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Bensimon Byrne’s latest Consumerology Report reveals new insight on the impact of advertising among new Canadians. The Toronto-based ad agency’s commissioned quarterly survey looked at how different generations of new Canadian consumers differ in behaviour and opinion.
Generational differences are important to consider given that population growth is four times as likely to occur from immigration than from births in the country, says Bensimon Byrne pres Jack Bensimon. Differences found among the generations included a stronger preference among new Canadians for popular brands and trends (due, it says, to a strong desire to fit into Canadian culture): 75% of new Canadians surveyed said they would choose a popular Canadian item over a common item in their home country. Meanwhile, both first and second generations surveyed were less attracted to small local merchants and more likely to prefer a large chain – be it Canadian or not.

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In the early 1990s, with signs of a recession looming, Cynthia Lai rushed to sell her downtown condominiums, anticipating a real estate market crash similar to those of previous economic downturns. She miscalculated.
“I dumped all my condos because I didn’t know the market would have been sustained by immigration, which, I think, saved our economy in the 1990s,” said Lai, a realtor in Toronto since 1983.
The ’90s recession was the only time in Canada’s history that Ottawa didn’t reduce immigration during a downturn.. The current recession has led to debate about whether Canada should follow the recent actions of countries like the U.K. and Australia in tightening the immigration tap.

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Sachin Trivedi will do whatever it takes to ensure that his mother has a comfortable life in India.
The 37-year-old sends money home regularly – about $5,000 a year – to cover her living expenses. Once in a while, he’ll even surprise his cousins with monetary gifts.
No matter how deep the Canadian recession gets, Trivedi is determined to keep that money flowing. “I feel that it is my responsibility, so I fulfill that,” he said. Even if he lost his job, he would find a way to scrape together the cash. “The money which I’m sending to my mother will always remain.”

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Hinting that language skills will soon become a must for getting citizenship, Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney Friday said immigrants should either learn English or French, or face denial of citizenship.
Speaking at an immigration conference in Calgary, the minister said new immigrants must have to learn one of the two official languages (English and French) to integrate into Canada society.
Giving an example of how immigrants are not making efforts to learn any of the two official languages, the minister cited his experiences during his visit to India in January. He said when he attended a few immigration interviews in Delhi, he was surprised to find a woman who had been a Canadian citizen for 12 years but had no knowledge of English.

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Windsor’s new immigrants rank among the lowest income earners across the nation and have the highest unemployment rate of those with university education or degrees, according to a quality of life report on immigration in Canada’s cities released Thursday.
The report studied social and economic conditions in 24 cities for newcomers between 2001 and 2006.
While Windsor was comparatively average in terms of affordable housing and lower cost of living for immigrants, finding jobs — especially among those with top qualifications — has been a major struggle locally, said the study authored by Michel Frojmovic and released by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

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Recent immigrants in smaller suburban communities are faring better than those setting roots in big cities when it comes to jobs, incomes and homeownership, says a new study that measures newcomers’ life quality across Canada.
The report shows immigrants to the Greater Toronto Area are increasingly choosing the 905 regions as their destination over Toronto. Even those initially settling in the city are then moving on to the suburbs.

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