Refugees arriving in Lethbridge in 2016 - Photo credit to Deidra Friesen

By David Opinko

Report: Lethbridge more well-suited for refugees in short term than Edmonton

Aug 23, 2019 | 12:45 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A new study from the University of Alberta claims that, at least in the short term, Syrian refugees were more satisfied with settlement services and their community when they went to a smaller or mid-sized city like Lethbridge.

The Director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning Dr. Sandeep Agrawal and his team compared the experiences of Syrian refugees in Edmonton and Lethbridge.

As of January 2017, there were 243 government-assisted refugees in Lethbridge, as well as 24 who were privately-sponsored and five who came from a blended visa office referral program.

The study showed the smaller community was more creative, nimble and efficient in settling newcomers in their first year in Canada.

“Perhaps the smaller size allowed it to be much more flexible and was able to bring people and resources together at a much shorter notice,” says Dr. Agrawal. “There was much more of a connection among agencies, the organizations on the ground, and individuals involved.”

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Dr. Agrawal adds that Lethbridge’ biggest strength was in its medical service model. Lethbridge Family Services and Alberta Health Services worked together to create a one-stop medical clinic where all Syrian refugees could go for initial medical check-ups, immunizations, and get referrals to specialists.

“Settlement services in Lethbridge seemed adequate for the number of refugees who have settled there. Edmonton, on the other hand, faced a severe shortage of spaces in LINC classes, affordable housing, interpreters, and other services,” reads an excerpt from the study.

The situation for many in Lethbridge was not perfect, however, as the availability of translators and other English-language supports was more sparse.

The job situation between the two cities was also widely different. While it is not uncommon for immigrants to work on farms in southern Alberta, many of the open positions were for mechanized operations where the employees would need specialized training. Edmonton had a lot of jobs in the service sector where the barrier to entry was much lower.

Lethbridge also lacked supports that were culturally or linguistically-appropriate.

“In Edmonton, those services were fulfilled by local mosques or other religious institutions and more ethno-specific settlement agencies, which was obviously lacking in Lethbridge given its size and the size of the existing Syrian population,” says Dr. Agrawal.

For these reasons and more, Dr. Agrawal believes Edmonton was more well-suited for refugees in the long term than Lethbridge.

However, the researchers were not able to determine how many of the refugees in each city stayed there past their first couple of years in Canada.