labelle.

"That means we are going to be experiencing a lot of labour shortages and a lot of (employers) are already."

The goal of NPI is to provide the information needed to make data-based decisions to foster and grow sustainable northern communities.