The Capacity for Care: A Care Ethics Analysis of Immigration and Settlement Policies in Three Canadian Provinces

Abstract

Immigration has played a central role in Canada’s economic development strategy since the 2015 federal election. At the same time, expanded provincial responsibility for immigration over the last three decades has created an increasingly complex immigration environment. At the heart of these dynamics is the non-governmental settlement sector, which continues to provide essential supports and services for a growing number of immigrants, refugees, and their families. This thesis makes a unique contribution to the literature on immigration and settlement policies by analyzing these policies against an ethic of care, using the Trace method of normative policy analysis. Using the provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia as case studies, the thesis offers critical insights into the deficiencies of the neoliberal normative framework underlying these policies and suggests ways that care ethics can inform responsive immigration and settlement policies.