4th Cycle National Metropolis Research Competition

A recent Statistics Canada Study projects that by 2031 approximately one-third of all Canadians will be visible minorities. (Visible minorities include those who identify/self-select as non-white, but does not include Aboriginals). This projection adds insight to recent studies that show that:

• Socio-economic disparities between racial groups have been growing.
• Visible minorities, particularly those newly immigrated, are consistently overrepresented among the poor in Canada.
• Poverty is increasingly concentrated in visible minority communities and this spatial concentration of poverty is particularly acute in urban areas.

In light of Canada’s demographic trends, an examination of the economic outcomes and consequences of poverty amongst growing visible minorities in Canada, as well as the policies that could prevent and support emergence from poverty, is necessary. 

The standard explanation of the factors that can lead to poverty amongst Canada’s growing visible minority communities, these often being immigrant communities, is usually cited as a combination of country of origin; immigration applicant class; literacy and official language capacity; quality of education; time spent in Canada; foreign credential recognition; access to child care and other gender-related factors; urban/rural factors; access to social capital; inter-generational considerations; and discrimination and racism.

This call for research proposals seeks assessments of the adequacy of these standard explanations of poverty and of enduring economic disadvantage amongst growing visible minority communities in Canada.

Proposals should:
A) Articulate an approach to assessing the adequacy of the standard explanations of poverty amongst growing visible minority communities, showing how the standard explanatory factors are understood and how they will be assessed. Proposals will also articulate how the research will determine whether or not there is a need for alternate explanations or enhanced conceptualizations of poverty.
Emphasis should be placed on consequences and outcomes of poverty as well as on the possible solutions. It is suggested that proposals refer to/consider the following components: geographic/spatial concentration of poverty, differences between rural and urban contexts, provincial and territorial differences, age considerations in consequences and outcomes, reactive/protective behaviours and subsequent outcomes (e.g., radicalization), difference due to religious minority contexts, and the role that gender plays in economic outcomes are all welcomed.

B) Indicate as precisely as possible the policy linkages of the proposed research project, based on consultations with relevant policy-makers in Citizenship and Immigration Canada and/or in partnering federal departments; or with policy-makers at the provincial or municipal level. Where appropriate, applicants are also encouraged to indicate the specific implications of the research project for the concerns of, or for programs and services provided by, other relevant stakeholders (e.g., multicultural groups, NGO’s and other immigrant serving groups) based on direct consultations and/or involvement with these stakeholders. Letters of support from Federal, Provincial or Municipal policy-makers are recommended.

To Apply: Click here for application forms available on the SSHRC website.

Submission deadline: October 4, 2010

If not already affiliated, successful applicants must seek affiliation with one of the five Metropolis Centres of Excellence. To affiliate with one of the five Centres please visit the following sites:

• AMC: http://atlantic.metropolis.net/forms_docs_e.html#Documents
• QMC: http://im.metropolis.net/frameset_e.html - click on “To Contact the Centre” for more information.
• OMC: http://ceris.metropolis.net/frameset_e.html - click on “General Information”, find About the Centre,
   click on “CERIS Affiliation”
• PMC: http://pmc.metropolis.net/frameset_e.html - on Main Page, find PMC ADMINISTRATIVE FORMS,
   Click on “Apply for Affiliation with the PMC”
• MBC: http://mbc.metropolis.net/research_policy-joining_mbc.html