The changing face of Simcoe County’s population — and Barrie’s — was shown to city councillors Wednesday night.
“Barrie currently has the highest number of newcomers and immigrants in Simcoe County and it means that our communities are very diverse, and there is a need to address … equity, diversity and inclusion, and addressing the needs for immigrants specific programming,” Morgane Dunot, bilingual program supervisor with the Simcoe County local immigration partnership, said in a presentation to the city’s affordability committee.
The presentation used 2021 Canada Census data, along with information from Statistics Canada in 2022 and 2023.
Census 2021 information showed 82,290 immigrant residents living in Simcoe County or 15.7 per cent of its population, a 33.6 per cent increase between 2016 and 2021.
In Barrie, 16.9 per cent of the population are immigrant residents, or 24,640 people.
Simcoe County also had a 40.5 per cent increase in residents reporting a non-official (English and French) mother tongue between 2016 and 2021, while Barrie experienced a 43.3 per cent increase in residents reporting a non-official mother tongue between 2016 and 2021.
The numbers also showed that 42.2 per cent or 34,720 of Simcoe County immigrant residents identify as part of a racialized group, as do 12.4 per cent or 65,245 of Simcoe County residents, and 17 per cent of Barrie residents.
In Barrie, this also means an increasing need to address settlement, language training, employment programming and providing connections to community resources and services.
This gives the city opportunities to provide space for newcomers’ programming and multicultural celebrations, include immigrant needs in the municipal strategic planning process and participating in the annual #ITSTARTS campaign — described by Dunot as an “anti-racism and anti-discrimination campaign” in March.
Municipal staff can also enroll in the Diversity Hub, participate in the new workplace inclusion charter, support the annual Newcomer Recognition Awards and participate in the annual Week of Welcome.
The Simcoe County local immigration partnership is partially funded by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada.
“We don’t work directly with newcomers and immigrants, but we work with community partners to improve social and economic outcomes for newcomers and immigrants,” said Dunot.
In late 2023, the local immigration partnership launched the Community Settlement Strategy. It provides recommendations to support the development of welcoming communities and has three themes of community action — improving access to basic needs, encouraging labour force integration and creating pathways to community involvement.
Membership of the partnership council is comprised of numerous community leaders, including representatives from education, employment, policing, libraries, economic development offices, health, francophone organizations, social services, family counselling and supports, settlement services, and the provincial government.
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