Since the focus of this report is on the labour market integration of new immigrants, the analysis is limited to immigrants who were in the prime working-age group of 25 to 44 years. Immigrants who were aged 15 to 24 or aged 45 or older were excluded in order to remove the effects of students, late labour market entrants and retirees from the analysis.

• Though few immigrants resided in Atlantic Canada, those who did settle there were the most likely to work in their intended occupation. Nearly six in ten of those who worked had employment in an occupation that they intended to enter compared with four in 10 nationally.
• The province of Quebec was the second most popular province of residence for newcomers, but newcomers in Quebec faced a tougher labour market than those residing in other provinces.
• Montréal was the second most attractive destination for newcomers, home to 16,600 recent immigrants. Though most (56%) came under the skilled worker principal applicant category, the proportion of newcomers who had worked was below the national average. In Montréal, 65% of newcomers had worked since their arrival, compared with 80% of all newcomers in Canada.
• Ontario was home to more than half (55%) of new immigrants to Canada. Nearly half of them were skilled worker principal applicants and the vast majority arrived with high levels of education. In fact, nearly three quarters (72%) of immigrants to Ontario were university educated, the highest proportion in the country.
• Toronto was the destination of choice for many newcomers, in fact, 43% of all newcomers called Toronto home. A large majority (84%) of newcomers in Toronto had worked in at least one job since landing, higher than the national average of 80%.
• Ottawa-Gatineau had the highest proportion of university educated immigrants in the country, three-quarters arrived with university education. One half of newcomers who had worked in Ottawa-Gatineau found a job in their intended occupation, this was the highest proportion among any other major urban area in the country.
• Manitoba and Saskatchewan attracted about 2,600 immigrants, many of whom came under the provincial nominee program. The vast majority of immigrants in these two provinces (89%) were able to find employment. Furthemore, of immigrants to Manitoba and Saskatchewan who were able to find work, 82% did so within the first six months. This was the highest proportion in the country.
• The 9,300 newcomers to Alberta made this province the fourth most attractive destination for immigrants to Canada. Most newcomers (88%) worked in at least one job since their arrival, and they generally found their first job soon after arrival.
• Newcomers to Calgary were part of a labour market that has been performing better than the national average. Among Calgary's newcomers, the vast majority (88%) had worked at least one job since landing, this was not only the highest proportion among the major urban areas in the country, but also higher than the national average of 80%.
• The third most attractive province of destination for immigrants was British Columbia. Two thirds of them were university educated, a proportion that is higher only in Ontario. About four fifths of newcomers in British Columbia worked since landing, a proportion that is comparable to the national average.
• Vancouver was home to 14,400 newcomers, two-thirds of whom were university educated. Newcomers in Vancouver faced a difficult labour market which was performing below the national average. Employment rates for immigrants started out low after six months (42%) but improved to 61% by the time they had lived in Canada for two years. This employment rate was nearly the same as the national rate of 63% after two years.

Chart 1
Employment rates of immigrants aged 25 to 44, Canada, provinces or regions

Chart 2
Employment rates of newcomers aged 25 to 44, Canada and selected CMAs