Immigrant Economic and Social Outcomes in Canada: Research and Data Development at Statistics Canada

The past 25 years has seen a more or less continuous deterioration in the economic outcomes for immigrants entering Canada. However, economic outcomes for second-generation Canadians (children of immigrants) are more positive, and in spite of the economic difficulties, after four years in Canada most immigrants entering in 2000 remained positive regarding their immigration decision, citing the freedom, safety, rights, security and prospects for the future as the aspects they appreciate most in Canada. This paper reviews what we know about the economic deterioration, and the possible reasons behind it, in particular based on the research conducted at Statistics Canada. It also outlines the data development undertaken by Statistics Canada and its policy department partners to support increased research of this topic. From 2002 to 2008, Statistics Canada released 64 research articles on the above topics, and others related to immigration. The research suggests that through the 1980s and 1990s three factors were associated with the deterioration in economic outcomes: (1) the changing mix of source regions and related issues such as language and school quality, (2) declining returns to foreign experience, and (3) the deterioration in economic outcomes for all new labour market entrants, of which immigrants are a special case. After 2000, the reasons appear to be different, and are associated more with the dramatic increase in the number of engineers and information technology (IT) workers entering Canada, and the IT economic downturn. Data also suggest that, by and large, Canadians continue to see immigration as an important part of the development of Canada and that they continue to support it. The paper reviews Statistics Canada research that indicates that economic outcomes for most second-generation Canadians remain very positive. Finally, there is a discussion of the interaction between immigration and social cohesion in Canada, and possible reasons as to why we have not seen the discontent with immigration policy in Canada that has been observed in some European countries.

[1]  P. Grady.  The impact of immigration on Canada’s labour market , 2009 .

[2]  Miles Corak,et al.  Intergenerational Earnings Mobility among the Children of Canadian Immigrants , 2006, The Review of Economics and Statistics.

[3]  F. Hou,et al.  Poverty Dynamics among Recent Immigrants to Canada , 2008 .

[4]  A. Bernard.  Immigrants in the hinterlands , 2008 .

[5]  R. Moineddin,et al.  Birth outcomes by neighbourhood income and recent immigration in Toronto. , 2007, Health reports.

[6]  T. Courchene,et al.  Belonging? : diversity, recognition and shared citizenship in Canada , 2007 .

[7]  B. Palameta.  Economic integration of immigrants' children , 2007 .

[8]  W. C. Riddell,et al.  Education, Credentials, and Immigrant Earnings , 2008 .

[9]  R. Finnie.  International Mobility: Patterns of Exit and Return of Canadians, 1982 to 2003 , 2006 .

[10]  P. Kuhn,et al.  Assimilation via Prices or Quantities? , 2006, The Journal of Human Resources.

[11]  A. Heisz.  Canada's Global Cities: Socio-economic Conditions in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver , 2006 .

[12]  W. C. Riddell,et al.  The Effect of Literacy on Immigrant Earnings , 2006, The Journal of Human Resources.

[13]  J. Berthelot,et al.  Dynamics of immigrants' health: Evidence from Canada, 1994-95 to 2002-03. Summary Report , 2005 .

[14]  Michael Haan,et al.  Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series Toronto and Vancouver, 1981-2001 and Changing Housing Careers in Montreal, Advertisement Immigrant Home Ownership Drops Sharply , 2022 .

[15]  F. Hou.  Summary Of: The Initial Destinations and Redistribution of Canada's Major Immigrant Groups: Changes over the Past Two Decades , 2005 .

[16]  G. Picot,et al.  The Deteriorating Economic Welfare of Immigrants and Possible Causes: Update 2005 , 2005 .

[17]  Mark S Tremblay,et al.  Obesity, overweight and ethnicity. , 2005, Health reports.

[18]  Michael Haan.  Are Immigrants Buying to Get In?: The Role of Ethnic Clustering on the Homeownership Propensities of 12 Toronto Immigrant Groups, 1996-2001 , 2005 .

[19]  Nina Ahmed.  Intergenerational Impact of Immigrants' Selection and Assimilation on Health Outcomes of Children , 2005 .

[20]  C. Warman.  Ethnic Neighbourhoods and Male Immigrant Earnings Growth: 1981 Through 1996 , 2005 .

[21]  Arthur Sweetman.  Immigrant Source Country Educational Quality and Canadian Labour Market Outcomes , 2004 .

[22]  Arthur Sweetman,et al.  Postsecondary Field of Study and the Canadian Labour Market Outcomes of Immigrants and Non-immigrants , 2004 .

[23]  F. Hou,et al.  Population Movement into and out of Canada's Immigrant Gateway Cities: A Comparative Study of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver , 2004 .

[24]  M. Skuterud,et al.  Explaining the Deteriorating Entry Earnings of Canada’s Immigrant , 2004 .

[25]  G. Schellenberg.  Immigrants in Canada's Census Metropolitan Areas , 2004 .

[26]  F. Hou.  Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series Recent Immigration and the Formation of Visible Minority Neighbourhoods in Canada's Large Cities Recent Immigration and the Formation of Visible Minority Neighbourhoods in Canada's Large Cities , 2022 .

[27]  A. Heisz,et al.  Public Transit Use Among Immigrants , 2004 .

[28]  É. Malenfant.  Suicide in Canada's immigrant population. , 2004, Health reports.

[29]  Diane I. Galarneau,et al.  Immigrants: Settling for less? , 2004 .

[30]  Boris Palameta,et al.  Low income among immigrants and visible minorities , 2004 .

[31]  Xuelin Zhang.  The Wealth Position of Immigrant Families in Canada , 2003 .

[32]  René Morissette,et al.  Will They Ever Converge? Earnings of Immigrants and Canadian-Born Workers Over the Last Two Decades , 2003 .

[33]  A. Aydemir.  Effects of Business Cycles on the Labour Market Assimilation of Immigrants , 2003 .

[34]  F. Hou,et al.  Visible Minority Neighbourhood Enclaves and Labour Market Outcomes of Immigrants , 2003 .

[35]  F. Hou,et al.  Neighbourhood Attainment and Residential Segregation Among Toronto's Visible Minorities , 2003 .

[36]  F. Hou,et al.  Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series the Rise in Low-income Rates among Immigrants in Canada the Rise in Low-income Rates among Immigrants in Canada , 2022 .

[37]  Roland Beshiri,et al.  IMMIGRANTS IN RURAL CANADA , 2003 .

[38]  M. Frenette.  Do the Falling Earnings of Immigrants Apply to Self-Employed Immigrants? , 2004 .

[39]  A. Aydemir.  Effects of Selection Criteria and Economic Opportunities on the Characteristics of Immigrants , 2002 .

[40]  René Morissette.  Pensions: Immigrants and visible minorities , 2002 .

[41]  L. Magee,et al.  The Education Premium in Canada and the United States , 2002 .

[42]  J. Schaafsma,et al.  Immigrant earnings: age at immigration matters , 2001 .

[43]  J. Reitz.  Immigrant Success in the Knowledge Economy: Institutional Change and the Immigrant Experience in Canada, 1970–1995 , 2001 .

[44]  Barry R. Chiswick,et al.  Immigrant earnings: Language skills, linguistic concentrations and the business cycle , 2002 .

[45]  P. Beaudry,et al.  Cohort Patterns in Canadian Earnings: Assessing the Role of Skill Premia in Inequality Trends , 1997 .

[46]  Lorne Tepperman,et al.  Canadian Social Trends , 1990 .

[47]  A. Bélanger,et al.  Report on the demographic situation in Canada 1997. , 1989 .

[48]  George J. Borjas,et al.  Assimilation, Changes in Cohort Quality, and the Earnings of Immigrants , 1985, Journal of Labor Economics.

[49]  G. Carliner.  Wage Differences by Language Group and the Market for Language Skills in Canada , 1981 .

[50]  Barry R. Chiswick,et al.  The Effect of Americanization on the Earnings of Foreign-born Men , 1978, Journal of Political Economy.