Purpose This study aims to provide a qualitative in-depth account of the status and experience of food insecurity for Syrian refugee households in Toronto and Saskatoon, Canada. The study considers the range of geographic, socio-economic, cultural and gendered components shaping and determining the barriers and management of food insecurity. Design/methodology/approach The study included 54 semi-structured interviews with refugee families in Toronto and Saskatoon who resettled in Canada after November 2015. In addition, 15 semi-structured in-person or telephone interviews were conducted with settlement and support agencies to measure their capacity to respond to issues of food insecurity for Syrian refugees. Findings Syrian refugees reported experiencing food insecurity as part of the broader resettlement journey, including in the transitional phase of refuge and in each settlement context in Canada. Income status in Canada was reported as a key barrier to food security. Low-income barriers to food security were experienced and shaped by factors including food affordability, physical access and availability and the extent of familial or other support networks including sponsorship relationships. Participants also reported how managing food insecurity contributed to the intensification of gender expectations. Originality/value The analysis reveals food insecurity as both an income and non-income based concern for refugees during the process of resettlement. The study also highlights the importance of considering variations between primary barriers to food security identified by Syrian families and key informants as critical to the development of strategies designed to mitigate the impacts of resettlement on food security.

This paper examines how modern urban Indigeneity is influencing the integration of immigrant newcomers in Western settler cities. Using a case study of Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc. (KNK), an Indigenous organisation in the city of Winnipeg, Canada, this research contributes to the emerging framework of intercultural urbanism. Indigenous peoples and newcomers are living side-by-side in many neighbourhoods, with common histories of colonialism, racism and socioeconomic challenges. Interviews with staff and focus groups with Indigenous and newcomer participants of KNK programmes indicated that they are beginning their co-existence, mostly in inner-city neighbourhoods, with low levels of interaction, mutual misunderstanding, misperceptions, segregation and tension among youth in high schools. Through the initiatives of KNK and partner organisations, cross-cultural understanding and relationships are being built, overcoming social distance. There is great potential for building intercultural relationships among Indigenous peoples and immigrant newcomers as a means of decolonising Western cities.

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