Recent Immigrants in Metropolitan Areas: Canada—A Comparative Profile Based on the 2001 Census

Prepared by
Strategic Research and Statistics
in collaboration with Informetrica Limited

April 2005

Table of Contents

• Foreword
• Highlights
• Part A: Immigrants and Recent Immigrants
  • 5.4 million immigrants live in Canada
  • 2.5 million immigrants landed after 1985
  • Canada has a large foreign-born population compared to other countries
  • Four out of five eligible recent immigrants have become Canadian citizens
• Part B: Who Are the Recent Immigrants?
  • The origins of Canada’s recent immigrants
    • One half of recent immigrants come from Asia
    • Asian countries of birth are predominant
  • Where Canada’s recent immigrants live
    • Provincial settlement pattern stable
    • Concentration in major centres increasing
  • From eleven world regions to six areas in Canada
    • Different settlement patterns
    • …Make for different origins in different parts of Canada
  • Immigration category and religion
    • High share of economic immigrants among most recent landings
    • Nearly one in five very recent immigrants is a Muslim
  • Age and gender
    • Nearly one-half of very recent immigrants are working-age adults 25 to 44 years
    • More women than men
  • Language and education
    • Nine in ten very recent immigrants speak English or French
    • Two out of three very recent immigrants speak a foreign language at home
    • Many university graduates among very recent immigrants
    • Recent immigrants add to Canada’s pool of scientists and engineers
    • Recent immigrants more likely to attend school
• Part C: Families and Households
  • Family and household affiliation of individuals
    • Older recent immigrants more likely to be living with relatives
    • Recent immigrants more likely to live in extended families
  • Families
    • One in nine families is a recent immigrant family
    • Recent immigrant families more likely to have children in the home
    • Older recent immigrant families have more children living at home
    • Majority of recent immigrants married to other recent immigrants
  • Households
    • One in eleven households is a recent immigrant household
    • Recent immigrant households more likely to be larger than a nuclear family
    • Recent immigrant households tend to be large
    • More care of children
• Part D: Participation in the Economy
  • Participation in the labour market
    • Labour force participation lower the more recent the arrival
    • Pattern of adjustment similar for most levels of education
    • Knowledge of English important for labour force participation
    • Unemployment not uncommon during initial years
    • Share of men and women with jobs increases with length of stay
  • The jobs of recent immigrants
    • Part-time jobs more common for very recent male immigrants
    • Very recent male immigrants in health and science, women in processing
    • Many very recent immigrants in manufacturing and business services
    • Skill requirements of jobs of recent immigrant women somewhat lower
    • Education of recent immigrants not fully utilized
• Part E: Income
  • Sources and level of income
    • Sources of income vary by time in Canada
    • Average income increases with length of stay
    • Earnings of recent immigrants who worked mostly full-time lower
    • Transfer payments a larger share of household income of non-seniors
  • The distribution of income
    • Personal income higher with longer stay
    • Household income is higher
    • Low income twice as common among very recent immigrants
• Part F: Housing
  • Crowded accommodations more common for recent immigrants
  • Large households likely to have crowded accommodations
  • One-third of recent immigrant households face high housing costs
  • Housing of recent immigrants of same quality
  • Home ownership less common among recent immigrants
• Part G: Diversity Across Canada
  • Place of residence in Canada
    • Recent immigrants live in large metropolitan centres
    • One-fifth of population in Toronto, Vancouver, one-fiftieth in rest of Canada
  • Characteristics of recent immigrants
    • Mix of immigration categories varies by place of residence
    • Age distribution of Canadian-born reflects recent immigrant share
    • Relative level of education of recent immigrants varies by area
    • Marriage to Canadian-born far more common in rest of Canada
  • Participation in the economy
    • Large gap in labour force participation in Vancouver
    • Unemployment highest in Montreal
  • Income and housing
    • Relative income level of recent immigrants varies by place of residence
    • Low incidence of low income outside thirteen urban centres
    • Higher rates of crowding in Toronto
• Glossary
• List of Tables
• List of Figures

All rights reserved. No part of this information (publication or product) may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without prior written permission of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0S5 or copyright.droitdauteur@pwgsc.gc.ca.

©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2005.

Cat. no. MP22-20/1-2005E-HTML
ISBN 0-662-39054-7

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