A more affluent group of Chinese immigrants has moved to the suburbs and is changing the social and economic face of the Greater Toronto Area, says economic geography professor Lucia Lo.

    As of 1996, over 300,000 individuals in the GTA claimed Chinese as their single ethnic heritage. Now, almost overnight it seems, immigrants from Hong Kong, mainland China, Vietnam and Taiwan have created new, ethnically diverse communities ­ the new Chinatowns ­ in formerly WASP areas such as Richmond Hill.

    Studies by Lo, and Ryerson geographer Shuguan Wang, have revealed some interesting facts about the economic participation of this new group and their economic performance.

    "Real estate entrepreneurs were among the first to target this new market in
the last recession," Lo explains. "They designed new homes to Chinese standards and sense of style.

    "The result has been many up-scale sub-divisions which are 70 to 80 per cent Chinese. And large retail malls have sprung up to cater to their needs. Many of the established [non-Chinese] businesses that have not adapted to their new clientele are foundering."

    Led to Toronto by changes in Canadian immigration policies (which now favour investor immigration), the already large percentage of Chinese in the city, and the reversion of Hong Kong to China, the new Chinese Canadians have integrated well into the communities, says Lo.

    "This is a very influential group," she notes. "They are younger and better educated than previous Chinese immigrants. They speak English, and they are integrating steadily into both business associations and social organizations. They're prepared to invest their money and their lives in Canada."

    Lo and Wang's study is part of a joint project, funded through the Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement (CERIS), by several Ontario universities, government and community agencies to study the incorporation of immigrants into the economic, social, political and cultural life of the GTA.