Finding Friends in the New Country: Social Interaction of Older Immigrants to Canada

Margaret Michalowski, Statistics Canada
Helene Maheux, Statistics Canada

This paper examines social interaction of recent immigrants to Canada, those who arrived in the country at the pre-retirement stage of their life. Using data from Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC), we study transitions between older immigrants' social networks in the country of origin (country of last residence before migration) and networks in the country of destination (Canada). We analyze factors related to the maintenance of their connections with a country of residence prior to migration and determinants of social networks development in the new country.