Immigrant entrepreneurship’s social and political dimensions remain largely overlooked in leisure studies scholarship. In Canada, investigations of immigrant entrepreneurship have, with very few exceptions, been limited to the economic sphere. Through the theoretical work of Michel Foucault, critical discourse analysis, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation, in this dissertation I expose and explore the intersections between multicultural citizenship discourses and leisure-oriented non-European immigrant entrepreneurship in the Windsor-Essex region of southwestern Ontario. Written in the publishable paper format, this dissertation is comprised of three stand-alone papers: paper one illustrates how citizenship discourses produced and exercised through Canada’s Multiculturalism Act (Canada, 1988) simultaneously inhibit and enable immigrants’ leisure pursuits; paper two demonstrates how non-European immigrants use leisure-based entrepreneurship to affirm and resist constraints exercised through multicultural citizenship discourses; finally, paper three demonstrates how non-European immigrants use leisure-based entrepreneurship to expand their possibilities for recognition and equal rights in the social, cultural, and political spheres of Canadian society. My findings indicate that leisure-based entrepreneurship is an important site for immigrant minorities’ civic engagement. It is a space and a medium to express and sustain distinctive cultural traditions and practices. Further, it serves as a strategy for immigrant minorities to break down barriers and create opportunities for themselves and others to participate in and experience a wide range of leisure traditions and practices. In short, through this dissertation I show that leisure-based entrepreneurship is a technique employed by immigrant minorities to assert their membership in Canadian society and to lay claims to full and equal citizenship rights. Leisure-oriented immigrant entrepreneurship, I argue, is an important site for active citizenship.

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This narrative inquiry uses the talking circle, a discourse process indigenous to the North American prairies, to explore the experiences of recent international migrants to rural Alberta. The immediate intention is to address questions of rural revitalization and the creation of welcoming communities. At a deeper level, it explores the role of history, cultural negotiation, and power relations in community development. It examines place as a critical element of human experience, which has been severed under modern economic regimes. Recommendations for how we might best respond to rural migration challenges include processes for listening and responding to needs, for building trustworthy relationships, and a call to recognize Aboriginal history. Findings also point to the importance of facilitating options for migrants with temporary status in a transient global context. The study advises that learning through attentive intercultural discourse could be integral to recreating democratic communities and establishing sense of place. / Adult Education

The U.S. citizenship application process is a legal and symbolic journey shaped by many cultural processes. This research project aims to bring to light the experiences of immigrants and citizenship applicants living in Dallas, Texas, to promote a better understanding of Dallas' increasingly diverse population. In addition, the purpose of this project is to provide insights to a specific client, the office of Dallas Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs, about Dallas' lawful permanent residents who are eligible for citizenship and their reasons for pursuing citizenship status. The data for this project was collected through observation at various citizenship workshops and community events, as well as through semi-structured interviews with 14 U.S. citizenship applicants. Reasons for applying for U.S. citizenship discussed in this project include a desire for membership in U.S. society, access to better educational and economic opportunities, improved ease of travel and the desire to vote. Barriers to the citizenship process discussed in this project include the amount of time one must dedicate to the application, lack of clear knowledge about the process and the financial cost of the application. Other themes include the effects of capital on applicant's experience with the citizenship process, symbolic meanings of citizenship, transnationalism and ideas of deserving and undeserving surrounding the issues of residency and U.S. citizenship.