‘We just fly by the seat of our pants sometimes here’: Understanding the Provision of Settlement and Integration Supports in Rural Saskatchewan.

Historically, immigration has been an urban phenomenon in Canada. Over the last two decades, however, more and more immigrants have begun to settle in smaller cities and even in rural areas. Given this shift, there is a need to know more about how federal and provincial settlement and integration policies and programs function beyond the metropolis. This paper takes a place-based qualitative case study approach to shed light on how the settlement and integration sector works in rural Saskatchewan. The research is based on interviews with individuals working within or adjacent to the settlement and integration sector, as well as a focus group carried out with immigrants themselves. The findings of the study reveal that there are many challenges that make it difficult to meet the needs of immigrants in rural Saskatchewan by way of formalized supports. Nevertheless, those working in the sector have drawn on local strengths and resources to devise innovative solutions to meet the needs of the growing immigrant population. The paper concludes by arguing that local communities should be given more flexibility and a bigger role to play in the development of settlement and integration policies and programs. Settlement and integration works differently across geographical space, and a ‘one-size fits all’ approach to service provision is not enough to meet the current needs of all communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]