1996/97 PCERII Funded Research Abstract
Research Title: The Social and Cultural Impact of Business Immigration in Western Canada
Research Team: Dr. David Bai (University of
Alberta) - Principal Investigator
Ms. Kim Mah (University of Alberta)
Research Domain(s): Social; Citizenship and Culture
This research project will investigate the cultural implications of transnational activities among Hong Kong business immigrants in Western Canada. A comparison of Business Immigrants from selected metropolitan areas in Western Canada (British Columbia and Alberta) will be conducted to examine how these individuals develop linkages and relationships in other parts of Western Canada and the Pacific Rim. This project will examine the transnational and international activities and perceptions of Chinese business immigrants from Hong Kong, and their inter-cultural partnerships with other Canadians. Personal interviews will be conducted to examine issues pertaining to how these business immigrants are able to create transnational fields of experience and how such transnational practices can affect flows of cultural meaning, product, and ideology among people of different cultural backgrounds.
Between 1991 and 1993, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea ranked as the top three sources of business immigration in Canada. Together these three Asian countries accounted for 70% of the total 8,290 Landed Business Immigrants (principal applicants only) in Canada in 1993. Specifically, Taiwan and South Korea accounted for 21.1% (or 1,748) and 6.8% (or 565) respectively, while Hong Kong, the primary source, accounted for almost half of 42.1% (or 3,491).
Statistics from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (1994) indicate that the combined number of business immigrants in Alberta and British Columbia has increased significantly in the last several years. In 1993, 41.5% (or 3,440) of the total 8,290 Landed Business Immigrants (principal applicants only) in Canada arrived in Alberta and British Columbia, an increase from 37% in 1992. Under the Investor Program, these figures translated into investment dollars in Alberta and British Columbia totaling $352,400,000, about 16% of the total investment funds ($2,268,050,000) in Canada. During the same period, the number of jobs created or maintained in Alberta and British Columbia by immigrant investors totaled 5,485, approximately 40% of the total jobs created. Under the Entrepreneur Program, a total of $73,482,988 was invested in Alberta and British Columbia in 1993, accounting for approximately 57% of the total entrepreneur investment dollars in Canada. In 1992 and 1991, these figures accounted for 44% and 41% of the total investment dollar, respectively.
Thus, this project is significant because of Asia's central role in business, immigration, and trade in Western Canada. As well, with economic restructuring, the Canadian economy is experiencing a growth of small business, and existing research on ethnic enterprise indicates that business immigrants may play an important role in facilitating this restructuring. Additionally, wealthy entrepreneurs and investors bring not only capital investment, but also links to the global economic system, especially to the economically powerful Pacific Rim. As such, this project will examine, beyond mere financial figures, the resulting sociocultural impact that Chinese Business immigrants have on metropolitan areas in Western Canada, and the subsequent cultural adjustments that Canadians may need to make as hosts, and eventually partners, to these individuals.
The theoretical framework within which this study will be conducted is based on the Chinese concept of networking, referred to as guanxi. Guanxi is a dynamic concept, embedded in Chinese social life, and is continuously being redefined by its participants. Guanxi operates on several levels: one is dealing with close relatives, another is within a very close friendship circle, which may include some family members, and a third is with what Westerners refer to as acquaintances. Several Western scholars such as Max Weber, Talcot Parsons, and Ezra Vogel have interpreted this concept as being the core of Confucian ethics, a more normative Principal, but has become instrumental in forging business networks. As such, this project will examine how guanxi, which has both moral and instrumental means, operates in the Canadian setting to include not only Chinese, but also other Asians and Canadians.
Therefore, this project may have the potential to provide insight into how Canada can establish international connections abroad, deal with cultural barriers in international trade, and manage its cultural diversity from within. Thus, the results of this study may have significant implications for policy-makers in the area of cultural change and the development of new business and social policies, and for the future development of Canada as a plural society.