Research and articles
This page contains research reports and policy documents on labour market, integration of immigrants and related topics.
Immigrant labour market outcomes in Canada: The benefits of addressing wage and employment gaps
Royal Bank of Canada
This report from RBC examines the under-utilization of immigrants’ skills in the Canadian labour market. Immigrants continue to face much higher levels of unemployment and lower wages than Canadian-born workers with similar levels of education. RBC estimates that the under-utilization of skills represents an annual wage gap of $30.7 billion and a squandering of Canada’s growth potential. Read more>>
Increasing Cultural Diversity in Canadian Nonprofits
HR Council
The HR Council has developed a three-part series about incorporating the skills of new immigrants and members of visible minorities into nonprofit organizations. The first report addresses the context that makes this process important. The second report addresses challenges and best practices related to recruitment. The third and final report addresses the retention of new immigrants and members of visible minorities.
Downturn, Recovery and the Future Evolution of the Labour Market
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce
This report provides a comprehensive summary of the Canadian labour market as it transitioned from growth to recession and on to recovery. Published by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, it reviews the principal forces that shaped recent labour market and employment trends – changing demographics, globalization and technological innovation. It also outlines the Chamber’s recommendations for employers and policy makers to prepare for the types of changes needed to ensure ongoing economic prosperity in the face of a significantly altered labour market. Read the full report>>
Projections of the Diversity of the Canadian Population
Statistics Canada
With the persistence of low fertility, immigration has become a more prominent component of Canadian population growth, which has resulted in rapid and significant demographic changes in recent decades. The pace of this change varies throughout the country: while very rapid in the largest metropolitan areas, where most newcomers settle, it has remained quite modest elsewhere in Canada. This report presents the results of new projections made by Statistics Canada for Canadian Heritage, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada – the policy departments responsible for the policy-related assumptions of the projections. Read the full report>>
The Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
The “Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications” was developed as a point of reference for the provinces, territories, and the federal government as they work towards improving the processes for assessment and recognition of internationally trained workers’ qualifications. The Framework describes the “ideal steps and processes that governments aspire to build in order to address the current gaps to successful immigrant labour market integration.” Read the Framework >>
The CFIB report: Help Wanted
Canadian Federation of Independent Business
As the Canadian economy moves further into recovery, some pre-recessionary research conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is becoming relevant once again. In 2004, to gain a better understanding of labour shortages among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the CFIB began to use data from its “Your Business Outlook” survey to study long-term vacancy rates. The long-term vacancy rate, defined as the share of positions that remained vacant for at least four months, is a robust measure of vacancy rates that excludes positions that became vacant as a result of temporary circumstances. This issue is poised once more to gain increased attention as tightening labour markets make it more difficult for SMEs to find the workers they need. Read the full report>>
Quality Of Life in Canadian Communities -- Immigration & Diversity in Canadian Cities & Communities
Federation of Canadian Municipalities
This report focuses on trends and issues related to immigration and diversity in 24 of Canada’s largest municipalities by comparing and contrasting three distinct groups: non-immigrants; established immigrants; and recent immigrants. The objectives are to identify strategic issues and challenges facing large and medium-sized municipalities based on statistical trends, and to describe how municipal governments are responding to these issues. Read the full report>>
Ottawa’s performance on the 3Ts of Economic Development -- Benchmarking Project: Ontario Competes
Martin Prosperity Institute
This study benchmarks Ottawa against ten peer regions that were chosen on the basis of size, competitiveness and geographic diversity: Austin, TX, Birmingham, AL, Buffalo, NY, Calgary, AB, Indianapolis, IN, Jacksonville, Fl, Memphis, TN, Raleigh, NC, Richmond, BC and San Jose, CA. These regions examined on a number of indicators that fall into three categories: Technology, Talent, and Tolerance. Read the study>>
Why Do Skilled Immigrants Struggle in the Labor Market? -- A Field Experiment with Six Thousand Résumés
Philip Oreopoulos
This report details the findings from an experiment conducted on the effect of various immigrant characteristics in terms of the likelihood for being invited for an interview. The research examines differences in “call-back rates” for resumes that included ethnically identifiable characteristics and foreign education/work background versus resumes that had no ethnically identifiable characteristics and Canadian or British education/work background. Read the full report>>
