Canada's Education Revolution: How Immigrants Are Leading the Way
Recent data from Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reveals that racialized immigrants, particularly women, have achieved higher levels of education than ever before in Canada.
Gurmeet Sharma
StatsCan compared census data from 2006 and 2021 to analyze the educational evolution of individuals aged 25 to 64 by racialized group, gender, and immigrant status.
Educational Achievement of Racialized Immigrants in Canada in 2021 The percentage of racialized immigrants aged 25 to 64 with a bachelor's degree or higher has increased by over 14% over the years.
For racialized immigrants admitted to Canada before 2011, this percentage was 41.5%. However, for those admitted between 2011 and 2021, it rose to 55.8%.
In total, 46.4% of all racialized immigrants in Canada held at least a bachelor’s degree in 2021.
You can view the full chart by StatsCan, breaking down these results further by different racialized groups in Canada.
Racialized Women and Recent Immigrants Among Canada’s Highly Educated In 2021, racialized women and recent immigrants were among the most educated in Canada. Recent immigrants are those who arrived in Canada in the 10 years leading up to the 2021 Census.
StatsCan noted that the increase in the education level of racialized immigrant women was greater than that among racialized non-immigrant women.
For instance, between 2006 and 2021, there was a 15.3% increase in the number of racialized immigrant women with at least a bachelor's degree, rising from 31% in 2006 to 46.3% in 2021. In contrast, among racialized non-immigrant women, this increase was only 9.9% over the same period, from 42.1% in 2006 to 52% in 2021.
Reasons for the Surge in Educated Racialized Immigrants in Canada StatsCan suggests that this growth may be attributed, at least in part, to the types of immigration programs attracting recent racialized immigrants.
According to 2021 data, more than half of immigrants aged 15 and older in Canada (53.2%) arrived through an economic immigration program/category.
Of these immigrants, 58.0% arrived between 2011 and 2021, while 50.8% arrived before 2011.
StatsCan highlights that economic immigration categories and programs often require higher education as part of the admission criteria, contributing to the increase in educational attainment among racialized immigrants.
