Immigrants account for 20% of the population and 60% of total population growth in Canada (Statistics Canada 2001 Statistics Canada , 2001 . Canadian census . Available from : http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/home/Index.cfm [ Accessed 27 October 2005 ]. [Google Scholar] ). The majority of immigrants are accepted for entry to Canada under the Skilled Worker Program in order to fill employment shortages in the labour market (CIC 2007 Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) , 2007 . Skilled workers and professionals . Available from : http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/index.asp [Accessed 1 August 2007] . [Google Scholar] ). Recent research has revealed that an increasing number of immigrants who gain entry under this programme face significant barriers to employment. As a result, many remain unemployed or accept employment outside of and below their field of education and training. However, the impacts such employment circumstances have on the health of immigrants have not yet been examined. This paper presents the results of a collaborative research project that explores the health impacts of under/unemployment among skilled immigrants in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. In-depth interviews are used to examine the experiences of employment and perceptions of subsequent health impacts among 22 recent immigrants. The participants most frequently identified mental health impacts due to a lack of income, loss of employment-related skills, loss of social status and family pressures. These health concerns are also extended to family members. In addition to mental health, physical health is perceived to be affected by employment circumstances through high levels of stress and strenuous working conditions. These findings shed light on the nature of the links between employment and health relationship as well as determinants of immigrant health. Additional research is required to examine the long-term effects of under/unemployment.

In 2006, 3 years after the tragic death of 13‐year‐old Sabrina Shannon, the Province of Ontario (Canada) passed Sabrina's Law ushering in a new era of focus and concern for severe food allergic children at risk of anaphylaxis. Questions were raised at the time regarding the potential of doing more harm than good with the new legislation. This paper reports the experiences of health‐related stigma among food allergic children at risk of anaphylaxis who were required to disclose their health status under this new legislation. In 2008, in‐depth interviews were conducted with 20 children and youth and their parents in order to explore the experiences living with a severe food allergy. This particular study explores their experiences of felt and enacted stigma in the school setting as a result of the disclosure process. Interviews were tape recorded with permission and transcribed for subsequent thematic analysis using NVIVO, a qualitative analysis software package. Results indicate that participants were stigmatised as a result of protective school policies under the law, and that created tension between their physical safety and social well‐being. Sabrina's Law also led to a cultural shift in awareness of food allergies that resulted in some participants normalising their health status, offering promising directions for the future.

There is a large and growing body of research acknowledging the existence of health disparities between foreign-born and native-born populations in many high immigrant-receiving countries. Significant attention has been paid to the role of physical and social environments in the changing health status of immigrants over time. However, very limited attention has been given to these issues within the context of rural geographies, despite global evidence that immigrants are increasingly settling outside of traditional gateway cities and into rural communities. This paper presents the results of a scoping review aimed at assessing the state of knowledge on the health impacts of immigrant migration into rural communities in Canada. Guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping protocol, we conduct a review of academic literature in Canada related to rural migration. A total of 25 articles met inclusion criteria which included access to the social determinants of health. Findings identified a paucity of research directly connecting rural settlement to health but the literature did emphasize five distinct social determinants of health for rural residing immigrants: social inclusion, culturally-appropriate services, gender, employment, and housing. This paper concludes with an identification of research gaps and opportunities for future research into whether rural-residing immigrants face a double burden with respect to health inequity.