Results from the 2016 Census: earnings of immigrants and children of immigrants in official language minority populations

This study uses data from the 2016 Census in order to examine the employment earnings of individuals with an immigrant background (i.e. immigrants and children of immigrants) who are part of official language minorities in Canada. Two groups are examined: those with French as their first official language spoken (FOLS) living in Canada outside Quebec, and those with English as their FOLS living in Quebec. In this study, comparisons are made with groups belonging to the linguistic majority.

Findings include: (1) in Canada outside Quebec, immigrants and the children of immigrants together accounted for 19 per cent of the French-speaking population aged 25 to 59 in 2016; in Quebec, immigrants and the children of immigrants represented 65 per cent of the English-speaking population in the same age group; (2) nearly one-half (47 per cent) of French-speaking immigrants in Canada outside Quebec and 39 per cent of those living in Quebec were from African countries; English-speaking immigrants were mainly from Asian countries, in both Canada outside Quebec (56 per cent) and in Quebec (39 per cent); (3) in all linguistic groups, immigrants had lower earnings than individuals from the third generation or higher, and the children of immigrants had earnings that were closer to those of individuals from the third generation or higher (individuals whose parents were both born in Canada); (4) in Canada outside Quebec, French-speaking people with an immigrant background (immigrants and children of immigrants) had similar or higher earnings than their English-speaking counterparts; and (5) in Quebec, English-speaking children of immigrants, as well as those from the third generation or higher, generally had lower earnings than their French-speaking counterparts.

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