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

Part E: Income

Sources and level of income

Sources of income vary by time in Canada

Seven in ten Canadian-born women and eight in ten Canadian-born men had earnings from employment in the year 2000. A larger share of the Canadian-born than immigrants had income from employment. The proportion of recent immigrant men with employment income was close to that of the Canadian-born, while the proportion of recent immigrant women was much smaller in relation to the Canadian-born.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year. A person may have income from one, two or all three sources. The three sources are defined in the Glossary.

The share of persons with employment income was higher in 2000 than in 1995, except in the case of the earlier immigrant cohorts. The largest increase was observed among the very recent immigrant cohort, with 13% more immigrants in this cohort reporting employment income than in 1995.

Very recent immigrants are much more likely than the Canadian-born and earlier immigrants to have no income. Immigrants from the earliest cohort, those who immigrated before 1986, are less likely than the Canadian-born to have no income. In comparison to 1995, the incidence of zero income in the very recent immigrant cohort for women was 10% lower in 2000, while other cohorts registered smaller decreases in the range of 1% to 5%.

Recent immigrants are much less likely to have other private income—for example, income from investments or pension plans—in comparison to the Canadian-born and earlier immigrants. Compared to 1995, the proportion of persons in the very recent immigrant cohort with private income has increased by 6%.

The incidence of income from government transfer payments is higher among immigrants than among the Canadian-born. The high proportion of earlier immigrants receiving transfer payments from government likely reflects the high share of seniors in this group, who generally receive Old Age Security and Canada or Quebec Pension Plan benefits. The incidence of transfer payment income has shifted markedly from men to women since 1995, as in 2000 child benefit payments were made to the mother of the child.

Average income higher for immigrants who have been in Canada longer

Considering only persons who reported income in the year 2000, the average income of immigrants who landed between 1996 and 1999 was 70% of that of the Canadian-born and the average income of immigrants who landed between 1986 and 1995 was 74% of that of the Canadian-born. The average income of women who immigrated after 1995, however, was only 62% of that of Canadian-born women. Men and women who immigrated before 1986 had a higher average income than the Canadian-born.

Average income for the employed population of Ottawa as a whole increased in comparison to 1995 by one-third. However, the very recent immigrant cohort experienced a much larger gain. Income was almost twice as high as in 1995 for men in this cohort and more than 50% higher for women in this cohort.

The average income of Canadian-born women is about two-thirds that of Canadian-born men and the average income of immigrant women is about 59% of that of immigrant men.

Earnings from employment account for the bulk of income of all groups and make up a higher proportion of income of recent immigrants than of persons born in Canada. The share of other private income is much lower for recent immigrants, while transfer payments from government make up a larger share of the income of immigrant women than of Canadian-born women.

The employment share of income has increased since 1995 for all cohorts except earlier immigrants. The very recent immigrant cohort experienced the largest increase, about 14%.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year.

Earnings of recent immigrants working mostly full-time lower than average

The wages and salaries earned by recent immigrants who worked mostly full-time in 2000 are well below the Ottawa average. By contrast, earlier immigrants had higher average wages and salaries than both the Ottawa average and the Canadian-born.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year.

The relative level of wages and salaries of very recent immigrants in Ottawa, at 80% of the average, is quite high compared to the relative wage and salary income of very recent immigrants in other cities. This number was higher than in 1995 by 21 percentage points.

Transfer payments a larger share of household income of non-seniors

In the year 2000, a large majority of households received government transfer payments. Recent immigrant households were more likely to receive transfer payments than other households. On average, the payments received were the same in dollar terms as for other households and somewhat higher relative to income.

Transfer payments vary considerably with the age of the oldest person in the household, and so do differences between recent immigrant, earlier immigrant and Canadian-born households. Recent immigrant households of the very young receive lower amounts than their Canadian-born and earlier immigrant counterparts. As for households of persons aged 25 to 44 and 45 to 64, recent immigrant households were both more likely to receive transfer payments and to receive larger amounts than earlier immigrants and the Canadian-born.

Transfer payments to households without seniors generally reflect benefits of Employment Insurance, Workers Compensation, social assistance, student assistance, or other programs. Included in these transfer payments are tax credits such as the Canada Child Benefit, GST tax credits and provincial tax credits. The somewhat greater incidence and higher amounts of transfer payments for recent immigrant households of persons 25 to 64 years old in relation to earlier immigrants and the Canadian-born may have to do with the larger average number of children in families and with differences in labour market participation and unemployment reviewed in Part D. That transfer payments from government make up a larger part of income than for their Canadian-born and earlier immigrant counterparts also reflects their lower incomes.

Almost all households with persons 65 years of age and over received transfer payments from government: Old Age Security, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, or Canada or Quebec Pension Plan benefits. Recent immigrant households of seniors who immigrated during the 1986-1995 period on average received roughly the same amount in transfer payments as earlier immigrants and the Canadian-born, but households of immigrants who landed very recently received less. Very recent immigrants are not entitled to Old Age Security and have not built up large credits under the Canada or Quebec Pension Plan.

The distribution of income

Personal income surpasses parity after longer stay

Of very recent immigrants, one-half of women and almost one-third of men reported no income or income of less than $10,000 in 2000. The share reporting no income is much higher for recent immigrants than for the Canadian-born.

At the high end of the income scale, recent immigrants are underrepresented. The share of recent immigrants with incomes over $50,000 and over is close to one-half of that of the Canadian-born for women and two-thirds for men.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year.

Average household income somewhat lower

In 2000, recent immigrant households had an average income of $66,200, or 88% of the income of Canadian-born households and 78% of the income of earlier immigrant households. For households consisting of very recent immigrants only, average income was 68% of the income of the Canadian-born.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year. The total “All households” includes households of non-permanent residents not shown in the table. For definitions of household and related concepts, see the Glossary.

One-quarter of households consisting of only very recent immigrants have income of less than $20,000, in spite of their large size. As for households that combine very recent immigrants with other persons, their relatively high average income may be a result of their large size and the fact that the other members of the household have lived in Canada for more than five years and are more likely to be earners.

Nearly four in ten very recent immigrants have low income

Recent immigrants are more likely than earlier immigrants and the Canadian-born to live in families with incomes that fall below the median family income or, if they do not live in families, to have income below the median for unattached individuals. They are also more likely to have or live in families with incomes that fall below one-half of the median income—that is, to have low income. The percentage of immigrants with income in the bottom half or quarter of the income distribution declines in relation to the length of stay in Canada of the cohort.

Figure E-1: Immigrants by period of immigration and Canadian-born—percentage with family or individual income below the median and below one-half of the median, Ottawa Census Metropolitan Area, 2000

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all figures in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year. For a definition of median income and details about the calculations, see the Glossary.

Incomes of the very recent immigrant cohort were better in 2000 than five years earlier. Sixty-six percent of incomes of very recent immigrants were below the median income in 2000, compared to 81% in 1995, and 36% were below one-half of the median income, compared to 49% in 1995. Immigrant cohorts of those who landed five to fifteen years before the census and earlier immigrants also showed improvement. The Canadian-born saw little change, with 41% having income below the median, compared to 42% in 1995. Earlier immigrant cohorts experienced more or less the same changes as the Canadian-born.

The proportion of people with income below the median varies with age. For the Canadian-born and earlier immigrants, the highest proportions are found among seniors. But this is not so for very recent immigrants, where incomes below the median are more common at younger ages. Persons who immigrated during the 1986-1995 period occupy a middle ground.

In all age and gender groups except women 65 years old and over, the proportion of persons with income below the overall median is higher among recent immigrants than among the Canadian-born. However, the differences are much greater for people of working age than for seniors.

Just over one-third of very recent immigrants have low income or live in low-income families. For children, youth and young adults, and seniors the proportion of those with low income of living in low-income families is two-fifths, and for those aged 25 to 64 it is one-third. The gap between very recent immigrants and the Canadian-born is smaller for seniors than for any other age group. For the Canadian-born, low income is most common among seniors, while for very recent immigrants it is most common among 15 to 24 year olds. The incidence of low income declines with longer stay.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year. For a definition of median income and details about the calculations, see the Glossary.

Note: Incomes are for the year 2000. In all tables in Part E, immigrants and very recent immigrants include only those who landed before the year 2000 and could have had income the entire year. For a definition of median income and details about the calculations, see the Glossary.

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