Unlocking Opportunities: Early Immigration & Success in Canada
A recent study conducted by Statistics Canada reveals that immigrants who come to Canada as children are more likely to pursue higher education and achieve better economic outcomes compared to those who arrive later in life.
Gurmeet Sharma
According to the study, this group of newcomers reports higher earnings than all other Canadian tax filers by the age of 25.
Early Settlement, Better Outcomes
Analyzing data from the Longitudinal Immigrant Database, a comprehensive data model tracking long-term immigrant data, researchers found a clear link between the age at which a newcomer is admitted to Canada and their likelihood of pursuing post-secondary education.
For instance, among immigrants who settled in Canada at the age of 4, 77.3% participated in post-secondary education by the age of 20. Similarly, 69.9% of those who settled between ages 5-9 and 61.3% of those who settled between ages 10-14 participated in post-secondary education.
Comparatively, only 59.9% of all Canadian tax filers participated in post-secondary education by the age of 20, indicating significantly higher participation rates among newcomer cohorts.
The study also found that immigrant tax filers admitted to Canada at a young age reported higher earnings compared to the average of all Canadian tax filers in their age group. While initially, immigrants admitted as children had slightly lower median wages than their counterparts between ages 18-24, by age 25, their median wages equaled or surpassed those of all Canadian tax filers in the same age bracket.
By age 30, immigrants admitted to Canada as children had a median wage 17.6% higher than that of all other Canadian tax filers in the same age bracket.
Implications of the Findings
These results indicate a positive correlation between early immigration and both higher education participation and improved labor market outcomes. The study suggests that immigrants admitted to Canada at an earlier age experience better outcomes not only compared to those who arrive later but also when compared to the general Canadian population.
However, the study does not provide reasons for these trends, indicating a need for further research to understand the underlying factors.
This study contributes to existing literature suggesting a positive link between the age of immigrants at the time of admission to Canada and their economic success in the country, spanning short, medium, and long-term outcomes.
It's worth noting that other studies have also highlighted a positive relationship between early immigration and earnings, with younger newcomers benefiting from scoring weightage in systems like the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
