Immigration: Does Canada do a good job of integrating newcomers?

Canada is third-best of 31 countries at integrating immigrants into society, a major international immigration study says.

The Migrant Integration Policy Index, a project of the British Council and the Migration Policy Group, ranks the migration policies of 31 North American and European countries. The 2010 study was released Monday.

MIPEX's criteria includes a country's policies on labour market mobility, family reunification for third-country nationals, education, political participation, long-term residence, access to nationality and anti-discrimination.

Canada received high marks on its anti-discrimination policies, tying the U.S. with 89 points. Its education and access to nationality policies were also graded favourably, as was its rate of family reunifications and labour market mobility.

But Canada's rate of political participation among newcomers was rated "slightly unfavourable," with a score of 38, behind the U.S.'s score of 45.

Norway led the field on political participation with a score of 94.

The worst-ranked country in terms of political participation was Romania, with eight points.

In the best-case scenario for political participation, the report said, newcomers would be able to vote and stand for election just like citizens after a limited number of years of legal residence.

In the worst-case scenario, the report went on, "the government does not even consult with immigrants."

Does Canada do enough to integrate new immigrants? What has your experience been?