2 A descriptive overview

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Our analysis is based upon the 2001 Canadian Census, and on an associated post-censal survey conducted in 2002, the Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS). The census analysis relies upon a new question referring to the birthplace of the respondent's parents. The so-called 'Long Form' of the census questionnaire, administered to 20% of the population, asks all persons aged 15 and over in which country their father and mother were born.¹ On this basis the 2001 Census allows the precise identification of immigrants, second-generation immigrants, and others born in Canada (which we refer to as third generation or higher). The EDS uses the Long-Form respondents as a sampling frame, over-sampling those with an ethnic origin that is non-Anglo-Saxon, permitting a more detailed analysis of Canadians by their ethnic and cultural background (Statistics Canada 2003). It also contains the same information on parental place of birth as the census, permitting an analysis of immigrants and second-generation immigrants, in addition to the general population.

As the 2001 Census marks the first time since 1971 that information on parental place of birth is available, we begin by offering a descriptive overview of the Canadian population that places second-generation immigrants and their educational attainment in a broader context. Tables 1 and 2 present information representative of the Canadian population using the full 20% file for both men and women categorized by parental origin. The population is classified into three broad groups: (1) Canadian born, by which we mean either those of Aboriginal ancestry or those who are third-generation or higher Canadians; (2) immigrants, those born in a country other than Canada; and (3) second-generation Canadian, those born in Canada whose parents were born elsewhere. Since there is some suggestion in the literature that long-run integration is related to language acquisition and age at migration, we divide the immigrant population into two groups, those arriving before the age of 12 and those who were 12 or older when they arrived. The former group is likely to have spent some part of their schooling in the Canadian elementary system and is more likely to have developed better language skills. Research has suggested that these are important considerations in understanding the integration of immigrant children (Worswick 2004). This could also mean they may not differ in their adult outcomes from children who were actually born in Canada to immigrant parents, the second-generation group. For the descriptive purposes of these two tables, we categorize second-generation Canadians into three sub-groupings according to whether only the father is an immigrant, only the mother is, or both parents are.²

The weighted population shares suggest that in 2001 almost 65% of the Canadian population aged 16 to 65 were of Aboriginal origin or third generation, and in the neighbourhood of 20% were immigrants. The groups we are focusing on—those with both parents born outside of the country—represented 7.7% of the male population and about 7.3% of the female population. A broader definition of a second-generation immigrant, based on having only one parent born outside of Canada, would encompass just over 15% of the population, and close to 20% if those who immigrated to the country before the age of 12 were included. Immigrants and second- generation immigrants form, in other words, a sizable proportion of the Canadian population.

A focus on those with both parents born abroad places the attention upon a sub-category that is likely harder to integrate than those having one Canadian-born parent. Conditional on being between 16 and 65, this group is, on average, 35 years of age and tends to be slightly younger than their Canadian-born counterparts with both parents born in the country, who are about 39 years of age on average. Just over 50% are less than 35 years of age, compared with fewer than 40% for third-generation or higher Canadians.

At the same time, these second-generation Canadians also tend to have more education: those with both parents born elsewhere having on average about 14 years of schooling, one year more than third-generation Canadians. Around one third has at least 16 years of education, with over 20% of men and almost one quarter of women having at least an undergraduate university degree. About 22% of third-generation Canadians have this many years of education, while less than 15% have at least an undergraduate university degree. In fact almost 30% of third- generation men and about one quarter of third-generation women have less than 12 years of schooling, this proportion being significantly lower at 16% and 14%, respectively, for second- generation Canadian men and women.

These comparisons continue to favour second-generation Canadians, even when they are done within birth cohorts, as in Tables 3 and 4; every 10-year age cohort of second-generation Canadians with both parents born elsewhere has a higher proportion, with 16 or more years of education, than third- or more generation Canadians. This is particularly so for the younger cohorts. Over 44% of 25-to-34-year-old men with both parents born abroad have at least 16 years of education, compared with 30% of those with parents born in the country. Slightly over one half of second-generation women in this age group have at least this many years of schooling, compared with 35% of their third-generation counterparts and higher than any other birth cohort across both genders. While this group of women has considerably more education than their male counterparts of the same age, for older cohorts—particularly the oldest—men tend to be more educated.

Our analysis is based essentially, but not entirely, upon this younger cohort. They are at once an old enough group for which we can reasonably begin to assume that the schooling process has been completed, yet young enough to permit an analysis across generations by using information on their parents in the 1981 Census.

¹ This is Question 32, and the exact wording is as follows:

Remember, these questions are only for persons aged 15 and over.

PLACE OF BIRTH OF PARENTS

32 Where was each of this person's parents born?

Mark "×" or specify country according to present boundaries.

Information of this kind last appeared in the Canadian census in 1971, when a much more restrictive question was posed, asking only if the respondent's parents were born in Canada, without identifying their country of birth.

² We restrict the census data to non-institutional residents aged 16 to 65 years. Individuals who resided outside the 10 provinces and non-permanent residents are also excluded. Non-permanent residents refer to persons in Canada on student or employment visas, minister's permits, or refugee claimants.