MY TAKE
CANADA: DIVORCE CENTRAL?
Compared with landed immigrants (24%), Canadian-born individuals (41%) were relatively more likely to have ended their first union, according to Statistics Canada. Image credit: NEWS CANADA.
By SHAGORIKA EASWAR
A startling statistic showed up in one of the feeds on my phone recently.
Someone with a “comfortable” job in India wondered if it was worth his while to move to Canada.
The response was a firm no.
The reasons included:
1. The long winter, leading to depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
2. Leaving behind parents and extended family.
3. Low minimum wages and high rents.
4. Long wait to see medical specialists.
5. High rates of divorce.
According to this person, 40 per cent of immigrants get divorced within their first ten years in Canada.
The responses to this post largely agreed with the analysis, though a few did point out that leaving the family behind would hold true for a move to any country and was not specific to Canada, and also, putting things in perspective, divorce rates were also on the rise in India.
But do 40 per cent of marriages really end in divorce among newcomers to Canada?
I recalled our arrival in Canada three decades ago as a young family, two kids in tow. On the flight, I felt a mix of excitement and trepidation.
I looked forward to our sons forging lasting friendships with kids who moved through school with them rather than the temporary relationships that resulted from the floating population in the Middle East where we had lived and worked for a few years. I wondered if we would find jobs in our fields, if we would face racism. But there was no fear in my mind about our family surviving as a unit. Perhaps I was naïve, unaware of the harsh landing that awaits many immigrants.
In writing about the work settlement agencies do, I learnt about newcomer stress and the fissures that can cause in marriages or family relationships.
The challenges of finding meaningful employment, financial hardship and changing family dynamics with the wife becoming more independent – often out of sheer necessity – can lead to alcohol and substance abuse, in turn leading to physical abuse and the breakdown of marriages.
But 40 per cent?
This is what shows up on Statistics Canada on rates of divorce among newcomers to Canada .
“In Canada, there is an increase in the complexity of family structures and changes in the forms of conjugal life, including the steady growth in common-law unions...
“In 2021, landed immigrants accounted for nearly one-quarter (23%) of the Canadian population, or more than 8.3 million people. This is up from about 7.5 million in 2016. Marital practices in the country of origin can contrast with the practices in the receiving country. Furthermore, once immigrants arrive in Canada, they experience changes associated with settling in a new country with different lifestyles and must adapt to new life situations. It can thus be assumed that union formation and dissolution behaviours differ between landed immigrants and Canadian-born individuals.
“In 2017, Canadian-born individuals (31%) were more likely than those born outside the country (13%) to enter a second or subsequent union. However, despite numerous studies on union dissolution, none examined the immigrant population.
“The duration of first unions: A comparative analysis between landed immigrants and Canadian-born individuals by Clémence Zossou (Diversity and Sociocultural Statistics) and Solène Lardoux (Université de Montréal) examined for the first time the process of first union dissolution in Canada, by landed immigrant status and sex. Specifically, the timing and risk of first union dissolution were examined, as were the differences, if any, between those born in Canada and landed immigrants.”
Paraphrased broadly, the findings reveal that Canadian-born individuals experience first union dissolution sooner after its formation than landed immigrants.
• Compared with landed immigrants (24%), Canadian-born individuals (41%) were relatively more likely to have ended their first union.
• Among landed immigrants, first union dissolution was less common for individuals whose union was ongoing at the time of immigration (13%) than for those whose first union began after they arrived in Canada (26%). Furthermore, the prevalence of union dissolution increases with the number of years since immigrants arrived in the country.
• Among landed immigrants, higher education is associated to a lower risk of first union dissolution among women. Moreover, unlike men, the number of years since immigration is also associated with a greater risk of union dissolution among women.
So, nothing that indicates the high rates of divorce that people are being cautioned about.
Yes, it is just the one thread that I am referring to, there may be countless others that don’t mislead, or at least, set the record straight. But in the days of all negative news and information being magnified, it is important to get the facts right.
Describing the reaction of neighbours to her mother’s “shaggy” garden in Unearthing, Kyo Maclear shares a remarkable insight.
Which is to say the line between an “exotic,” “imported” and “invasive” species is sometimes a matter of basic horticulture and sometimes a matter of simple xenophobia.
Instances of racism might leave a newcomer feeling like an invasive species in a well-defined space.
I think of the old television series Kirdar, episodes of which surface periodically on YouTube. Directed by Gulzar, they were based on stories by literary greats in Indian literature.
In one called Shikod that I caught recently, Om Puri’s character says a person’s roots are not tied to a place. They come from culture and traditions that we take with us. “Dua karo,” he says to his friend. “Pray, that our children find fertile soil and an environment of growth wherever they go, and they will take root again.”
The friend’s granddaughter, incidentally, is planning on moving to Canada to study!
Marriages fall apart due to a plethora of reasons, but newcomers shouldn’t have to live with the added fear of having landed in divorce central.
That is not the case.