Thomas Soehl, McGill University

Research

refugees settlement integration language acquisition identity political integration social networks international migration

Latest papers

Promises and Limits of Using Targeted Social Media Advertising to Sample Global Migrant Populations: Nigerians at Home and Abroad.
Sociological methods & research · 2026 · first author
Talking About Religion? Differences in Religious Socialization Among Recently Arrived Refugees Between Quebec and Other Provinces in Canada.
Canadian review of sociology = Revue canadienne de sociologie · 2025 · senior author
A Citizen Just Like You: The Role of Complex Contagion and Resemblance for Decisions to Naturalize.
The International migration review · 2023 · senior author

All 3 publications

Latest funding

Explaining the Participation Gap in Women's Hockey between Ontario and Quebec
SSHRC · 2026 · Principal investigator
$74,492
International Migration
SSHRC · 2022 · Principal investigator
$50,000
International Migration
SSHRC · 2021 · Principal investigator
$200,000

All 10 grants and awards

3 publications.

01

Promises and Limits of Using Targeted Social Media Advertising to Sample Global Migrant Populations: Nigerians at Home and Abroad.

Soehl T, Chen Z, Erlich A

Sociological methods & research2026First author

DOI: 10.1177/00491241241266634 PMID: 41550882

02

Talking About Religion? Differences in Religious Socialization Among Recently Arrived Refugees Between Quebec and Other Provinces in Canada.

Ng KU, Soehl T

Canadian review of sociology = Revue canadienne de sociologie2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1111/cars.12495 PMID: 39841562

03

A Citizen Just Like You: The Role of Complex Contagion and Resemblance for Decisions to Naturalize.

Poole A, Soehl T

The International migration review2023Senior author

DOI: 10.1177/01979183231162628 PMID: 41924632

Explaining the Participation Gap in Women's Hockey between Ontario and Quebec

Principal investigatorSSHRC2026Insight Development Grants

Principal investigators: Soehl, Thomas

$74,492

International Migration

Principal investigatorSSHRC2022Canada Research Chairs

Principal investigators: Soehl, Thomas

Keywords: international migration immigrant integraton migrant families transnationalism citizenship quantitative social science

$50,000

International Migration

Principal investigatorSSHRC2021Canada Research Chairs

Principal investigators: Soehl, Thomas

$200,000

Nigerians Abroad and at Home: Politics and National Identity in a Global Diaspora

Principal investigatorSSHRC2020Insight Development Grant

Principal investigators: Soehl, Thomas

Keywords: Diaspora; Emigration; Political Engagement; National Identity

$70,413

Consortium on Analytics for Data-Driven Decision-Making (CAnD3): Developing Talent for Population Analytics in Aging Societies

Co-investigatorSSHRC2020Partnerships Grants Training Initiatives

Keywords: applied population research; aging population; student training; evidence-based decision-making; population analytics; social data science; big data; knowledge mobilization; cross-sectoral training; multidisciplinary collaboration

$824,435

Consortium on Analytics for Data-Driven Decision-Making (CAnD3): Developing Talent for Population Analytics in Aging Societies

Co-investigatorSSHRC2019Partnerships Grants Training Initiatives

Keywords: applied population research; aging population; student training; evidence-based decision-making; population analytics; social data science; big data; knowledge mobilization; cross-sectoral training; multidisciplinary collaboration

$840,170

Early integration trajectories of Syrian refugees in Canada

Principal investigatorSSHRC2018Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Soehl, Thomas

Keywords: refugees; settlement; integration; language acquisition; identity; political integration; social networks

$378,910

International Migration

Principal investigatorSSHRC2017Canada Research Chairs

Principal investigators: Soehl, Thomas

Keywords: international migration; transnationalism; cultural diversity; immigrant integration; migrant families; quantitative social science

$590,000

Child and youth refugee research coalition (CYRRC): using research to inform best practices for language, literacy, learning, social integration, and child and family wellbeing

Co-investigatorSSHRC2017Partnership Grants

Keywords: Syrian child refugees; youth refugees; refugee families; immigrants; services; resilience; language; literacy; learning; literacy; social integration; wellbeing

$2,500,000

Becoming citizens – together? Decisions to naturalize in immigrant families.

Principal investigatorSSHRC2015Insight Development Grant

Principal investigators: Soehl, Thomas

Keywords: (1) Citizenship; (2) Immigrants; (3) Family dynamics; (4) political incorporation

$71,363

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Aaron Erlich

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their SSHRC grant from 2026

Subject: Prospective PhD student: refugees Dear Professor Soehl, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Promises and Limits of Using Targeted Social Media Advertising to Sample Global Migrant Populations: Nigerians at Home and Abroad." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "Explaining the Participation Gap in Women's Hockey between Ontario and Quebec" (2026), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]