Education, learning and training: Research Paper Series
Canadian postsecondary education and labour market outcomes of 2010 economic immigrants to Canada

Introduction

The contribution of immigration to the Canadian economy and society has been of continued importance in recent decades, due to being the main driver of population growth and their importance on the labour market. Given that Canada and other countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are competing for skilled workers, measuring the socio-economic integration of immigrants into Canada is essential. Immigrants with postsecondary educational qualifications can help fill the labour demand in Canada, especially if their qualifications are readily recognized by the labour market. In this context, exploring the labour market outcomes and Canadian postsecondary educational attainment of immigrants is critical to understanding the various facets of their socio-economic integration.^Note

Since the late 1990s, federal and provincial governments have shifted immigration policies toward immigrants with postsecondary qualifications, as part of the “economic” category of immigrants. Despite this shift, the potential difficulty of qualified landed immigrants to transfer their educational qualification to the Canadian labour market continues to exist and may represent a barrier to accessing the labour market for some, and thus impact the supply of skilled workers.

This study explores in detail the educational attainment from Canadian public institutions and employment income of immigrants from the “economic immigrant” programs who were granted permanent residency based on their ability to contribute to the Canadian economy. The analysis compares the skilled immigrants who returned to postsecondary education after admission to Canada to those who did not return to postsecondary education and explores their potential difficulty to transfer their educational qualifications onto the Canadian labour market. The analysis uses the Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) integrated with the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) and the T1 Family File (T1FF) through the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform (ELMLP).

The study population is limited to immigrants admitted to Canada as permanent residents in 2010,^Note who were at the core working age of 25 to 54 years old^Note at the time of admission, who had not studied in Canada^Note prior to their 2010 admission and who filed taxes in Canada at least once between 2011 and 2019.^Note The methodology to identify their postsecondary education obtained in Canada between 2010 and 2019 can be found in the technical reference guide for the labour market outcomes for college and university graduates.^Note

Nearly one in seven economic principal applicants who were admitted in 2010 graduated from a Canadian postsecondary program between 2010 and 2019

In 2010, 278,210 immigrants and refugees were admitted to Canada. Of these, the majority were of the economic immigrant category (27.4% were principal applicants, and 39.5% were spouses and dependants). This article focuses on the economic principal applicants, as they were admitted based on their ability to contribute to the Canadian economy.



Of the 76,170 principal applicants, 2,840 were excluded from the analysis since they were outside of the core working age. An additional 8,340 immigrants were also excluded from the analysis due to having previously studied in Canada and 6,040 were excluded due to not having filed taxes in Canada in any year between 2011 and 2019. The study population for this analysis includes 58,950 economic principal applicants who were admitted to Canada in 2010. Of these, 8,060 (13.7%) graduated from a Canadian public postsecondary educational institution after admission.

Female economic principal applicants from all continents of birth were more likely than men to graduate from a Canadian public postsecondary educational institution after admission to Canada

Although the overall population of principal applicants graduated from a Canadian postsecondary institution at the rate of 13.7%, the rate varied widely by continent of birth and gender.^Note Principal applicants born in the Americas^Note (24.8%) and in Africa (30.2%) were the most likely to graduate from a Canadian postsecondary institution after admission to Canada (see Chart 1). This may be partly because immigrants from certain countries can experience difficulty in having their educational qualifications recognized in Canada.

A higher proportion of women who were economic principal applicants completed a Canadian educational qualification than men, for all continents of birth. The largest gap was among principal applicants born in Europe, where only 6.2% of men completed a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification, while 19.9% of women did so. This was followed by the Americas, where 20.8% of men and 30.7% of women completed a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification after admission to Canada. A study looking at immigrants of the early 2000s showed that immigrant women were significantly less likely to have their educational qualification recognized in Canada than men. For context, women were also more likely to obtain a postsecondary education in the general student population in Canada.

Data table for Chart 1



Chart 1
Proportion of principal applicants admitted to Canada in 2010, who obtained a Canadian educational qualification between 2010 and 2019, by continent of birth and gender
Table summary
This table displays the results of Proportion of principal applicants admitted to Canada in 2010. The information is grouped by Continent of birth (appearing as row headers), All gender, Men and Women, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Continent of birth	All genders	Men	Women
	percent
All continents	13.7	12.8	14.9
Americas	24.8	20.8	30.7
Europe	11.0	6.2	19.9
Africa	30.2	29.1	33.0
Asia	9.0	8.3	9.8
Note: The United States was excluded from the category “Americas”. Certain regions were excluded due to low counts. Sources: Statistics Canada, Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB), 2010, Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS), 2009/2010 to 2019/2020 and T1 Family File (T1FF), 2011 to 2019.

A large majority of economic principal applicants who returned to postsecondary education in Canada did so at a similar or lower level than their educational qualification at admission

While 13.7% of all principal applicants who were admitted to Canada in 2010 completed a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification between 2010 and 2019,^Note this was more common among those who had higher educational attainment at admission (17.3% for those with a master’s degree or doctorate and 14.2% for those with a bachelor’s degree) than those with a non-university certificate or diploma (11.2%).^Note

Data table for Chart 2



Chart 2
Proportion of principal applicants admitted to Canada in 2010, who obtained a Canadian educational qualification between 2010 and 2019, by educational qualification at admission  
Table summary
This table displays the results of Proportion of principal applicants admitted to Canada in 2010. The information is grouped by Educational qualification at admission   (appearing as row headers), percent (appearing as column headers).

Educational qualification at admission	percent
None, not stated or other	8.9
Non-university certificate or diploma	11.2
Bachelor's degree	14.2
Master's degree or doctorate	17.3
Total	13.7
Note: The “None, not state or other” category for the educational qualification at admission includes “secondary or less”, “formal trade certificate or apprenticeship”, “some university – no degree” and “some postgraduate education – no degree”. Sources: Statistics Canada, Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB), 2010, Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS), 2009/2010 to 2019/2020 and T1 Family File (T1FF), 2011 to 2019.

The most common educational qualification obtained in Canada among principal applicants who were admitted in 2010 was “short college programs” (31.9%), which includes programs typically completed in less than two years, such as a college-level certificate, and “long college or short university program,” (31.1%) which includes programs typically completed in two or more years, such as a college-level diploma or an undergraduate certificate. This could be due, in part, to the fact that some immigrants may not have had the educational prerequisites to qualify for higher-level educational qualifications (e.g. a master’s degree requires prior completion of an bachelor’s degree) or that these educational qualifications were shorter and allowed immigrants the ability to return to the labour market quickly. These findings differed from the overall postsecondary population in Canada, where the most common educational qualification in Canada was a bachelor’s program. For more information on the classification of programs and credentials obtained in Canada, see Appendix A.

Of those with a non-university certificate or diploma at admission in 2010 and who completed a postsecondary educational qualification in Canada between 2010 and 2019, 74.5% completed a postsecondary educational qualification below a bachelor’s program, whereas 21.3% completed a bachelor’s program and only 4.3% completed a master’s or doctoral program. Similarly, of those with a bachelor’s degree at admission, 65.4% completed an educational qualification below a bachelor’s program in Canada, 14.7% a bachelor’s program and 19.8% a master’s or doctoral program or equivalent. For the principal applicants who were admitted to Canada with a master’s or doctoral degree and completed a postsecondary educational qualification in Canada between 2010 and 2019, 71.1% returned to postsecondary education at a level below a master’s or doctoral program.

Overall, completion of Canadian postsecondary education was more common among immigrants who had higher educational attainment at admission. Additionally, many of the principal applicants who returned to postsecondary education did so to complete a similar or lower educational qualification. This is likely further evidence that the previous educational attainment of some immigrants was not recognized by the Canadian labour market.



Economic principal applicants who resided in Quebec were more likely to have obtained a Canadian educational qualification

The proportion of principal applicants with additional Canadian educational qualifications differed by the region of residence in 2019. Principal applicants of 2010 whose region of residence in 2019 was Quebec were more likely to have obtained a Canadian educational qualification than those living in other regions. This may be due to Quebec having a special agreement on immigration with the Government of Canada, where the province has its own rules for choosing immigrants who will adapt well to living there.^Note Conversely, Ontario had the highest proportion of those who did not receive any additional Canadian educational qualification (38.6%).

Data table for Chart 3



Chart 3
Proportion of principal applicants admitted to Canada in 2010, who resided in each region in 2019, by Canadian educational qualification
Table summary
This table displays the results of Proportion of principal applicants admitted to Canada in 2010. The information is grouped by Province (appearing as row headers), Educational qualification obtained in Canada and Percent (appearing as column headers).

Province	Educational qualification obtained in Canada	Percent
Atlantic provinces	No Canadian postsecondary qualification	1.4
	Short college program	0.4
	Long college or short university program	0.8
	Bachelor's program or equivalent	Note x: suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act
	Master's or doctoral program or equivalent	2.1
Quebec	No Canadian postsecondary qualification	15.8
	Short college program	53.2
	Long college or short university program	50.0
	Bachelor's program or equivalent	59.3
	Master's or doctoral program or equivalent	43.4
Ontario	No Canadian postsecondary qualification	38.6
	Short college program	6.5
	Long college or short university program	28.1
	Bachelor's program or equivalent	22.0
	Master's or doctoral program or equivalent	37.9
Prairies	No Canadian postsecondary qualification	27.2
	Short college program	17.7
	Long college or short university program	14.5
	Bachelor's program or equivalent	12.2
	Master's or doctoral program or equivalent	9.7
British Columbia	No Canadian postsecondary qualification	17.0
	Short college program	22.2
	Long college or short university program	6.6
	Bachelor's program or equivalent	Note x: suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act
	Master's or doctoral program or equivalent	6.9
x suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act Note: The region of residence is as per the information available on the 2019 tax form. Individuals who did not file taxes in 2019, who did not file taxes in Canada or who filed taxes in the territories were excluded from this chart. Sources: Statistics Canada, Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB), 2010, Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS), 2009/2010 to 2019/2020 and T1 Family File (T1FF), 2011 to 2019.

Economic principal applicants admitted with a bachelor’s degree and who completed a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification had higher median employment income nine years after admission than those who did not return to postsecondary education

Principal applicants admitted with a bachelor’s degree^Note but who did not obtain an additional postsecondary educational qualification in Canada had a higher median employment income^Note in 2011 ($25,400) but lower growth over the period from 2011 to 2019^Note compared to those who obtained a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification during the period. The lower initial income may be because those who obtained a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification were out of the labour market in 2011 (either fully or partially) to complete their Canadian educational qualification. By 2019, those who had obtained a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification (between $47,700 and $67,600) caught up or surpassed the median employment income of those who had not obtained a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification ($45,200). Also, in 2019, bachelor’s degree holders who had obtained a similar or higher educational qualification relative to their educational qualification at admission saw higher median employment income (bachelor’s program or equivalent ($55,200) and master’s or doctoral program, or equivalent ($67,600)) than those who obtained a short college program ($47,700) or a long college or short university program ($48,200). For context, the median employment income of all tax filers with employment income was $36,960 in 2019.

Data table for Chart 4



Chart 4
Median employment income for principal applicants who had a bachelor’s degree at admission to Canada in 2010, by educational qualification obtained in Canada between 2010 and 2019, 2019 constant dollars
Table summary
This table displays the results of Median employment income for principal applicants who had a bachelor’s degree at admission to Canada in 2010. The information is grouped by Educational qualification obtained in Canada (appearing as row headers), Year, 2011 and 2019, calculated using 2019 constant dollars units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Educational qualification obtained in Canada	Year
	2011	2019
	2019 constant dollars
No Canadian postsecondary qualification	25,400	45,200
Short college program	13,900	47,700
Long college or short university program	9,900	48,200
Bachelor's program or equivalent	8,500	55,200
Master's or doctoral program or equivalent	10,300	67,600
Note: Individuals who did not file taxes in 2011 and in 2019 are excluded from this analysis. Sources: Statistics Canada, Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB), 2010, Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS), 2009/2010 to 2019/2020 and T1 Family File (T1FF), 2011 to 2019.

Those admitted with a bachelor’s degree, but who did not obtain an additional postsecondary educational qualification in Canada, had a lower proportion in low income^Note in 2011 (29.8%) than those who obtained a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification between 2010 and 2019. Among those who obtained further postsecondary education, those who completed a bachelor’s program between 2010 and 2019 had the highest proportion in low income in 2011, at 60.9%. This may be because those who obtained a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification were out of the labour market in 2011 (either fully or partially) to complete their Canadian educational qualification. By 2019, the proportion of principal applicants admitted to Canada with a bachelor’s degree who were in low income had been significantly reduced. It varied between 6.5% for those who completed a bachelor’s program in Canada and 10.7% for those who completed a master’s or doctoral program in Canada.^Note In 2019, 9.4% of those without additional educational qualification in Canada were in low income. For context, the low-income status for all tax filers and dependants in Canada, aged 18 to 64, was 16.6% in 2019.

Data table for Chart 5



Chart 5
Proportion of immigrants in low income among principal applicants who had a bachelor’s degree at admission to Canada in 2010, by educational qualification obtained in Canada between 2010 and 2019
Table summary
This table displays the results of Proportion of immigrants in low income among principal applicants who had a bachelor’s degree at admission to Canada in 2010. The information is grouped by Educational qualification obtained in Canada (appearing as row headers), Year, 2011 and 2019, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Educational qualification obtained in Canada	Year
	2011	2019
	percent
No Canadian postsecondary qualification	29.8	9.4
Short college program	47.4	7.8
Long college or short university program	55.4	7.0
Bachelor's program or equivalent	60.9	6.5
Master's or doctoral program or equivalent	55.4	10.7
Note: Individuals who did not file taxes in 2011 and in 2019 are excluded from this analysis. Sources: Statistics Canada, Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB), 2010, Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS), 2009/2010 to 2019/2020 and T1 Family File (T1FF), 2011 to 2019.

Conclusion

This article examined the educational qualifications obtained in Canada, between 2010 and 2019, by economic principal applicants admitted to Canada in 2010. Overall, nearly one in seven completed a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification after admission. Those who came from Africa and the Americas, women, those who were admitted to Canada with a master’s or doctoral degree, and those who lived in Quebec as of 2019 were more likely to complete a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification.

Those who obtained a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification generally returned at a similar or lower level of education than their educational qualification at admission. Among those who were admitted to Canada with a bachelor’s degree, those who obtained a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification had higher median employment income in 2019 than those who did not return to postsecondary education, regardless of the level of the additional postsecondary educational qualification completed. Similarly, those who graduated from a Canadian bachelor’s program had the lowest rate of low income in 2019.

While the proportion of economic principal applicants who obtained a Canadian educational qualification in Canada after admission in 2010 was small (13.7%), some of the information presented in this paper suggests that there may be some immigrants who had difficulties in getting their educational qualification recognized in Canada. For the labour market outcomes, the principal applicants who completed postsecondary education in Canada caught up to and often surpassed those who did not complete postsecondary education in Canada. Further analysis could explore the reasons behind this return to Canadian postsecondary education after immigrating to Canada.

George Marshall and Eric Fecteau are analysts with the Canadian Centre for Education Statistics at Statistics Canada.

Appendix A: Classification of programs and credentials

This paper uses the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) to classify the postsecondary education obtained in Canada. Some of the categories, as outlined in Table A1, were renamed for ease of understanding in a Canadian context. Table A1 also provides a concordance between the ISCED and the Classification of programs and credentials, commonly used in Canada. For more information on the ISCED and the classification of programs and credentials, see the Handbook for the Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program.



Appendix B: Median employment income and low-income status

Data table for Chart B.1



Chart B.1
Median employment income for principal applicants who had a non-university certificate or diploma at admission to Canada in 2010, by educational qualification obtained in Canada between 2010 and 2019, 2019 constant dollars
Table summary
This table displays the results of Median employment income for principal applicants who had a non-university certificate or diploma at admission to Canada in 2010. The information is grouped by Educational qualification obtained in Canada (appearing as row headers), Year, 2011 and 2019, calculated using 2019 constant dollars units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Educational qualification obtained in Canada	Year
	2011	2019
	2019 constant dollars
No Canadian postsecondary qualification	22,900	38,600
Short college program	11,200	45,000
Long college or short university program	11,100	46,300
Bachelor's program or equivalent	9,900	64,700
Master's or doctoral program or equivalent	4,500	60,400
Sources: Statistics Canada, Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB), 2010, Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS), 2009/2010 to 2019/2020 and T1 Family File (T1FF), 2011 to 2019.

Data table for Chart B.2



Chart B.2
Median employment income for principal applicants who had a master's degree or doctorate at admission to Canada in 2010, by educational qualification obtained in Canada between 2010 and 2019, 2019 constant dollars
Table summary
This table displays the results of Median employment income for principal applicants who had a master's degree or doctorate at admission to Canada in 2010. The information is grouped by Educational qualification obtained in Canada (appearing as row headers), Year, 2011 and 2019, calculated using 2019 constant dollars units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Educational qualification obtained in Canada	Year
	2011	2019
	2019 constant dollars
No Canadian postsecondary qualification	20,300	48,500
Short college program	9,100	43,000
Long college or short university program	6,800	45,800
Bachelor's program or equivalent	8,400	58,500
Master's or doctoral program or equivalent	7,200	59,700
Note: Individuals who did not file taxes in 2011 and in 2019 are excluded from this analysis. Sources: Statistics Canada, Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB), 2010, Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS), 2009/2010 to 2019/2020 and T1 Family File (T1FF), 2011 to 2019.

Data table for Chart B.3



Chart B.3
Proportion of immigrants in low income among principal applicants who had a non-university certificate or diploma at admission to Canada in 2010, by educational qualification obtained in Canada between 2010 and 2019
Table summary
This table displays the results of Proportion of immigrants in low income among principal applicants who had a non-university certificate or diploma at admission to Canada in 2010. The information is grouped by Educational qualification obtained in Canada (appearing as row headers), Year, 2011 and 2019, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Educational qualification obtained in Canada	Year
	2011	2019
	percent
No Canadian postsecondary qualification	33.9	13.5
Short college program	50.0	5.4
Long college or short university program	57.1	7.1
Bachelor's program or equivalent	61.1	10.5
Master's or doctoral program or equivalent	Note x: suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act	Note x: suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act
x suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act Note: Individuals who did not file taxes in 2011 and in 2019 are excluded from this analysis. Sources: Statistics Canada, Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB), 2010, Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS), 2009/2010 to 2019/2020 and T1 Family File (T1FF), 2011 to 2019.

Data table for Chart B.4



Chart B.4
Proportion of immigrants in low income among principal applicants who had a master’s degree or doctorate at admission to Canada in 2010, by educational qualification obtained in Canada between 2010 and 2019
Table summary
This table displays the results of Proportion of immigrants in low income among principal applicants who had a master’s degree or doctorate at admission to Canada in 2010. The information is grouped by Educational qualification obtained in Canada (appearing as row headers), Year, 2011 and 2019, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Educational qualification obtained in Canada	Year
	2011	2019
	percent
No Canadian postsecondary qualification	41.2	14.5
Short college program	60.4	11.3
Long college or short university program	60.0	9.3
Bachelor's program or equivalent	61.5	10.3
Master's or doctoral program or equivalent	63.5	12.7
Note: Individuals who did not file taxes in 2011 and in 2019 are excluded from this analysis. Sources: Statistics Canada, Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB), 2010, Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS), 2009/2010 to 2019/2020 and T1 Family File (T1FF), 2011 to 2019.