The institutional arrangements and resilience of Québec local communities in the welcoming and integration of immigrants: a theoretical and practical contribution

This doctoral thesis focuses on the role of cities in immigration, particularly in Québec. The literature shows that cities can intervene, and are progressively doing so, in order to ensure a complete offer of services to newcomers, in particular in the coordination of local actors. Thus, this research aims to answer the following question: How do local communities in mid-sized Québec cities welcome and integrate immigrants? This research seeks to understand the capacity of local communities to mobilize stakeholders, coordinate services dedicated to immigrants and deliver them. The research builds on the lessons learned across the rest of Canada. Two case studies are conducted, in Gatineau and Québec City. The analysis is based on multilevel governance theoretical framework, where immigration is a responsibility increasingly shared between various orders of government. This present study leads to empirical and theoretical contributions. At the empirical level, the two case studies make it possible to trace the contours of the Québec model of governance in terms of immigration. They show that the communities have taken responsibility for themselves and that the cities have assumed leadership to ensure the coordination of local actors and to meet the needs of newcomers, although the institutional arrangements remain sub-optimal