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Profiling Immigrant Poverty in Canada: A 2006 Census Statistical Portrait

by John Shields, Philip Kelly, Stella Park, Nathan Prier, Tony Fang

Canadian Review of Social Policy, No 65-66 (2011)

Abstract

This study uses 2006 Canadian census data to examine the incidence of poverty in immigrant communities in Canada, both at the national and Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) scales. Using before-tax Low Income Cut-Offs (LICO) as a measure, this analysis dissects the impact of time of arrival, age, marital status, racialization, and geographic setting in describing the Canadian immigrant experience of poverty. More recent immigrants appear to face a comparatively difficult entry into the Canadian labour market, though other factors such as age and marital status complicate this conclusion. Racialization also plays a role in determining the likelihood of poverty among Canadian immigrants, though not across all categories and contexts. Geography is also a key consideration here, where poverty is usually an urban phenomenon, particularly in the major gateway cities. While the overall conclusion is immigrants are more likely to be in poverty than the Canadian-born, this study demonstrates that this is a complex phenomenon with a number of variables that need to be considered.

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