Insights from Canada's Settlement Industry: Exploring Agency Data on Migration

Incoming temporary migrants are increasing as a proportion of total migrants to Canada, and the trend seems unlikely to reverse in the near future. The growth in temporary residents presents challenges to a host country that bases its policies and programs on a predominantly permanent migration model. In line with this model, data on temporary residents are lacking, and this gap is likely to expand, particularly under the current political regime, which has as an agenda what has been characterized as an “attack on science.” Consequently, our knowledge about this population is extremely limited and we are pushed to consider non-traditional sources of research data. In this paper, we explore the feasibility of agency administrative data as a potential source of data on permanent and temporary residents. Based on an online survey of non-profit organizations in the Greater Toronto Area and five focus group discussions with senior agency staff, we discuss the opportunities and barriers.