November 2023
Spotlight on data and research
Employment situations and child care arrangements after mothers’ return to work following parental leave
Whether mothers return to the same employer after childbirth is important in understanding their wages and career trajectories. This article examines whether mothers’ employment situations and child care arrangements upon their return to work after a parental leave differed between two cohorts of mothers from 2009 and 2019.
Among mothers returning to work within 18 months after the beginning of their leave, 9 in 10 returned or planned to return to the same employer and 80% expected their employment situation (hours, schedule or working environment) to be the same as it was before their leave.
While the employment patterns of the mothers did not change from 2009 to 2019, their child care arrangements did. The percentage of mothers planning to use child care centres increased from 42.3% for the 2009 cohort of mothers to 50.5% for the 2019 cohort of mothers.
Characteristics of postsecondary international students who did not enrol in publicly funded postsecondary education programs
The fast-growing number of international students has generated concerns about their impacts on Canada’s educational institutions, labour market, and affordable housing. Fully understanding such impacts requires better knowledge of their school enrolment and labour force participation. This article sheds light on the activities and sociodemographic characteristics of postsecondary study permit holders who were not enrolled in publicly funded postsecondary education institutions.
Of postsecondary study permit holders in 2019, 24% had not enrolled in publicly funded postsecondary programs. The rate among non-university postsecondary study permit holders (30%) was higher than the rate at the university degree levels (12%). Among those not enrolled in publicly funded postsecondary programs, at least 54% engaged in other study or work activities in Canada with some (at least 22%) studying in school, possibly in private colleges, and some (33%) working with or without a work permit. Larger shares of international students intended to study in British Columbia (31%), came from India (48%), and were first-time permit holders (42%).
Research articles
Labour market participation of parents with young children
This study looks at employment patterns for families with young children aged 0 to 5 years before implementation of the Canada-wide early learning and child care system. In 2021, 68% of all couple families with young children had two employed parents. The percentage of two-earner couples among families increased to 75% when the youngest child was 6 to 12 years old but was still lower than that of couples without children (84%). In that year, the employment rate of mothers in one-parent families with young children was 62%.
Quebec had a larger share of two-earner couples, especially both parents working full time, among families with young children. The province also had a higher employment rate among mothers in one-parent families with young children. Families with Canadian-born mothers (75%) were more likely to have two earners than those with immigrant mothers (57%).
The Provincial Nominee Program: Retention in province of landing
An objective of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is to improve the settlement of economic immigrants in provinces or territories. This study found that a high percentage (89%) of economic immigrants arriving through the PNP in 2019 stayed in their intended province or territory at the end of the landing year. However, there was large variation by province or territory, ranging from 69% for Prince Edward Island to 97% for Ontario. Among provincial nominees who resided in a province at the end of the landing year, 39% (Prince Edward Island) to 94% (Ontario) remained in that province five years later. Even after accounting for sociodemographic characteristics and provincial unemployment rates, large provincial differences in retention rates remained.
The PNP has expanded to be the largest selection program for economic immigrants in recent years. Within provinces and territories, PNP immigrants had similar retention rates both in the first year and fifth year after immigration as immigrants admitted through the Federal Skilled Worker Programs and Canadian Experience Class.
Tax-filing rates of newly landed immigrants in Canada: Trends and insights
Newly landed immigrants in Canada may delay filing taxes as they settle in a new country, but they may be missing out on tax benefits for which they are eligible. This study found that 85% of couples where both spouses were aged 25 to 64, who landed between 2017 and 2019 with children younger than 18, filed T1 income tax returns in the year of landing or the following year.
Among immigration classes, families where the principal applicant was a refugee, had the highest filing rates (96%) while those with a federal skilled worker as a principal applicant had the lowest (74%). Families where the principal applicant had no university degree were more likely to file (91%) than those with a graduate degree (79%).
Related publications
Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series
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