Borderlines

Alice Craft is a Research Associate in the Immigration knowledge area at the Conference Board of Canada. She recently published a paper titled Small Business, Big Impact Immigrant Hiring and Integration in Five Canadian Cities.We discuss the key findings in her study, which were that: In fast-growing small and mid-sized Canadian cities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in multiple sectors identified skill shortages as their most common employment challenge.SMEs are using practical and inclusive strategies to evaluate newcomers’ education and experience, but they rarely intentionally reach out to newcomers or work with immigrant‑serving agencies during recruitment and onboarding.SMEs prioritize English/French language skills, particularly spoken communication, when hiring immigrants. Language skills are particularly important in client-facing roles or those involving safety regulations.Negative experiences and limited understanding of immigration processes discourage SMEs from engaging