February 2024
Spotlight on data and research
The improvement in the labour market outcomes of recent immigrants since the mid-2010s
Recent immigrants aged 25 to 54 have experienced faster employment rate growth than their Canadian-born peers. This study provides updated insights into the employment rates and earnings of recent immigrants who arrived in Canada in the past 10 years. From 2015 to 2023, there was a notable increase of 8 percentage points in the employment rate among recent immigrants, compared with a 3 percentage-point rise among Canadian-born workers.
The gap in weekly earnings between recent immigrants and Canadian-born workers narrowed from 20% in 2015 to 13% in 2020 for men, and from 20% to 16% for women. These trends remained even after adjusting for differences in sociodemographic characteristics between recent immigrants and Canadian-born workers.
Research articles
A profile of women inventors in Canada
Patents are important contributors to innovation, but few studies have looked at the individuals behind the patents. This study compares the characteristics of women inventors in Canada to those of men inventors.
From 2005 to 2019, Canadian men inventors outnumbered women inventors, but the number of women inventors grew at a faster pace. Compared with men, women inventors are more likely to be younger (31.9% are younger than 35 years compared to 23.0% of men in 2019), a higher proportion of them are immigrants (44.3% compared to 34.2% of men in 2019) and they are more likely to “co-patent,” (joint application of a patent). Women inventors are more heavily concentrated in large businesses, and a higher proportion work in professional, scientific and technical services.
High school graduation and postsecondary enrolment of Black, Latin American, and other population groups: What explains the differences?
Rates of high school graduation vary across population groups in Canada. This study followed eight cohorts of Grade 9 students in British Columbia to examine factors associated with differences in educational outcomes.
In all population groups, girls were more likely than boys to graduate high school on time (ranging from 85.4% to 95.1% for girls versus 80.6% to 92.7% for boys). On-time graduation rates varied across population groups with lower rates registered by Latin American, Black and West Asian students, and higher rates by Japanese, Korean, Chinese and South Asian students.
Postsecondary enrolment (certificate, diploma or degree programs) also differed across population groups. Enrolment rates were lowest among Latin American, Black and White youth (between 55.4% and 58.3% for boys and between 66.0% and 69.8% for girls), and highest among Chinese, Korean and South Asian youth (between 82.0% and 88.4% of boys and between 87.1% and 90.5% for girls).
The decline in the citizenship rate among recent immigrants to Canada: Update to 2021
The citizenship rate – the proportion of immigrants who acquire Canadian citizenship after they meet the residency requirement – among recent immigrants to Canada has decreased from 75% in 1996 to 46% in 2021. This study examines the trends in citizenship rates among recent immigrants who have been in Canada for five to nine years. Canadian citizenship grants immigrants the right to vote.
Almost half of this decline in citizenship rates occurred from 2016 to 2021, with approximately 40% of the decrease possibly related to the COVID-19 pandemic and interruptions in application processing. However, net of the possible COVID-19 impacts, citizenship declined at a faster rate from 2016 to 2021 than during any other five-year period since 1996.
This decline in citizenship rates was larger among those with lower levels of education, lower family income and lower language skills. The decrease was also more substantial among recent immigrants from East Asia, Southeast Asia and West Asia than among their counterparts from the United States and Western Europe.
Related publications
Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series
- Date modified: