Labour Market Outcome of Immigrants in Canada: A Comparative Analysis of Immigrants’ Earnings in the Major vs Non-Major Immigrant Destinations.

Abstract

The Federal and Provincial Governments' initiative to ensure equal distribution of immigrants in Canada has resulted in a growing number of immigrants residing in the Non-major immigrant destination (MID) Provinces. Yet, little is known about their labour market outcomes compared to immigrants who live in the Major immigrant destination (MID) Provinces. National trends often mask regional trends, which are equally crucial for understanding immigrants’ labour market integration. Using data from the 2016 Canadian Census, this thesis examines this question by comparing the wages of immigrants between the destinations. The Heckman Two-step is employed to study the impacts of educational attainment, language proficiency, foreign credential, and visible minority status on immigrants’ wages separately for females and males. Also, the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition method is employed to examine the extent of racial discrimination faced by visible minority immigrants between the destinations. Findings suggest that immigrants in NMID earn slightly more than their counterparts in MID. Also, varying effects of explanatory variables suggest better economic prospects for immigrants in the NMID provinces. Finally, results highlight the persistence of racial discrimination in the labour markets of both destinations. This paper discusses the implications of findings for policies related to the immigrant settlement.