Canadian Newcomers Are Thinking About Leaving - Brands Can Change This

Reality often differs widely from our expectations. That’s an unfortunate fact for many new Canadians, who often face a long and bumpy path to arrival in this country.

All too often newcomers encounter far more obstacles than anticipated when they finally land on Canadian soil - with far too many regretting their decision. Our recent study with Angus Reid surveyed 500 newcomers to Canada and found that 49% intend to leave Canada or are considering leaving.

This is an eye-opening, distressing statistic. Why would people who have invested so much time, energy, and resources (financial and emotional) to get to Canada choose to leave?

The reasons are myriad, and lack of affordability is chief among them. Many find difficulty securing housing and face higher than expected costs of living. Many grapple with loneliness, find the weather unexpectedly harsh or fail to find a job that is worthy of their professional experience. While 84% of newcomers find Canadians to be as friendly or friendlier than they expected, the combination of challenges makes it hard to settle in and feel a sense of belonging.

An audience that cannot be ignored

Why is this relevant to brands and corporations in Canada, a nation of immigrants? Last year alone, 400,000 people immigrated to Canada. That’s close in size to the entire population of Halifax. The demographic landscape of Canada is changing at a fast pace, driven by a huge influx of people from other countries. They are indelibly shaping our economy and culture.

Smart brands and corporate institutions are working hard to embrace this new tapestry of cultures and help ease newcomers’ arrival. Those who aren’t paying attention would do well to listen to newcomers’ desires and work harder to address their needs and consumption habits. Brands live and evolve with communities, and newcomers are an audience they cannot and should not ignore.

Brands must take on new responsibilities

When newcomers arrive in Canada, they seek a balance between staying connected to their home culture and adjusting to their new surroundings.

Data shows brands and products can impact newcomers’ integration and sense of well-being. Beyond the obvious upside of business growth, there is ample opportunity for companies to take responsibility, lead the way and make a positive impact in the lives of new Canadians.

Brands can assist these newcomers in various ways, from re-examining hiring processes to communicating to them in a responsible and relevant way. A few of the top things that newcomers appreciate from brands:

• Proper representation (55%)
• In-language communication (38%)
• Food (29%)

Food, music, and community are particularly powerful connectors for newcomers.

Our study found newcomers are keen to embrace Canadian culture while preserving and maintaining ties from home.

To immerse themselves into their new country’s culture, they watch and listen to Canadian content (49%) and music (58%); They even attempt to make Canadian food (43%), especially during festivities such as Thanksgiving.

To preserve their own culture, they turn to the same elements - food, music and content – to transport them back home. They go to stores that feature products from their culture (52%), watch content (38%), listen to music (48%), and cook food (66%) from home.

Newcomers appreciate brands that attempt to speak with them in their language. Although most of them understand English, seeing and hearing their own language makes a positive impact and demonstrates brands’ real intent to interact with them. Speak with them, not just speak to them. Distinctively, East Asian and Chinese communities appreciate this gesture the most as they ranked in-language communication as the most important in connecting with a brand.

There are also some ways, through awareness and action, brands could improve the experience of people coming to Canada. For example, there is still a long way to go to strengthen representation in movies, TV shows, and advertisements. Hollywood’s exclusion, marginalization or villainization of non-white cultures needs to be combatted. This issue resonates strongly with Middle-Eastern and Western Asian people in particular, according to our study, whose desire for representation ranked 12% higher than other groups.

Brands need to celebrate the diversity of Canadian communities. Our study shows there is ample opportunity for brands to do more and make a positive difference in the lives of our newcomers.

Let’s roll up our sleeves, reach out and have an impact!

Written by David Rusli.

About David Rusli: As the Chief Strategy and Data Officer for Publicis Media, David Rusli is responsible for leading a team that bridges people and data, creativity and advanced analytics in order to create meaningful experiences across paid, owned and earned touchpoints. He is passionate about shifting the dialogue from multicultural marketing to marketing to a multicultural audience.

To learn more and access the results of the survey, please reach us at: sophie.prefol@publicisgroupe.net