Effects of selection criteria and economic opportunities on characteristics of immigrants

This study examined the characteristics of immigrants arriving in Canada from the United States and the United Kingdom, focussing on those admitted under the skilled worker category. The analysis found that individuals leaving for Canada are the more highly educated members of these countries. The characteristics of immigrants arriving in Canada reflected both the Canadian selection process and the characteristics of those who decided to apply to come.

Although the analysis indicated that for both of these source countries more educated individuals were more likely to be observed as emigrants to Canada, it also showed that higher educated individuals from the United States were less likely to apply and that the opposite was the case for migrants from the United Kingdom. This reflects the economic opportunities available in these countries to the highly skilled relative to those available in the Canadian labour market. It also reflects the workings of the immigration selection process in determining who from the pool of available candidates ultimately comes to Canada.

The research paper Effects of selection criteria and economic opportunities on characteristics of immigrants, no. 182 (11F0019MIE, free) is now available on Statistics Canada's Web site (http://www.statcan.gc.ca). From the Our products and services page, choose Research papers (free), then Social conditions.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Abdurrahman Aydemir (613-941-6367), Family and Labour Studies Division.