An ever-greater proportion of immigrants to Canada is from countries in the Global South, including Africa. The Southern African diaspora in Canada, which currently exceeds 120,000 people and continues to grow, is the focus of this special report, co-published with the Southern African Migration Programme (SAMP). Guided by the new consensus that migration is, or can be, good for development, given that migrants from the South to the North rarely cut their ties when they emigrate, the authors of this report, led by Jonathan Crush, CIGI Chair in Global Migration and Development, provide a systematic knowledge base about the Southern African diasporas in Canada, insights about the actual and potential development impacts of these diasporas, and a new methodology for accessing information about diasporas.
SAMP, an international network of African and Canadian organizations based at the University of Cape Town, conducted an innovative online and face-to-face survey of over 2,000 Southern Africans in Canada in 2010 and 2011, examining, among other things, the linkages maintained with countries of origin, including remittances and other economic links and involvement with development-related activities in countries of origin. The report identifies the kinds of activities that members of the diaspora are, or would like to be, engaged in, providing valuable information that the Canadian government could use to reframe the diaspora as development partners in new ways and creatively support their work and projects with dedicated funding and support.
