Perceived sense of control, power, and capacity in civic participation of aging Chinese immigrants in Calgary, Canada

Aging immigrants are often perceived as vulnerable or power- less due to their status as both immigrants and older persons. From a strengths-based perspective, participating in the community and having their voices heard is crucial to changing their vulnerable status, yet research on immigrant older adults’ perceptions of their own civic participation capacity is lacking. This qualitative research, based on constructivist grounded theory, explores older immigrants’ perceived sense of control, power, and capacity with respect to civic participation, focusing on aging Chinese immigrants in Calgary as a case example. 30 Chinese immigrants aged 65 and older were interviewed. Semi-structured in-depth personal interviews were conducted with 9 participants and 21 participated in two focus group discussions. The research results indicated that while most participants wished to participate in Canadian civic life and were concerned with events happening in Canada, opportunities for and level of civic participation were limited. Most participants described a lack of power and control, particularly in civic participation, and cultural bias, language barriers, transportation and technological challenges, and lack of support services limited engagement and civic participation capacity. This reflects a need for strategies to support immigrant older adults’ civic engagement and to enable their voices to be better heard, including the development of civic participation opportunities by professionals working with immigrant older adults.