A Portrait of Early Settlement Experiences: Pre-migration and arrival in Canada

Immigrants have different reasons for leaving their homeland and as a result, arrive in Canada with different resources. They bring with them their individual sets of skills, experiences, and backgrounds – their personal resources – that we can loosely classify as their human capital (i.e. education, employment skills, and language ability); social networks (i.e. friends or relatives in Canada); and financial capital that they have brought with them or left behind.

Newcomers entering Canada for different reasons and with different resources are likely to face different challenges during the settlement process. Thus, to better understand the experiences of newcomers, it is important to know their characteristics. This chapter presents a profile of the immigrants from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC), including immigration category, age, gender, ethnicity and highest level of education attained outside Canada. Specifically, these are the characteristics or traits that the immigrant had at arrival.

Immigration categories

In Canada, immigration is based upon three major streams which broadly correspond to the economic, family reunification and humanitarian or refugee protection objectives. The experiences of immigrants entering the country for economic reasons will differ from those who are coming to reunite with family members or entering as refugees – who may have been forced to leave their homeland. In the analysis of settlement experiences of new immigrants, the category through which they were granted admittance is an important consideration.

Economic category

Immigrants admitted under the economic category are persons who have actively sought to settle in Canada and have presumably prepared themselves for the transition – some may have been recruited. They are selected as individuals but may be accompanied by a spouse and dependant(s). Within the LSIC population, 65,551 (38%) are principal applicants and 47,932 (29%) are spouse or dependants.

Within the economic category there are several sub-categories: skilled workers, provincial and territorial nominees, and business immigrants. Skilled worker principal applicants (SPAs) are those selected based on a number of criteria including their education, language ability and employment skills. These immigrants are deemed to be more likely to succeed in the labour market and contribute to the Canadian economy. It is important to note that economic applicants destined for Quebec are subject to provincial selection criteria which, although different, emphasize similar characteristics.

Provincial and territorial¹ nominees are selected by some provinces and territories for specific skills that will contribute to local economies. Business immigrants (entrepreneurs, investors and self-employed immigrants) become permanent residents on the basis of their ability to become economically established. They must demonstrate that they:

Text Box 2.1

According to the Canada-Quebec Accord, Quebec has selection powers and sole responsibility for integration services. The federal government is still responsible for defining immigration categories, planning levels of immigration and enforcing laws.

With respect to permanent residents, the Canada-Quebec Accord gives Quebec exclusive responsibility for all foreign nationals who are neither members of the family class nor persons whom the Immigration and Refugee Board has determined to be Convention refugees. Those selected by the province receive a document called a Certificat de sélection du Québec. Before issuing visas, the federal government ensures that immigrants meet statutory admission requirements, such as medical and criminal checks.

The ministère des Relations avec les citoyens et de l'Immigration (MRCI) sets criteria for sponsors and assesses sponsors' finances. Case Processing Centres forward sponsorship applications from Quebec residents to the MRCI for approval. Applicants then commit to sponsorship agreements with the province of Quebec.

The Quebec Government also provides settlement and integration services to newcomers to the province. These services include reception, counselling, language training and other services to help newcomers adapt to Quebec society. Often, the provincial government provides them in partnership with community organizations. These services must correspond overall to those provided by the federal government elsewhere in the country.

The LSIC population includes immigrants in all economic categories, but the number of immigrants who were admitted during the specified period in each category may limit the potential for a detailed investigation. Throughout this publication, the economic category is disaggregated into two key components – skilled workers (90%) and other economic immigrants (10%). Hence, within the skilled worker category, it is feasible to analyze principal applicants (SPAs) (60%) and spouse and dependants (SSDs) (40%), respectively.

Family category

The family reunification category is made up of individuals who are joining family members already in Canada. Immigrants are sponsored by a relative in Canada who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and who has taken the responsibility of providing support for their settlement. They account for just over one quarter (27%) of the LSIC immigrants. There are no selection criteria for immigrants admitted under this category.

Refugees

The refugee category is made up of Convention refugees and other refugee-like persons who are deemed to require protection or relief. These persons may not have wanted to leave their country of origin, and may not have had the opportunity to prepare for moving to Canada. Refugees are less likely to have relatives or close friends already in Canada willing to provide support as compared to other newcomers. Resettled refugees landed from abroad as government-assisted and privately-sponsored refugees account for 6% of the LSIC immigrants. The LSIC population does not include, however, persons who made a refugee claim from within Canada.

Other immigrants

Permanent residents not classified in one of the immigration categories listed above are dependants landed from abroad of live-in caregivers³, post-determination refugee claimants⁴ or of members of the deferred removal order class⁵. They account for a small number of immigrants in the LSIC population. This group of roughly 750 immigrants is not large enough to analyze in detail. However, all table totals include these immigrants unless otherwise stated.

Admissibility

It is important to note that the federal government determines whether immigrant and refugee applicants are inadmissible for medical, or security reasons. A visa for permanent residence will not be issued to a person if that person's health is a danger to public health or safety or would cause excessive demand on health or social services. All immigrants and dependants must pass a medical examination prior to coming to Canada . Additionally, access is denied to individuals who have been involved in serious crimes or who pose a threat to Canada 's security, including criminality, or violations of human or international rights⁶.

Gender and age

The overall gender makeup of the LSIC population is 50% male and 50% female. However, there are distinctions by immigration category. For example, as shown in Table 2.1, more males immigrated as skilled worker principal applicants (77%). The opposite is true in the skilled worker spouses and dependents group as well as in the family class where females accounted for 75% and 63% respectively.

At the time of interview, the majority of immigrants were 25-44 years of age (66%) and roughly equal proportions were 15-24 years of age (16%) and 45 years of age and over (17%). Table 2.2 shows that older immigrants account for a greater proportion of the family class group as compared to their proportion in other immigrant groups. Almost two in five immigrants (37%) in the family class were older than 44 years of age while this proportion ranges from 6% to 28% in other immigration groups. On the other hand, it is among refugees that we find the greatest proportion of newcomers aged 15-24 (33%). The skilled worker immigrants are essentially concentrated in the 25-44 age group, specifically in the case of principal applicants (89%).

The immigrating unit refers to the individuals who applied together to immigrate to Canada . In the LSIC, most immigrants arrived in Canada as a family unit⁷ (42%), while 29% arrived alone, 23% arrived as two or more adults without children and 4% arrived as a single adult with children.

The make up of the immigrating unit coming to Canada differed by category. For instance, skilled workers and other economic immigrants were most likely to arrive with two or more adults and children (70%). In contrast, immigrants in the family category were most likely to arrive by themselves (54%) as they joined family members already in Canada.

Country of birth and country of last permanent residence

When looking at the countries of birth of the LSIC immigrants, ten countries account for two-thirds (63%) of the LSIC population⁸. Together, immigrants born in China and India represented more than one-third of all immigrants (20% and 16% respectively) and more than one-half of immigrants originating from the ten most common countries of birth (31% and 25% respectively).

By category, China ranks first as country of birth for economic immigrants (29%) followed by India (26%). For immigrants in the family category, India was by far the most prevalent country of birth (28%), followed by China (12%). As one might expect, regions experiencing war, political unrest or famine dominated the country of birth composition of the refugee category: Afghanistan (23%), Iraq (8%), Iran (8%), Sudan (7%) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (7%).

For almost one-fifth (18%) of immigrants, their country of birth does not match their country of last permanent residence (for more than six months). This proportion ranges from 11% for immigrants in the family category to 17% for economic immigrants, to 64% for refugees⁹.

Ethnic origin and visible minority status

Respondents in the LSIC were asked to identify their ethnic or cultural background. Immigrants were asked: to which ethnic or cultural group(s) do you belong¹⁰? Six in 10 immigrants reported their ethnic origin as East/Southeast Asian (35%) or South Asian (25%), followed by Arab (8%), Eastern European (7%) and West Asian (5%)¹¹.

Immigrants were also asked whether or not they belonged to a visible minority group¹², and where appropriate, respondents were able to identify with more than one group. Four-fifths of the LSIC immigrants identified themselves as a visible minority, 32% identified themselves as South Asian and 28% Chinese, followed by Filipino and Arab (8% for both).

Level of education received outside Canada

Immigration to Canada has undergone a number of rapid and large-scale changes in recent years. In particular, immigrants possess higher skill levels and credentials. For example, data from Citizenship and Immigration Canada's Facts and Figures¹³ show that between 1980 and 2000 the proportion of immigrants arriving with a university degree went from 10% in 1980, to 18% in 1990, to 44% in 2000.

Consistent with Census data for recently arrived immigrants, results from the LSIC also indicate that immigrants are generally well-educated. More than half (55%) of immigrants who arrived between October 2000 and September 2001, had a university degree, while 19% had some post-secondary, trade or college education (Table 2.3). Almost seven in 10 (68%) newcomers in the LSIC population reported having one degree or diploma, while 19% reported more than one.

It is important to remember that immigrants applying to come to Canada within the economic category are assessed against a selection criteria based on factors including: education, work experience, knowledge of English and/or French, etc. As a result, economic immigrants are more likely to be well educated and/or skilled than immigrants in other categories. In the LSIC, 87% of skilled worker principal applicants and 56% of their spouses and dependents arrived in Canada with a university degree, much higher than for immigrants in the other economic, family and refugee categories (30%, 27% and 12% respectively).

By gender, six in 10 male immigrants (62%) and almost half of all female immigrants (47%) arrived in Canada with a university degree, while a slightly higher proportion of females than males arrived with some post secondary, trade or college education (21% and 16% respectively).

The higher proportion of educated males in the LSIC is likely because males dominate skilled worker principal applicants (77%) and are therefore evaluated on their level of education, while a higher proportion of skilled worker spouse and dependents are female (75%), and are admitted based on their partner's qualifications rather than their own. That being said, females in the LSIC population were still highly educated despite being typically admitted as spouse and dependents or under the family category.

Immigrants in the prime working age group arrived with higher levels of education than those aged 45 to 64 years. Almost seven in 10 (69%) immigrants aged 25 to 44 years compared to just over four in 10 (43%) of those between 45 and 64 years arrived with a university degree.

Two-thirds of immigrants arrived with education in a specific field. Just over one quarter (26%) were trained in the field of commerce, management and business administration, 13% in engineering and applied sciences, and 10% in social science and related fields.

The most common field of training for both males and females was commerce, management, and business administration. Males were more likely to be trained in engineering and applied sciences (19%) or in the technical aspects of engineering and applied sciences (12%), while females were more likely to have been trained in the field of education, recreation and counselling service (12%) or social science and related fields (12%). A more detailed discussion on education and training is presented in Building on education and training.

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Pre-migration and arrival in Canada