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World Values Survey (Canada) Immigrant and native born respondent comparisons

1. Basic demographics

According to the 2001 Census, 18.6 percent of all Canadians are immigrants. Of those, 66.2 percent arrived in the last 10 years. Table 1-1 shows the distribution of the WVS working data with the 2001 Census.

Table 1-1: Canadian born and immigrant populations
Group WVS 2001 Census
Canadian Born 67.0%
(n=1766)		 81.4%
Recent Immigrants (< 10 years) 21.6%
(n=570)		 6.3%
Earlier Immigrants (> 10 years) 11.3%
(n=298)		 12.3%

Source: 2006 World Values Survey and 2001 Census

Gender, age and education will play an important role in the analysis. Table 1-2 and Table 1-3 disaggregate the three groups by gender. Across all three groups females slightly outnumber males.

Table 1-2: Groups by gender (WVS)
  Canadian Born Earlier Immigrants Recent Immigrants
Female 58.8% 54.9% 50.8%
Male 41.2% 45.1% 49.2%
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
  (n=1,763) (n=297) (n=569)

Source: 2006 World Values Survey

Table 1-3: Groups by gender (2001 Census)
  Canadian Born Earlier Immigrants Recent Immigrants
Female 50.7% 51.6% 52.0%
Male 49.3% 48.4% 48.0%
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Source: 2001 Census

To compare age cohorts, the samples are divided into four categories: youth (18 to 25 years of age), young individuals of working age (26 to 44 years of age), older individuals of working age (45 to 64 years of age), and those individuals aged 65 years and older. Table 1-4 and Table 1-5 show that recent immigrants tend to be slightly younger than their Canadian born and earlier immigrant counterparts. According to 2001 Census data, the mean ages for Canadian born, recent immigrant, and earlier immigrant groups are 34.8, 32.5, and 52.6 years respectively.

Question: Can you tell me your year of birth? This means you are (blank) years old?

Table 1-4: Groups by age (WVS)
  Canadian Born Earlier Immigrants Recent Immigrants
Youth (18-25) 11.3% 8.6% 15.1%
Young Working Age (26-44) 32.7% 27.1% 71.5%
Older Working Age (45-64) 36.1% 38.4% 12.7%
Retired (65+) 20.0% 26.0% 0.7%
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
  (n=1,758) (n=292) (n=551)

Source: 2006 World Values Survey

Table 1-5: Groups by age (2001 Census)
  Canadian Born Earlier Immigrants Recent Immigrants
Youth (18-25) 15.2% 4.3% 16.1%
Young Working Age (26-44) 39.0% 26.3% 56.8%
Older Working Age (45-64) 30.9% 43.1% 20.7%
Retired (65+) 14.8% 26.3% 6.5%
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Source: 2001 Census

Earlier immigrants have higher levels of exposure to post-secondary education than their Canadian born counterparts. And as Table 1-6 and Table 1-7 show, recent immigrants have higher levels of post-secondary education than the other groups. These differences are statistically significant (p < .01).

Question: What is the highest educational level you have attained? (If respondent indicates to being a student, check highest level s/he expects to complete).

Table 1-6: Groups by education (WVS)
  Canadian Born Earlier Immigrants Recent Immigrants
Less than high school 25.9% 18.6% 2.6%
High school 18.7% 18.6% 7.7%
Post-secondary 55.4% 62.7% 89.6%
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
  (n=1,754) (n=295) (n=569)

Source: 2006 World Values Survey

Table 1-7: Groups by education (2001 Census)
  Canadian Born Earlier Immigrants Recent Immigrants
Less than high school 31.5% 32.7% 26.0%
High school 14.6% 12.1% 12.3%
Post-secondary 53.9% 55.1% 61.7%
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Source: 2001 Census

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