ABSTRACT
The two waves of immigration and their offspring have fostered a highly diverse and growing segment of Toronto’s total population. Although first wave immigrants came primarily from Western Europe, and second wave immigrants are comprised of a plethora of country of origins from the developed and developing world – and constitute in sum a large cohort of visible ethnic minorities – both waves of immigration have brought to Toronto a myriad of world views involving various ethno-cultural traits, orientations and modes of behaviour. Thus, some have further argued that understanding immigrant’s economic and social integration (and their offspring’s chances of socio-economic success) varies depending on their country of origin (see Halli and Vedanand 2007). In addition, immigrants from Western nations and those arriving from non-Western nations are different in terms of various attributes that affect socio-economic integration. For example as discussed in the previous chapter, cues denoting “foreign-ness” such as non-Western accent may potentially affect visible ethnic minorities socio-economic integration. When examining the socio-economic prospects of visible ethnic minorities’ who are second generation and beyond, this chapter will argue that the odds of the next generation’s success in the labour market largely depend on a group’s level of socio-economic integration with interactive variables such as the age of migration, and whether an individual has one or both parents born abroad playing a significant role. Moreover, the chapter will offer steps for increasing the integration of ethnic minorities via improving education and labour market outcomes.
