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Religious groups and churches have always played, and continue to play, vital roles in the settlement and integration of newcomers to Canada. In the 1980s, several not-for-profit agencies emerged with Catholic and Mennonite roots to respond to the arrival of thousands of refugees to the province from Southeast Asia and Central America. Today, these agencies are particularly interesting as they both challenge prevailing views on secularization and the provision of public services, and play an exceptionally active role in providing services to newcomers. This paper explores the interplay between the prevalence of a liberal secular ideology in Canada and the shifting identities of faith-based organizations in Alberta. Based on archival research and interviews, this paper demonstrates that it is the shifting and, often conflicting, views of staff and volunteers that have contributed to the secularization of identities in most of these agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the coverage given to Ukrainian Canadian topics in two Alberta newspapers, the Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Bulletin, during the World War II years. Examples of the subjects included in the essay are Ukrainian Canadian participation in the war effort through enlistments in the Canadian armed forces and other ways, the banning of the Ukrainian Labour-Farmer Temple Association, the formation of the Ukrainian Canadian Committee, the raising of the matter of Ukrainian independence, and the Canadian conscription plebiscite of 27 April 1942. The two newspapers published in the provincial capital accorded significant attention to Ukrainian Canadian issues, a coverage that was paralleled by the many stories that related to Ukraine, a major battleground in the war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hutterites are a religious sect, an ethnic group, and a communal brotherhood. Since their arrival in North America in 1874, they have resisted assimilation and held onto their language, their schools and socialization processes, their clothing and their lifestyle. Two clan groups of Hutterites relocated to Alberta in 1918. During and after World War Two, the freedom of these Hutterites to buy land on which to establish new colonies was curtailed by legislation. It was not until 1973 that the incoming Lougheed government repealed the Communal Property Act. This paper describes Hutterite expansion during the past thirty-five years and examines the changing context in which their locational decisions have been made. First, the attitudes of the main "actors" - the government, the Hutterites and the people of Alberta - are evaluated, and then some of the issues that have remained contentious are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Africans have been present in Canada for at least a century and a half, very little is known about them. This may be partly attributed to the tendency for earlier censuses and immigration data to lump all "Blacks" into one category, and partly due to the fact that Africa has not traditionally been a source of immigrants to Canada. This paper examines how the residential circumstances of African immigrants in Calgary have impacted on their adaptation to their new society. Analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data reveals that, while a few Africans have managed to fit well into the socioeconomic structure of mainstream society, the majority continue to experience various forms of difficulties, including affordability. These difficulties are more pronounced in the housing and employment markets where factors such as discrimination, ethnicity, financial constraints, and recency of immigration have combined to disadvantage Africans and deny them access to equal opportunities. For low-income earners, these problems are more likely to cause additional deprivations and the propensity to experience core housing need. The study identifies discrimination in the housing market to be the most formidable barrier faced by Black African immigrants in Calgary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]