Citizenship of Applicants and External Appointments

Period of 2015-16 to 2020-21

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Candidate for Open Government

Background

This report examines how frequently non-citizens and permanent residents apply for and are appointed to jobs advertised to the general public. It also explores the employment equity representation of citizens, non-citizens and permanent resident applicants and appointments.

Prior to the recent amendments to the Public Service Employment Act, permanent residents were eligible to work in the public sector, however, Canadian citizens were given priority in advertised external appointment processes. Amendments to the Act in 2021, made through Bill C-30, were intended to remove potential barriers to employment from the hiring process and to provide a level playing field at the federal level for permanent residents. These changes are not reflected in the current report, which extends the results of the previous 2020 report by two years, from 2018-19 to 2020-21. The data used in our future updates will, however, allow us to analyse the impact of the legislative changes based on this benchmark report.

Executive Summary

The scope of this report covers the period between 2015-16 and 2020-21. Results show that:

• There has been an ongoing increase in the number and share of permanent resident applicants.
• Despite increases in their recruitment, permanent residents make up a smaller share of hires than applicants.
• Applicants who identify themselves as visible minorities are more likely to be non-citizens than their non-visible minorities counterparts. Further, non-citizens are less likely to be hired than citizens.
• As a result, there are fewer non-citizen visible minority applicants that are appointed.
• Most non-citizen applicants and hires are permanent residents.
• The percentage of non-citizen applicants for all employment equity designated groups is higher for men than for women.

Citizenship Status of Applicants and External Appointments

• In 2020-2021, there were 375,473 unique applicants to jobs open to the public, an increase from 368,763 in 2018-2019 (see Annex 2, Table A2-1).
• The share of non-citizen applicants to jobs advertised to the public increased from 14.5% (53,602) in 2018-2019 to 17.1% (64,184) in 2020-2021.
• In 2020-2021, there were 19,065 external appointments from jobs open to the public for which citizenship could be identified (external hires), a decrease from 20,012 in 2018-2019.
• Canadian citizens accounted for 97.5% (18,594) of all external appointments in that year.
• Non-citizen hires in 2020-2021 accounted for 2.5% (471) of the total, the same share as in 2018-2019.
• Given the preference for the appointment of qualified Canadian citizens, the share of external hires that are non-citizens continued to be well below their relative share of applicants.

Citizenship and Employment Equity

Of all applicants, non-citizens account for 27.3% of visible minority applicants, compared to 13.7% of non-visible minority applicants (see Graph 1). This is an increase from 22.9% and 12.1%, respectively, in 2018-2019.

Graph 1: Applicant Shares: Visible Minorities versus Counterparts, PSEA Organisations (2020-21)

Visible minority applicants are more likely to be non-citizens than their counterparts.^{Footnote 1} Further, non-citizens are less likely to be hired than citizens. As a result, there are fewer non-citizen visible minority applicants that are appointed.

As seen in Graph 2, visible minorities represent 25% of all applicants and 23% of hires.

• When the analysis is restricted to Canadian citizens, visible minorities represent 18.2% of applicants and 21.8% of hires.
• However, among non-citizens, visible minorities represent 6.8% of all applicants but only 1.2% of all hires.
• Other factors, such as foreign credentials, may contribute to the drop-off of non-citizens between the application and appointment stage.

Graph 2: Visible Minorities as Applicants and External Appointments, Citizens versus Non-Citizens, PSEA Organisations (2020-21)

Permanent Residents and Other Non-citizens

There are different types of non-citizenship.^{Footnote 2} The following section describes applicant and appointment shares of permanent residents compared to other non-citizens.

Applicants

• Most non-citizen applicants are permanent residents.
• Two-thirds (43,135) of the 64,184 non-citizen applicants in 2020-2021 were permanent residents, while the remaining one-third (21,049) were other non-citizens.
• Visible minority representation is highest among permanent resident applicants compared to other citizenship statuses.
• In 2020-2021, 44.2% of permanent resident applicants to external job advertisements were visible minorities, compared to 22.0% for citizens and 31.3% for other non-citizens. This is an increase from 38.4%, 20.1% and 27.5%, respectively, in 2018-2019 (see Annex 2, Table A2-6 and Graph 3).^{Footnote 3}

External Appointments

• Most non-citizen hires are permanent residents.
• In 2020-2021, of the 2.5% of hires who were non-citizens, over 8 in 10 (384 hires) were permanent residents, while the remaining hires (87 hires) were other non-citizens.
• Visible minority representation is highest among external hires who are permanent residents compared to other citizenship statuses (see Graph 4, Annex 2, Table A2-11).
• In 2020-2021, 49.5% of external appointments who were permanent residents were members of visible minorities, compared to 22.3% of citizens and 40.2% of other non-citizens. 

Graph 3: Visible Minority Representation Among Applicants and External Appointments, Canadian citizens, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Graph 4: Visible Minority Representation Among Applicants and External Appointments, Permanent residents, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Graph 5: Visible Minority Representation Among Applicants and External Appointments, Other non-citizens, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Intersectionality with gender

Non-citizen men make up a higher percentage of applicants in all three employment equity groups than women (Annex 2, Table A2-12).

• In 2020-2021, non-citizens represented 9.2% of Indigenous man applicants (down from 10.6% in 2018-19) and 4.3% of Indigenous woman applicants (up from 3.5%).
• Non-citizens made up 30.9% of visible minority men and 26.4% of visible minority women in 2020-2021. As compared to 2018-2019, this represents an increase from 26.7% and 22.2%, respectively.
• As of 2020-2021, non-citizens accounted for 7.9% of men applicants declaring having disabilities and 4.1% from women applicants with disabilities. In 2018-2019, these percentages were 6.8% and 3.3%, respectively.
• Non-citizens represented 5.9% of visible minority men and 4.7% of visible minority women external hires in 2020-2021. Compared to 2018-2019, this represents a decrease from 6.4% and 5.2%, respectively (see Annex 2, Table A2-13).^{Footnote 4}

Conclusion

In this updated report, two more years of applicant and appointment data have been included since the last publication. In line with our previous findings, there is an overall increase in non-citizens applying for jobs advertised in the public domain. Non-citizens, however, remain less likely to be appointed than Canadian citizens, and their appointment share has remained about the same since 2018-2019 (2.5%).

In June  2021, the Public Service Employment Act was amended to address systemic biases and barriers to equity in the workplace. The amendments also include providing permanent residents with the same preference as Canadian citizens in advertised external appointment processes. The PSC will monitor the impact of these legislative changes on permanent resident hiring.

Annex 1 - Methodology

For this analysis, all jobs open to the public for indeterminate and term positions for a duration of three months or greater, that closed between April 1, 2015, and March 31, 2021, were evaluated. Similarly, all external appointments for indeterminate and term positions for a duration of three months or greater between April 1, 2015, and March 31, 2021, are included.

We assess the citizenship of external appointments by matching existing public servants to the Public Service Resourcing System (PSRS) applications using a deterministic record linkage process.

We assess the employment equity status of applicants based on the self-declaration provided in their applications on the PSRS. Information on women applicants is only available as of April 1, 2016. Also, when gender is considered, only applicants who self-declared their gender as a ‘man’ or ‘woman’ are included. For external appointments, we analyze employee’s self-identification as collected by the Treasury Board Secretariat in the Employment Equity Data Bank (EEDB). The most recent available data from the EEDB is up to March 31, 2021.

The workforce availability (WFA) based on the 2016 Census was first publicly released in the 2018-2019 Report on Employment Equity. All fiscal years before 2018-2019 in this report are compared to the WFA based on the 2011 Census.

Table A1-1: Workforce Availability (WFA) Among Employment Equity Groups (2018-19)

Employment equity groups	Previous WFA benchmark (2011 Census)	WFA benchmark (2016 Census)
Women	52.5%	52.7%
Indigenous peoples	3.4%	4.0%
Persons with disabilities	4.4%	9.0%
Members of visible minorities	13.0%	15.3%

Source: Treasury Board Secretariat, Employment Equity in the Public Service of Canada for Fiscal Year 2018 to 2019.

Annex 2 – Results

Note: Applicant data for women cannot be reported prior to 2016-2017 due to a change in data capture. Counterparts are applicants or external appointments for which the person did not self-declare or self-identify as belonging to the employment equity group being considered. For example, the counterparts of Indigenous are applicants who did not self-declare as Indigenous or external appointees who did not self-identify as Indigenous.

Table A2-1: Citizenship Representation of Applicants, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Representation type	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Applicants	203,419	219,584	247,035	368,763	314,830	375,473
Citizens	184,406 (90.7%)	198,600 (90.4%)	217,078 (87.9%)	315,161 (85.5%)	264,973 (84.2%)	311,289 (82.9%)
Non-citizens	19,013 (9.3%)	20,984 (9.6%)	29,957 (12.1%)	53,602 (14.5%)	49,857 (15.8%)	64,184 (17.1%)
Permanent residents	14,241	15,270	20,666	37,716	33,606	43,135
Other non-citizens	4,772	5,714	9,291	15,886	16,251	21,049

 

Table A2-2: Citizenship Representation External Appointments, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Representation type	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Appointments	10,402	13,818	16,628	20,012	20,427	19,065
Citizens	10,243 (98.5%)	13,606 (98.5%)	16,303 (98.0%)	19,517 (97.5%)	19,948 (97.7%)	18,594 (97.5%)
Non-citizens	159 (1.5%)	212 (1.5%)	325 (2.0%)	495 (2.5%)	479 (2.3%)	471 (2.5%)
Permanent residents	150	178	274	387	377	384
Other non-citizens	9	34	51	108	102	87

 

Table A2-3: Applicant shares by citizenship status and fiscal year, Visible Minorities Versus Counterparts, PSEA Organisations (2020-21)

Employment equity group	Citizenship Status	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Visible minority	Citizen applicants	84.0%	82.9%	79.4%	77.1%	75.1%	72.7%
Visible minority	Non-citizen applicants	16.0%	17.1%	20.6%	22.9%	24.9%	27.3%
Counterparts	Citizen applicants	92.5%	92.4%	90.3%	87.9%	87.1%	86.3%
Counterparts	Non-citizen applicants	7.5%	7.6%	9.7%	12.1%	12.9%	13.7%

 

Table A2-4: Visible minority representation among applicants, citizens versus non-citizens, PSEA Organisations (2020-21)

Representation type	Applicants versus appointments	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Percent of visible minoritiesFootnote 5	Applicants	21.3%	21.0%	22.2%	22.3%	24.3%	25.0%
Percent of visible minority - citizens	Applicants	19.8%	19.3%	20.0%	20.1%	21.7%	22.0%
Percent of visible minority - non-citizens	Applicants	36.5%	37.5%	37.7%	35.1%	38.3%	40.0%

 

Table A2-5: Visible minority representation among external appointments, citizens versus non-citizens, PSEA Organisations (2020-21)

Representation type	Applicants versus appointments	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Percent of visible minoritiesFootnote 6	Appointments	19.1%	19.4%	18.8%	20.7%	23.0%	22.9%
Percent of visible minority - citizens	Appointments	18.7%	19.0%	18.3%	20.0%	22.4%	22.3%
Percent of visible minority - non-citizens	Appointments	44.7%	46.2%	41.9%	47.5%	47.0%	47.8%

 

Table A2-6: Visible minority representation among applicants by citizenship status, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Representation type	Applicants versus appointments	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Canadian citizens	Applicants	19.8%	19.2%	20.0%	20.1%	21.7%	22.0%
Permanent residents	Applicants	39.7%	41.0%	42.1%	38.4%	42.7%	44.2%
Other non-citizens	Applicants	26.9%	28.0%	28.0%	27.5%	29.1%	31.3%

 

Table A2-7: Visible minority representation among external appointments by citizenship status, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Representation type	Applicants versus appointments	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Canadian citizens	Appointments	18.7%	19.0%	18.3%	20.0%	22.4%	22.3%
Permanent residents	Appointments	45.3%	48.9%	44.9%	48.3%	49.6%	49.5%
Other non-citizens	Appointments	33.3%	32.4%	25.5%	44.4%	37.3%	40.2%

 

Table A2-8: Share of applicants self-assessed as bilingual by citizenship status, PSEA Organisations (2015-2016)

Citizens	43.4%	43.4%	43.1%	39.4%	40.7%	37.7%
Non-citizens	35.1%	35.3%	31.1%	26.0%	26.1%	24.6%

 

Table A2-9: External hire shares by citizenship status and fiscal years, Visible Minorities Versus Counterparts, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Employment equity group	Citizenship Status	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Visible minority	Citizen external hires	96.4%	96.3%	95.6%	94.3%	95.2%	94.9%
Visible minority	Non-citizen external hires	3.6%	3.7%	4.4%	5.7%	4.8%	5.1%
Counterparts	Citizen external hires	99.0%	99.0%	98.6%	98.4%	98.4%	98.3%
Counterparts	Non-citizen external hires	1.0%	1.0%	1.4%	1.6%	1.6%	1.7%

 

Table A2-10: Share of visible minority applicants self-assessed as bilingual by citizenship status, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Citizenship Status	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Citizens	41.7%	42.5%	41.5%	37.7%	39.5%	36.5%
Non-citizens	39.2%	38.4%	33.5%	26.7%	26.5%	24.4%

 

Table A2-11: Employment equity representation among applicants by employment equity group and citizenship status, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Representation type	Citizenship Status	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Indigenous peoples	Canadian Citizens	3.7%	3.6%	3.6%	3.4%	3.5%	3.3%
Indigenous peoples	Permanent Residents	0.8%	0.7%	0.7%	0.8%	0.8%	0.7%
Indigenous peoples	Other Non-Citizens	2.2%	1.7%	2.3%	2.2%	2.3%	1.5%
Persons with disabilities	Canadian Citizens	2.8%	2.9%	3.1%	3.0%	3.4%	3.7%
Persons with disabilities	Permanent Residents	0.9%	1.0%	0.9%	0.8%	1.0%	1.1%
Persons with disabilities	Other Non-Citizens	0.6%	0.8%	1.1%	0.8%	1.0%	0.8%
Visible minority	Canadian Citizens	19.8%	19.2%	20.0%	20.1%	21.7%	22.0%
Visible minority	Permanent Residents	39.7%	43.0%	42.1%	38.4%	42.7%	44.2%
Visible minority	Other Non-Citizens	26.9%	28.0%	28.0%	27.5%	29.1%	31.3%
Women	Canadian Citizens	N/A	55.6%	55.4%	57.0%	57.6%	59.5%
Women	Permanent Residents	45.1%	44.6%	44.7%	46.4%	47.0%	50.3%
Women	Other Non-Citizens	39.7%	40.2%	36.8%	38.8%	37.4%	44.2%

 

Table A2-12: Applicant shares of non-citizens among employment equity groups by gender, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Employment equity group by gender	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Indigenous peoples - Women	N/A	1.9%	2.7%	3.5%	3.3%	4.3%
Indigenous peoples - Men	N/A	4.6%	8.0%	10.6%	12.0%	9.2%
Counterparts of Indigenous peoples – Women	N/A	8.4%	10.4%	12.5%	13.4%	15.2%
Counterparts of Indigenous peoples - Men	N/A	12.9%	16.3%	19.1%	21.0%	21.8%
Members of visible minorities - Women	N/A	16.6%	20.1%	22.2%	23.6%	26.4%
Members of visible minorities – Men	N/A	20.8%	24.4%	26.7%	29.0%	30.9%
Counterparts of members of visible minorities - Women	N/A	6.1%	7.5%	9.5%	9.8%	11.1%
Counterparts of members of visible minorities - Men	N/A	10.4%	13.6%	16.6%	18.0%	18.2%
Persons with disabilities - Women	N/A	2.5%	3.5%	3.3%	4.0%	4.1%
Persons with disabilities - Men	N/A	4.9%	5.8%	6.8%	7.4%	7.9%
Counterparts of persons with disabilities - Women	N/A	8.3%	10.3%	12.5%	13.4%	15.2%
Counterparts of persons with disabilities – Men	N/A	12.8%	16.3%	19.2%	21.1%	21.9%

 

Table A2-13: External hires shares of non-citizens among employment equity groups by gender, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Employment equity group by gender	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Members of visible minorities - Women	3.2%	3.1%	3.3%	5.2%	4.1%	4.7%
Members of visible minorities – Men	4.1%	4.5%	5.7%	6.4%	5.7%	5.9%
Counterparts of members of visible minorities - Women	0.9%	0.8%	1.2%	1.5%	1.5%	1.4%
Counterparts of members of visible minorities - Men	1.3%	1.3%	1.7%	1.8%	1.8%	2.1%

 

Table A2-14: Employment equity representation among applicants and external appointments by employment equity group, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Representation type	Applicants versus appointments	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Indigenous peoples	Applicants	1.1%	1.0%	1.2%	1.2%	1.3%	1.0%
Indigenous peoples	Appointments	2.5%	1.4%	2.8%	2.2%	2.9%	1.9%
Persons with disabilities	Applicants	0.8%	0.9%	1.0%	0.8%	1.0%	1.0%
Persons with disabilities	Appointments	2.5%	0.45%	0.9%	1.2%	1.5%	1.5%
Visible minority	Applicants	36.5%	37.5%	37.7%	35.1%	38.3%	40.0%
Visible minority	Appointments	44.7%	46.2%	41.8%	47.5%	47.0%	47.8%
Women	Applicants	N/A	43.4%	42.3%	44.1%	43.8%	48.3%
Women	Appointments	50.3%	46.7%	47.7%	51. 7%	52.8%	51.6%

 

Table A2-15: Employment equity representation among appointments by employment equity group and citizenship status, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Representation type	Citizenship status	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Indigenous peoples	Canadian Citizens	4.1%	4.6%	4.1%	4.3%	4.0%	4.0%
Indigenous peoples	Permanent Residents	2.0%	1.7%	2.2%	1.3%	2.4%	1.3%
Indigenous peoples	Other Non-Citizens	11.1%	0.0%	5.9%	5.6%	4.9%	4.6%
Persons with disabilities	Canadian Citizens	3.3%	4.0%	3.7%	3.8%	4.2%	4.9%
Persons with disabilities	Permanent Residents	2.7%	0.6%	0.7%	1.0%	1.9%	1.8%
Persons with disabilities	Other Non-Citizens	0.0%	0.0%	2.0%	1.9%	0.0%	0.0%
Visible minority	Canadian Citizens	18.7%	19.0%	18.3%	20.0%	22.4%	22.3%
Visible minority	Permanent Residents	45.3%	48.9%	44.9%	48.3%	49.6%	49.5%
Visible minority	Other Non-Citizens	33.3%	32.4%	25.5%	44.4%	37.3%	40.2%
Women	Canadian Citizens	58.4%	579%	58.6%	57.0%	58.3%	60.2%
Women	Permanent Residents	50.7%	48.3%	47.4%	53.5%	54.1%	54.2%
Women	Other Non-Citizens	44.4%	38.2%	49.0%	45.4%	48.0%	40.2%

 

Table A2-16: Visible minority representation among applicants and external appointments by gender and citizenship status, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Representation type	Citizenship	Gender	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Visible Minority	Citizens	Women applicants	N/A	9.9%	10.3%	10.8%	11.9%	12.5%
Visible Minority	Citizens	Men applicants	N/A	8.7%	9.1%	8.8%	9.5%	9.2%
Visible Minority	Citizens	Women appointments	10.8%	11.1%	10.7%	11.6%	13.2%	13.2%
Visible Minority	Citizens	Men appointments	7.9%	7.9%	7.7%	8.4%	9.2%	9.1%
Visible Minority	Permanent Residents	Women applicants	N/A	18.7%	19.5%	18.8%	21.0%	29.5%
Visible Minority	Permanent Residents	Men applicants	N/A	14.3%	14.6%	14.2%	15.2%	27.5%
Visible Minority	Permanent Residents	Women appointments	23.3%	24.2%	19.7%	25.1%	25.5%	27.9%
Visible Minority	Permanent Residents	Men appointments	22.0%	24.7%	25.2%	23.3%	24.1%	21.6%
Visible Minority	Other non-citizens	Women applicants	N/A	13.6%	13.2%	13.1%	13.8%	21.5%
Visible Minority	Other non-citizens	Men applicants	N/A	14.3%	14.6%	14.2%	15.2%	19.1%
Visible Minority	Other non-citizens	Women appointments	22.2%	14.7%	11.8%	24.1%	17.6%	14.9%
Visible Minority	Other non-citizens	Men appointments	11.1%	17.6%	13.7%	20.4%	19.6%	25.3%

 

Table A2-17: Shares of self-assessed bilingual applicants by citizenship and employment equity group, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Representation type	Gender	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Citizens	All	43.4%	43.4%	43.1%	39.4%	40.7%	37.7%
Citizens	Visible minority	41.7%	42.5%	41.5%	37.7%	39.5%	36.5%
Citizens	Visible minority - Men	N/A	41.3%	40.1%	37.0%	38.5%	36.3%
Citizens	Visible minority - Women	N/A	42.6%	41.6%	37.0%	39.4%	36.0%
Non-citizens	All	35.1%	35.3%	31.1%	26.0%	26.1%	24.6%
Non-citizens	Visible minority	39.2%	38.4%	33.5%	26.7%	26.5%	24.4%
Non-citizens	Visible minority - Men	N/A	39.1%	33.9%	26.7%	27.3%	24.7%
Non-citizens	Visible minority - Women	N/A	37.2%	32.2%	25.8%	25.1%	23.8%

 

Table A2-18: Applicant shares of non-citizens among employment equity groups, PSEA Organisations (2015-2021)

Employment equity group	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Indigenous peoples	3.1%	2.8%	4.3%	5.7%	6.3%	5.7%
Counterparts of Indigenous peoples	9.6%	9.8%	12.4%	14.8%	16.2%	17.4%
Members of visible minorities	16.0%	17.1%	20.6%	22.9%	24.9%	27.3%
Counterparts of members of visible minorities	7.5%	7.6%	9.7%	12.1%	12.9%	13.7%
Persons with disabilities	2.9%	3.3%	4.1%	4.4%	5.1%	5.4%
Counterparts of persons with disabilities	9.5%	9.7%	12.4%	14.8%	16.2%	17.5%
Women	N/A	8.1%	10.1%	12.2%	13.1%	14.8%
Men	N/A	12.7%	16.1%	18.9%	20.8%	21.5%

 

Table A2-19: Visible minority share of applicants and external hires by gender and citizens versus non-citizens, PSEA Organisations (2020-2021)

Visible Minority – Gender Identification	Representation type	Citizens	Non-citizens	Total
Women	Applicants	10.3%	3.7%	14.0%
Women	Appointments	12.9%	0.6%	13.5%
Men	Applicants	7.6%	3.4%	11.0%
Men	Appointments	8.9%	0.6%	9.5%