Census 2006
The Census of Canada provides very detailed information about: ethnic and racial background, place of birth, period of arrival, gender, education, skill levels, language use, labour force participation, unemployment rates, class of worker, earnings, occupation and industry of employment. During the course of this project we expect similar data to become available based on the 2006 census. Census data has been widely used in projects related to immigrant labour market access.

A training session on free census data was held in summer 2009. Documents from the training are available here.
Other useful sources of Census data are described here.

Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS)
The 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey included about 42,500 respondents aged 15 and over and provides information on how people's ethnic and racial backgrounds affect their participation in Canada's social, economic and cultural life. In addition to information about place of birth, visible minority status, educational qualifications and work experience at the time of the survey, the EDS provides some information about the ethnic composition of people’s social networks, their experiences of discrimination in the workplace, the ethnic backgrounds of co-workers, and the languages spoken at work.

Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC)
Initiated in 2001, LSIC is a comprehensive survey designed by Statistics Canada to study the process by which new immigrants adapt to Canadian society during the first four years of settlement. It provides exceptionally detailed information about educational qualifications and language fluency upon arrival in Canada, subsequent education, language/job training in Canada, accreditation experiences, and work history. Information can be linked to show how training, work experience in Canada, and the accreditation process, influence employment outcomes. There is also information about use of settlement services that can be linked to employment outcomes. The number of respondents ranges from 12,000 for the first wave to 7,700 for the third wave.

Immigration Database (IMDB)
Managed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Statistics Canada, the IMDB is a system of longitudinal databases that combines records on immigration with employment and taxation activities. The immigration data consists of the landing records for all immigrants who have come to Canada between 1980 and 2005. They provide information on country of birth, country of last permanent residence, year of landing, immigration class, gender, age, educational attainment at the time of landing, Canadian official-language ability, and intended occupation and destination in Canada. The tax files provide information on all sources of income (from paid employment, self-employment, investment, employment insurance, and/or welfare benefits). Together, these databases allow the analysis of labour market behaviour among different categories of immigrants. The IMDB also provides an important profile of the education, skills and other human capital of immigrant populations upon their arrival.

Labour Force Survey (LFS)
The LFS provides up-to-date employment estimates by industry, occupation, public and private sector, hours worked and much more, all cross-classifiable by a variety of demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and marital status. For employees, wage rates, union status, job permanency and workplace size are also produced. Beginning in 2006, additional questions were added to the LFS in order to identify immigrants, recording where they were born, when they landed in Canada and the country in which they received their highest level of education. The LFS provides a large sample and rich information on individual and job characteristics. It can also be used to track individual trajectories in the labour market over a six-month period. The LFS surveyed more than 53,000 households across Canada, more than 15,000 of them in Ontario.

Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID)
The SLID is an ongoing longitudinal survey which interviews each individual over a six-year period. The longitudinal nature of the survey, as well as the extensive data content, provide important information concerning: employment and unemployment, wages, salaries and other earnings, employment insurance, social assistance and other transfers, non-wage benefits, labour mobility, turnover and work absences, unionization and industrial relations, hours of work and work arrangements, occupations, and pension plans and other retirement income programs. The survey includes questions identifying immigrant status, age at immigration, country of birth, year of immigration, mother tongue and visible minority group. It includes 30,000 households across Canada.

Workplace and Employee Survey (WES)
The WES is a file consisting of both employer and employee components and covering a broad range of topics from both the demand and supply side of the labour market. The WES was initiated in 1999 and lasted six years, with 6,322 business respondents and 23,540 employees. The survey contains detailed demographics and labour market information on individual workers, but also information on various workplace characteristics, business strategy, and human resource practices. These practices and strategies include compensation practices, the presence of joint labour-management committees, information sharing programs, use of new technology, training and development, recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, and labour relations. Employees are identified with immigration status and year, language used at home, and ethnic origin.