But what does safety actually feel like once they get here? Recent research from the University of Calgary reveals that for some LGBTQ+ newcomers, the journey to feeling truly safe is far more complex than simply crossing the border.
The research, co-led by Bachelor of Social Work student Thomas Tri and Ajwang’ Warria , PhD from the Faculty of Social Work , wanted to understand how LGBTQ+ newcomers experience and define safety in their daily lives.
The research focus is an area that Tri is particularly interested in.
He comes from a family of Vietnamese immigrants and refugees, and prior to joining the faculty worked and volunteered extensively within the immigrant-serving sector. In addition, he is pursuing minors in gender and sexuality and global development studies, which, as he says, prompted him, "to further explore how I can integrate these theoretical understandings of feminist and queer theory, global dynamics of migration, and front-line experience through a summer research project."
The summer research project came through a University of Calgary Program for Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) award through the Mitacs Accelerate program.
Tri was introduced to faculty member Dr. Warria whose research interests aligned with Tri’s, and who agreed to supervise his project. "It was not only an opportunity to challenge myself by seeing how I could apply my class learnings into practice," says Tri, "but also to drive community impact."
When safety isn’t guaranteed
The research was conducted through a series of interviews and community mapping exercises with six LGBTQ+ newcomers (aged 19-29) in Calgary. The collaborative research uncovered some surprising realities.Perhaps most strikingly, those involved in the study found it safer to avoid their own ex-pat communities than to seek comfort within them. The researchers also found that for the research subjects, the promise of Canada as a safe haven often comes with unexpected challenges that they categorized into several key findings:
Navigating Multiple Challenges
From day one, some LGBTQ+ newcomers face a perfect storm of obstacles:- Cultural adaptation to unfamiliar Canadian systems
- Economic insecurity that limits housing and job options
- Profound loneliness and isolation
- Learning to navigate government services, healthcare, and employment
As one participant described it, "Sometimes you just get tired. Just getting tired and paying the bills and sometimes you feel, I feel like the money is not enough. But then the feeling of missing, like missing people from home, is also there. So, it has not been easy because I’m alone in Canada without family"
Developing Safety Strategies
The LGBTQ+ study subjects didn’t passively experience their environments, they actively established safety through creative strategies, such as:- Relying on gut feelings or "vibes" to assess whether spaces are safe
- Scanning environments for subtle social cues that signal acceptance
- Strategically avoiding certain communities, even their own cultural diaspora
- Testing spaces gradually to see if they can express their LGBTQ+ identity freely
"I go with the environment and how I feel about the place of people around me," said one participant, "It’s a different approach in different places and with different people."
Finding moments of true safety
Despite the challenges, the study participants described transformative moments and spaces where they finally felt safe:- Public spaces where people "mind their own business"
- Communities where they could exist without scrutiny
- LGBTQ+ newcomer organizations that provided crucial connection and belonging
- Moments of authentic self-expression without fear
"I think I am starting to get life back, because you are free," shared one participant. "You are free to do what you want. We are lucky for Canada. Everyone exercises their rights according to how they want them. According to how they want to live. You feel you’re breathing. You’re not being followed and not being monitored. You’re not being accused of anything, of who you are."
Challenging the happy ending narrative
This research challenges the simplistic idea that, for some, freedom is easy to find for LGBTQ+ newcomers who come to Canada seeking safety. Instead, safety emerges as an ongoing negotiation shaped by:- Systemic barriers and discrimination
- Personal survival strategies
- The intersection of racism, homophobia, transphobia, and economic marginalization
Many of the newcomers discovered that while Canada offers legal protections on paper, the lived reality for some LGBTQ+ newcomers includes continued social exclusion and economic instability that, for some, can limit their access to true security and self-expression.
Creating Meaningful Change
With these findings in mind, Tri and Warria’s research recommended several paths forward:1. Shift from safe spaces to safer spaces: Recognize that safety is a continuous process, not a fixed state
2. Foster visible inclusion: Organizations should provide LGBTQ+ representation, anti-racism training, and affirming signage
3. Build community connections: Peer mentorship and group activities can reduce isolation among LGBTQ+ newcomers
4. Address systemic barriers: Policy changes must tackle employment discrimination, housing insecurity, and healthcare access issues
5. Center LGBTQ+ newcomer voices: Support interventions informed by lived experiences to create genuine inclusion
The road ahead
Tri says that besides igniting his research career, the PURE Award has also opened other exciting opportunities for him.After presenting his findings at a recent migration conference in Calgary, The Immigrant Education Society’s, Centre for Immigrant Research offered him a part-time job pursuing an arts-based research project with LGBTQ+ newcomers investigating experiences of gender-based violence.
He’s also co-authored a publication in the British Journal of Social Work and will continue his work as a Research Associate after graduation.
His next graduation, however, is already on the horizon. After his spring convocation, Tri plans to pick-up various threads of this research during his Master of Social Work degree-combined with a Graduate Diploma in Refugee and Migration Studies-which he’ll begin this fall at York University.
In reflecting on his findings, he suggests that the research he’s done already challenges a lot of assumptions about what safety looks like for some LGBTQ+ newcomers in Canada. Safety for some of this population isn’t automatically granted upon arrival in Canada. Rather, it’s a complex journey that requires personal agency, social connections, and strategic decision-making as they carve out spaces for themselves.
It’s also important a journey that is unique for each person. As one participant put it, "People have different experiences, some actually don’t want to be reminded of the experience, but they are ready to move ahead and to move on."
