Transcript Concepts and definitions to identify the stock of international migrants: the Canadian case study Presentation prepared for Joint ECE/Eurostat Seminar on migration statistics, Geneva, March 21-23,

Concepts and definitions to
identify the stock of
international migrants: the
Canadian case study
Presentation prepared for Joint ECE/Eurostat Seminar
on migration statistics,
Geneva, March 21-23, 2005
Outline
• Definitions and data sources:
Statistics Canada’s Immigration and
Ethno-cultural Statistics Program*
• Measuring emigration through survey data:
Statistics from the American Community
Survey**
*
**
Prepared by Kelly Tran and Tina Chui, Statistics Canada
Prepared by Margaret Michalowski and Doug Norris, Statistics Canada; Kevin Deardorff and Betsy
Guzmán, the U.S. Census Bureau
Definitions and Data
Sources
Statistics Canada’s Immigration and
Ethno-cultural Statistics Program
Ways to identify target populations
for migrant statistics – the
concepts


Landed immigrant status
– Landed immigrant
– Non-immigrant
– Non-permanent resident

Citizenship
– Canadian citizen by birth
– Canadian citizen by
naturalization
– Not a Canadian citizen

Place of birth
– Inside Canada
– Outside Canada
Generational status
– First generation
– Second generation
– Third generation and
beyond
What the Census can tell
us – Stock data



Size & origins of the immigrant population, children
of immigrants, citizenship profile and ethnic groups
Settlement & mobility patterns of immigrants over
time
Socio-economic experience of immigrants, adult
children of immigrants as reflected by generational
status, visible minorities, ethnic groups, citizens
Immigrants to Canada are
increasingly from Asia and the
Middle East
Region of birth of immigrants to Canada
100%
U.S.A.
90%
80%
Europe
70%
60%
Asia & Middle
East
50%
Africa
40%
30%
Caribbean & S.
& C. America
20%
10%
Oceania &
Other
0%
Before
1961
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census
1961-1970 1971-1980 1981-1990 1991-2001
About 10% of Nonpermanent residents were
born in the United States
Top ten countries of birth of non-permanent residents
United States
People's Republic of China
South Korea
Japan
United Kingdom
India
Mexico
Total non-permanent residents
198,645
Philippines
France
Hong Kong
0
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
Proportion of first and second
generation increased in 2001
%
80
% population aged 15 and over by generational status
71.9
61.2
1971
60
2001
40
22.4
20
18.8
16.4
9.3
0
1st generation
Source: Statistics Canada, 1971 and 2001 Censuses
2nd generation
3rd generation
The majority of eligible immigrants are
Canadian citizens; naturalization rates
varied by length of time lived in Canada
%
100.0
83.9
Naturalization rates of immigrants by period
of immigration
88.9
85.5
78.7
80.0
57.3
60.0
By birth
40.0
20.0
By naturalization
0.0
Canadian
citizenship
Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census
Total eligible for
naturalization at least 3 years
of residence
4-5 years
6-10 years
11-20 years
20 years or
more
What is the IMDB?




Administrative database of linked immigration files with
taxation files
Designed to address the need for detailed, policyrelevant data on the immigration program
Supported by a federal-provincial consortium, led by the
department of Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC)
Longitudinal: updated annually
– all landed immigrants from 1980-1999 (tracking for 16
years since first filing tax)
– tax data from 1980-2000
What is the LSIC?



A longitudinal survey designed to study how new
immigrants adjust to life in Canada during the initial
years
The same immigrants are tracked during the first 4
years of their settlement in Canada to examine
which factors help or hinder their adjustment
Survey content includes information on many
aspects of the adjustment process including:
employment, education, health, housing – all from
the immigrant’s perspective
What is the EDS?



A survey designed to better understand the ethnic
& cultural backgrounds of people in Canada and
how these backgrounds relate to their lives today
A post-censal survey using the 2001 Census as a
frame for respondent selection
Survey content includes questions on the complex
dimensions of ethnic identification, ethnic ancestry,
sense of belonging, interaction with society and
civic participation
Conclusion




Different concepts capture different
populations of interest
Related concepts are useful for a
comprehensive look at the immigrant
population
More detailed information is also available
from other data sources
Continually working towards internationally
agreed upon or accepted terminology
Measuring emigration
through survey data
The American Community Survey
as a case study for Canada
National data exchanges as a way
to improve emigration statistics



Lack of data on emigration – a major
challenge
Work of the North American Migration
Working Group
The U.S. Census and the American
Community Survey as sources of statistics
on Canadian emigrants
Looking at American immigrants
from the Canadian perspective:
stock data
CANADIAN IMMIGRANTS
in the United States
Em
nt
igra
A. Canadian-born who came from
Canada
B. Canadian-born who came from other
countries
Canada
E m ig
rant
C. Not Canadian-born who came from
Canada
Using different concepts to define
immigrants’ flows to the United
States
Concept
(timing)
Flow’s “origin”
(country)
I
year of entry
country of birth
II
outside the
country x
years ago
country of
residence
Population
(flow)
foreign-born by
year of entry
foreign-country
residents by
over the x
period
Advantages of using “outside the
country residence”: sending
country perspective


More complete coverage of flows originated
in the sending country
Possibility of distinguishing between
emigration of country-born persons and
emigration of country’s immigrants
Since 2000, emigration from Canada to
the United States has been decreasing
Number
(‘000)
120
100
80
113.1
NonCanadian
69.9
60
92.5
NonCanadian
49.6
40
20
Canadianborn
43.2
Canadianborn
42.9
0
1999-2000
American Community Survey estimates
2000-2001
58.1
NonCanadian
23.8
Canadianborn
34.3
2001-2002
… and participation of non-Canadian
born residents of Canada was the main
reason behind the decrease
NonCanadian
born
61.8%
NonCanadian
born
53.6%
1999-2000
2000-2001
NonCanadian
born
40.9%
2001-2002
Emigration
Canada
American Community Survey estimates
the United States
Conclusions



There are a number of feasible methods to
obtain information on emigration from
population censuses
Cross-tabulating information on residence
outside the country x years ago and place of
birth could be the most beneficial to produce
statistics
Usefulness of sharing data across countries
relies upon the understanding of underlying
concepts/terminology