The Identity Formation Experiences of Second Wave Argentinian Immigrants to Canada

The thesis explores the processes of identity formation among high-skilled Argentinian immigrants to Canada’s National Capital Region on the basis of a mixed method qualitative research consisting of 14 interviews with Argentinian professionals who migrated to Canada since 1999, participant observation and the analysis of Internet blogs. The thesis examines the identity formation experiences of these immigrants as the “meeting point” of social conditions of migration and personal practices of reacting, reflecting and feeling. Approaching identity as fluid, relational, strategic, positional, and always developing, I argue that the ‘new’ identities that Argentinian immigrants have developed are linked to two main relational processes, namely identification and differentiation. By critically examining the ‘location’ of these immigrants in Canadian society, I suggest the group’s experiences of integration and marginalization are interconnected to these relational processes influencing their notions of who they are in Canada.