Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) Technical Report, 2020

The Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) is a comprehensive source of data that plays a key role in the understanding of the economic behaviour of immigrants. It is the only annual Canadian dataset that allows users to study the characteristics of immigrants to Canada at the time of admission and their economic outcomes and regional (inter-provincial) mobility over a time span of more than 35 years. The IMDB includes Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) administrative records which contain exhaustive information about immigrants who were admitted to Canada since 1952. It also includes data about non-permanent residents who have been issued temporary resident permits since 1980. This report will discuss the IMDB data sources, concepts and variables, record linkage, data processing, dissemination, data evaluation and quality indicators, comparability with other immigration datasets, and the analyses possible with the IMDB.