Nigerian immigration to Canada: The case of Calgary

Several governments so far have exploited immigration to fill workforce shortages in numerous professions in their countries. Migration, particularly from underdeveloped to developed countries, has been heavily restricted in order to admit applicants with the required expertise to fulfil the needs in the labor market. This "economic pool" of "chosen" migrants accounts for about seventy percent of immigration in the Canadian case. The causes and consequences of migration, economic and rational explanations notwithstanding, cannot be fully captured without taking into consideration of the socioeconomic as well as psychological and personal factors as to why immigrants want to move. This thesis investigates the socioeconomic circumstances of the recent young migrant group from Nigeria to Calgary, Canada. Through looking into the immigrants' motives for migration, experiences both before and after the migration, and expectations as well as problems in Calgary, the thesis displays that migration is a multifaceted process which opens up new opportunities yet includes also insecurities for the migrants. In order to improve the insight on migrant groups' experiences, the thesis will conduct a qualitative methodology with interviews and interrogate whether the future prospects of the migrants continue to be promising despite certain problems. KEYWORDS: Calgary, Canada, Immigration, Nigeria, Young migrants.