August 2025
Spotlight on data and research
The impact of job displacement on earnings of workers in high-emission industries in Canada
As Canada, like other countries transition towards a net-zero greenhouse gas emission economy, the jobs and earnings of workers employed in high-emission industries may be impacted. This could have important implications in terms of adaptability of these workers and their future earnings potential. High-emission industries are those ranking in the top 20% of the greenhouse gas intensity distribution as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
This article summarizes a joint study conducted by the OECD, selected international partners including Statistics Canada that leveraged matched employer-employee data across 14 OECD countries: Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, France, and Sweden.
In the year following layoffs, real earnings of Canadian workers displaced from high-emission industries over the 2005-to-2013 period decreased by 73% relative to their pre-displacement earnings. This compares with a decrease of 67% for Canadian workers from other industries. These represented real earnings losses (in 2015 constant US dollars) of $40,800 and $27,900 for workers in high-emission industries and other industries, respectively. On average, relative earnings of displaced workers from the 13 other participating OECD countries decreased by 57% in high-emission industries and 51% in other industries.
Insights
A profile of the video games industry in the Canadian provinces
The global video game industry is the fastest growing media industry. This article fills an information gap on changes in the Canadian video game industry from 2013 to 2022. The findings show that the Canadian video game industry has been growing rapidly compared to the average Canadian industry.
From 2013 to 2022, the number of firms more than doubled, mostly driven by Canadian-owned firms engaged in video game design—as opposed to video game publishing. Canadian-owned firms made up over 97% of the industry in each year but are much smaller than foreign owned firms in terms of revenue and employment, indicating a strong presence of Canadian independent video game firms. Revenue growth was also higher for Canadian-owned firms than for foreign-owned firms, while jobs growth was about the same between the two types of firms.
Temporary foreign workers in health care: Their characteristics, transition to permanent residency, and industry retention
Temporary foreign workers (TFWs) have played an increasingly important role in addressing labour shortages in Canada’s health care sector. This study uses integrated administrative data to provide an overview of TFWs in this field. It found that the number of TFWs working in health care grew significantly between 2000 and 2022 from 3,200 to 57,500.
In 2022, TFWs accounted for 3% of the workforce in ambulatory health care services, 1% in hospitals, and 5% in nursing and residential care facilities, compared with the corresponding shares of 0.4%, 0.2% and 0.3% in 2000. Their presence was even more prominent in specific industries—for example, TFWs made up 8% of the home health care services workforce. Among TFWs who entered the health care sector from 2000 to 2004, about 63% became permanent residents within 15 years. For those who entered from 2005 to 2014, the same transition rate was achieved in just seven years.
The occupational outcomes of provincial nominees
This study compares the occupational distribution of recent provincial nominees (PNs) who gained permanent residence one to five years before the 2021 Census with that of Canadian-born workers.
Among full-time workers in 2021, PNs were more likely to be employed as engineers and computer and information systems professionals compared with Canadian-born workers (14% vs. 4%). They were also more concentrated in support and service roles, including nurse aides, service representatives, and sales support occupations (17% vs. 7%). In contrast, PNs were less likely to work in licensed professions or skilled trades (6% vs. 17%), including professional occupations in nursing; education; industrial, electrical and construction trades; and maintenance and equipment operation trades.
Occupational patterns varied across provinces. In New Brunswick, Ontario, and British Columbia, 20% to 25% of PN principal applicants worked in computer and information systems roles. In Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, about 16% were employed in sales and customer service-related occupations.
Research articles
Renters’ shelter costs by duration of tenancy
Renters’ shelter costs can differ depending on how long they've lived in their current home. Renters that recently moved can pay substantially more than longstanding renters. This study found that the gap between recent and long-term renters’ shelter costs have widened from 1996 to 2021.
Accounting for comparable dwellings and neighbourhoods, longstanding tenants of five or more years paid approximately 19% less in monthly shelter costs than recent renters (under one year) in 2021 compared with 6% in 1996. In 2021, such gaps in rental costs between recent renters and longer-term renters vary across municipalities yet longstanding tenants similarly paid 18% to 20% less than recent renters in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa. One notable exception is Calgary, where longstanding tenants paid around 6% less than recent tenants.
Meanwhile, renters in Canada increasingly favour longer tenancy durations. From 1996 to 2021, the percentage of renters residing in the same dwelling they did five years ago increased from 30% to 42% of all renters. In contrast, 30% of renters lived in a different location than they did a year or more ago in 1996 compared with 20% in 2021.
- Date modified: