1. Immigration & Ethno-cultural Statistics
Statistics Canada
Calgary & Edmonton, Alberta
December 10 & 11, 2003

2. Increasing focus on immigration & cultural diversity
Increasingly important component of total population growth as well as labour force growth
Continuing cultural diversity, particularly in large urban areas
Economic situation of recent immigrants

3. Key Immigration & Ethno-cultural Data Sources
Census of Population
Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB)
The Longitudinal Administrative Databank (LAD) & IMDB
Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC)
Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS)
Other household surveys

4. Census of Population

5. Census of Population Long history of questions on: place of birth
citizenship
year of immigration
In 2001, questions added on birthplace of parents, religion and language of work

6. Census of Population Ethno-cultural characteristics Education
(ethnic origin, visible minority status, languages, etc.)
Education
Labour force activity
Occupation
Income

7. What Census Data Tell Us
Size & origins of the immigrant population, children of immigrants, ethnic groups, etc.
Settlement & mobility patterns of immigrants and ethnic groups over time
Labour market experience of immigrants, adult children of immigrants, visible minorities, ethnic groups

8. Data Availability: 2001 Census
2001 Census Analysis Series
Thematic maps
Multimedia presentation: 100 years of immigration
Highlight tables, Canadian Overview Tables, etc.
Community Profiles
Profiles of immigrant groups, ethnic origins, visible minority groups and religions
Core tables for the Metropolis Project

9. Advantages of Using Census Data
More than 100 years of historical data
Detailed information on birthplaces, ethnic origins, visible minority groups, languages, etc.
Data available for small geographic areas
Wide range of socio-cultural and economic variables can be used in analysis

10. Limitations of Census Data
Not longitudinal – cannot follow the same respondents over time
No year of arrival information
(asks the year landed immigrant status was obtained)
No immigration program information
(e.g. categories of admission; selection characteristics)
Outcome measures, rather than process

11. Longitudinal Immigration Database

12. What is the IMDB?
Administrative database of linked immigration files with taxation files
Longitudinal: ; updated annually
All landed immigrants from
Tax data from
Up to 16 years of information
Supported by a federal-provincial consortium, led by Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC)

13. Contents of the IMDB
Designed to address the need for detailed, policy-relevant data on the immigration program
Content includes:
Demographic data & characteristics of landing
Program & selection information
Detailed income data over time
Geographic location over time

14. Contents of the IMDB (continued)
From the immigration portion – primarily used as independent variables in analysis
Demographic data
Program & selection information
Personal attributes at time of landing
Province of original destination

15. Contents of the IMDB (continued)
Selected fields from T1:
Employment earnings
Income from self-employment
Employment insurance
Welfare benefits (from 1992)
Investment income
Geographic location for each tax year
SIC(80) from T4 based on dominant earnings

16. What the IMDB tells us?
Link between immigrant policy levers (e.g., selection criteria) and economic outcomes
Labour market behaviour of different categories of admission of immigrants over time
Secondary inter-provincial & inter-urban migration of immigrants
Potential information on immigrant children

17. IMDB: Access & confidentiality
Condition of linkage approval – no public access to microdata
Access restricted to the IMDB project team
Only aggregated data released outside STC
All data randomly rounded
Screened for confidentiality

18. IMDB: Products Compendium Tables Standard Summary Tables
Ad hoc requests

19. What isn’t in the IMDB? No comparison or reference group
No family/household information
No information on skills, education, and language abilities acquired after landing

20. What is the Longitudinal Administrative Databank (LAD)
Longitudinal sample of individuals (20% of tax-filing Canadians, sampled from T1 Family File)
Contains over 270 variables relating to these individuals and their families
Presently spans 19 years ( ); update as additional years become available

21. Contents of the LAD Individual demographics Family demographics
age, sex, marital status
Family demographics
type of family, number & age of children
Geography
Province/territory, city, town, postal code, census geography (CMA, CD, CT)
Income variables
Employment income, investment, transfer payments, other income

22. LAD & IMDB Match by SIN, all immigrant tax-filers to the LAD sample
Result, 20% of immigrants
Data are weighted to produce estimates
17 key immigrant variables retained

23. LAD & IMDB: access & confidentiality
Controlled access
Very limited access to microdata
Confidential data must remain on-site
Secure physical environment
Rules to prevent disclosure
Addition of noise, suppression, dominance, residual disclosure avoidance, rounding

24. What LAD & IMDB tell us? 19 years of data Low income measure (LIM)
Family information from T1FF
Census family & SLID census family
Comparison group of all tax-filers
Child tax benefit information
QC tax estimates

25. Questions on IMDB, LAD & IMDB
Heather Dryburgh
Manager, Longitudinal Immigration Database
(613)
Client Services:

26. Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada

27. Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada
Survey Objectives:
to study how new immigrants adjust to life in Canada over time
to provide information on the factors that can help or hinder this adjustment

28. LSIC Target population and sampling frame
Target population includes immigrants who:
arrived in Canada between October 2000 and September 2001
landed from abroad
Are age 15 and over
About 165,000 immigrants meet these criteria
Sampling frame
Administrative database provided by Citizenship and Immigration Canada

29. LSIC Survey Timelines
Longitudinal – 3 interviews – approximately 6 months, 2 years and 4 years after arriving in Canada
Wave 1: April 2001 to March 2002
Wave 2: December 2002 to November 2003
Wave 3: October 2004 to September 2005

30. LSIC Survey Design
Computer assisted interviewing (CAI), face-to- face interview environment
Average household visit of 90 minutes
Interviews are conducted in 15 different languages
The longitudinal respondent is the unit of analysis; 12,000 individuals interviewed in Wave 1

31. LSIC Questionnaire Content
Socio-demographic information (Wave 1 only)
Reasons for coming to Canada (Wave 1 only)
Social interactions
Language skills
Housing
Education
Employment
Health

32. LSIC Questionnaire Content (continued)
Values and attitudes
Citizenship
Perceptions of settlement
Income
Event history analysis for housing, employment & education experiences since arrival
Problems encountered, type of help needed & sources of help received

33. LSIC Data Outputs
A major release in Statistics Canada’s The Daily, accompanied by an analytical report of results & tables – September 4, 2003
Joint STC-CIC publication – Winter 2004
Production of a set of standard tables
Master microdata files for Research Data Centres
Remote data access and custom tabulations

34. Senior Project Manager
Questions on LSIC
Tracey Leesti
Senior Project Manager
(613)
Client Services or

35. Ethnic Diversity Survey

36. Ethnic Diversity Survey
Survey Objectives:
to provide information on the ethnic & cultural backgrounds of people in Canada and how these backgrounds related to their lives today
To better understand how Canadians of different ethnic backgrounds interpret and report their ethnicity
Target population:
Population aged 15 and over living in private dwellings in the 10 provinces, excluding Indian Reserves and Aboriginal

37. EDS Sample design & selection
Two-phase stratified design
Phase I: 2001 long census questionnaires (one-in-five households in Canada)
Phase II: Selected a sample of respondents from the Census according to specific characteristics
Sample selection:
Divided the Census population into groups according to the responses to the following three questions:
Ethnic origin
Birthplace of respondent
Birthplace of parents
Total of 15 strata; random selection within each strata

38. EDS Interviews
57,000 persons selected to be interviewed (no proxy reporting) between April and August 2002
Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing, approximately 35 minute interviews
Interviewed in 9 different languages
42,500 people were interviewed

39. EDS Content Modules & Themes
Entry
Ethnic self-Definition
Respondent & Family Background
Knowledge & Use of Language
Family Interaction
Social Networks

40. EDS Content Modules & Themes (continued)
Civic Participation
Interaction with Society
Attitudes
Trust & Satisfaction
Socio-economic activities
Who answered 2001 Census questionnaire

41. EDS Potential Research Areas
Unpacking Ethnicity
Discrimination & Unfair Treatment
Socio-economic Status
EDS
Social Capital
Social Networks
Participation in Society
Transnationalism
Transmission of Culture & Language

42. EDS Products
Official release in Statistics Canada’s The Daily – September 29, 2003
Analytic article: Ethnic Diversity Survey: Portrait of a multicultural society
Analysis file for Research Data Centres
Possible Public Use Microdata File in 2004

43. Immigration & Ethno-cultural Statistics
Questions on EDS
Jane Badets
Immigration & Ethno-cultural Statistics
(613)
Client Services:

44. Other Household Surveys

45. Other household surveys
Immigration questions are included on most household surveys….but immigrant samples tend to be small.
Canadian Community Health Survey
Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics
Youth in Transition Survey
Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey

46. Questions? Immigration & Ethno-cultural Statistics
Housing, Family & Social Statistics Division
Statistics Canada
Jane Badets Tina Chui
Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa, Ontario
(613) (613)