Canada-Ontario Immigration Relations, 1970-2005
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Consultation, Conflict, and Collaborative Federalism: Canada-Ontario Immigration Relations, 1970-2005 by Kamara A. Jeffrey A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Social Justice Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Kamara A. Jeffrey 2015 Consultation, Conflict, and Collaborative Federalism: Canada- Ontario Immigration Relations, 1970-2005 Kamara Jeffrey Doctor of Philosophy Department of Social Justice Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto 2015 Abstract The provision of immigrant settlement services has long been recognized in the social science literature as essential to the economic, social, and political integration of immigrants to Canada. The 1976 Immigration Act, enacted in 1978, was a catalyst for increased provincial involvement in immigration, a jurisdiction shared between the two governments yet largely managed by the Canadian federal government. The new Act initiated a flurry of bilateral federal- provincial cooperation accords on immigrant settlement throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Yet, the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement (COIA), signed in November 2005, was the last of ten bilateral immigration accords to be signed in Canada. While other Canadian provinces successfully leveraged their jurisdictional capacity in immigrant settlement through the successful negotiation of bilateral immigration agreements with the federal government, the finalization of a Canada-Ontario agreement on immigration and settlement remained in bureaucratic and political impasse for decades despite Ontario’s position as the province receiving the largest proportion of total immigrants to Canada. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the process by which Ontario’s first intergovernmental immigration agreement, decades in the making, was successfully concluded in ii 2005. Drawing on archival government documents, extensive interviews, and multiple interdisciplinary analyses, this dissertation traces the trajectory of Canada-Ontario-municipal intergovernmental negotiations in the shared jurisdiction of immigration and settlement from 1970-2005 to show how these intergovernmental relations evolved against a dynamic backdrop of demographic shifts, changing international norms, bureaucratic restructuring, and broader political agendas and economic interests. The dissertation demonstrates that while the negotiation of the 2005 Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement marked a new leaf in intergovernmental cooperation, the Canada- Ontario immigration relationship remains wrought with complexity. Ontario’s unique approach to immigration consultation, continued disputes over devolution and federal spending power, and fluid federal-provincial-municipal jurisdictional boundaries in the province continue to pose a challenge to existing theories of collaborative federalism and multilevel governance. iii Acknowledgments Completing a dissertation is a learning process in more ways than one – it is as much a personal undertaking as it is an academic pursuit. I am fortunate to have had a great number of remarkable teachers whose assistance was instrumental in carrying me through the end of this project. Several years before I developed my thesis topic, or even entered the doctoral program, I had the pleasure of working with exceptional scholars who provided me a stimulating environment in which to explore themes of international migration and public policy. My pursuit of doctoral research was due in large part to the encouragement of these mentors at the University of Toronto and Ryerson University, especially Dr. Linda White, Dr. Donald Forbes, Dr. Myer Siemiatycki, and Dr. Monica Boyd. I am grateful to these professors for their contributions to my scholarly thinking and professional development. My sincere gratitude goes to Dr. Harold Troper for being a good-natured and reliable thesis advisor throughout what was often an unpredictable process. He poured countless hours into this thesis - closely reading, rereading, and commenting on the various drafts of each chapter, pointing me towards new ideas and sources, and indicating when I was on the mark. Dr. Troper’s expertise and helpful feedback would have been sufficient, but being relatively new to the discipline of history, I have been most grateful for his willingness to mentor me in the crafts of historical interpretation and writing as well as his contagious enthusiasm for narrative storytelling. I am indebted to the members of my thesis committee, Dr. Phil Triadafilopoulos and Dr. David Levine, whose insight and comments helped to shape the direction and scope of this project from its early stages. The thesis is immeasurably better for their input. I also extend much gratitude to Dr. Jeffrey Reitz and my external examiner Dr. David Taras, for their careful reading of my work and insightful commentary. This work rests on the willingness of participants in Canada and Ontario’s policy process to share their experiences, insights and expertise. I thank those who participated in interviews for their iv honesty and candor; their contribution to my understanding of the history of intergovernmental relations was immense.1 Additional gratitude goes to the many archivists and librarians who assisted me in uncovering invaluable data sources at Library and Archives Canada and the Archives of Ontario. I extend my gratitude to the many administrative staff members at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and OISE-UT who helped me to navigate the complexities of interdisciplinary program enrollment. Additional thanks goes to Margaret Brennan, who guided me through the PhD funding process and went above and beyond the call of duty several times - and always did so with a warm smile. I gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, the School of Graduate Studies Doctoral Completion Award, and the Centre of Excellence for Research in Immigration and Settlement (CERIS) Graduate Student Award to the completion of this study. During the early stages of dissertation writing, Margerette Whittaker stopped in to surprise me on numerous occasions with a nutritious meal and a kind heart. I am grateful for her contribution to this work. Sincere thanks also goes to Renée Beach as well as Masha Vucetic and Thomas Dunne, who offered warm hospitality, delightful company, and great wine during my stays with them on research trips to Ottawa while completing the data collection phase of this project. Completion of this thesis would have also been significantly more difficult were it not for the backing of Janice and Michael Drews. Their support was unwavering during the most intense final years of this project. I am as grateful for their kindness and generosity as I am for their friendship. Dissertation writing can be a very lonely process. Fortunately however, the most demanding moments in life are endured much better with laughter and good company. I owe much to my 1As is the usual caveat, while I am grateful for the assistance of the many contributors to this work, any errors in fact or interpretation are mine alone. v colleagues and friends, including my ‘thesis buddies’ and monthly potluck visitor group, who shared with me the pleasures of day-to-day writing, helped to ease the frustrations, provided stimulating debate, or rescued me from spontaneous laptop crashes by loaning me their own. Among them are Lisa Quirke, Devon Smither, Vanessa Iafolla, and Raza Mirza. I thank Arlis Barclay, not only for being a wonderful office mate, but also for the cheerful notes of encouragement that she frequently left me in our tiny windowless office. I also wish to extend a special thank you to my dear friends and colleagues Mary Drinkwater and Leigh-Anne Ingram for both their academic and non-academic contributions to my work. I feel fortunate to have met such remarkable individuals during the PhD journey. I am grateful to numerous caring friends and family members, many of whom I suspect were just as invested in this project as I was myself. Among them are Grace Wu, Peter Topalovic, Asha Tomlinson, Julia Ienco, Marlon Majdoub, Kayla Owen, Zach Laan, Justine Owen, Husam Abdel-Qadir, Tosh Jeffrey and Thelma Shervington. I am thankful for their encouragement, advice, and providing much needed levity both in the early stages of the ‘PhD marathon’ as well as during the final push toward my oral defense. A very special thank you and big hugs go to Alicia De Graff, Heidi Mamer-DeVastey, Alison De Graff, Renée Beach, and Melanie D’Souza for providing a sounding board and a shoulder during particularly challenging times. I cannot imagine having gone through the past 7 years without their loyal friendship. Finally, my greatest gratitude goes to my parents, Phillip and Dawne Jeffrey, whose support has been unreserved throughout many years of schooling. As parents, they instilled in me the values of self-confidence, faith, and perseverance – all of which I drew from when progress in this degree proved elusive. What’s more, they asked nothing more of me than to give my best effort in whatever academic pursuit or professional path I chose. They, more than anyone else, understand the obstacles I had to overcome in order to achieve this goal. Their friendship and love has meant more to me than I can articulate on this page. This dissertation, with love and immense joy, is dedicated to them. vi Table of Contents Abstract…………………………….….….……………………………………………………….……ii