Newcomers to Canada are receiving better pay. Here’s how much higher—and why.
According to a new survey, recent immigrants who had previously been here on study and work permits earned the highest median entrance wage of $44,600 in 2019, surpassing their Canadian colleagues’ $38,800.
According to a new Statistics Canada report, new immigrants who had previously been here on study and work visas earned the highest media entry wage in Canada in 2019, at $44,600, which was higher than their Canadian peers’ $38,800.
Immigrants entering Canada who have previously worked or studied in the country are more likely to earn more money after they arrive.
This is the suggestion made in a recent analysis detailing the wages of Canadian immigrants in 2019.
Newcomers who had previously been here on study and work permits earned a median entry wage of $44,600, compared to $25,700 for those with no pre-admission Canadian experience.
When it comes to median entrance earnings, these newcomers earned $5,800, or about 15% more than their Canadian counterparts.
Notably, immigrants with only past work permits earned a median entrance wage of $39,300 one year after admission, whereas those with only study permits earned a significantly lower median of $15,100.
Overall, newcomer earnings are rising. Between 2010 and 2019, median salaries increased across all immigration categories and for both men and women.
The annual median wage for male immigrants increased by 10.2 percent, from $32,500 in 2010 to $62,300 in 2019.
Although their female counterparts’ median salary nearly doubled, the increase was only $20,400, from $24,500 to $44,900 over the same period, representing an average 9.3 percent annual increase rate.
According to the survey, those who became permanent residents in 2018 earned the highest median entrance pay among Canadian immigrants in four decades.
The 2018 cohort earned a median annual salary of $31,900 after receiving their Canadian permanent residence, which was 4.2 percent, or $1,300, higher than the immigrants who arrived in 2017 after their first year, the report stated.
Based on the 2020 longitudinal immigration database, researchers examined newcomers’ entry wages by immigration class (economic, family reunification, and refugee), as well as their past studies and job experience in Canada.
Overall, immigrants admitted as principal applicants under the economic categories in 2018 earned a median pay of $43,600 in 2019, which was 12.4% higher than their Canadian peers ($38,800) and 3.8% higher than those admitted in 2017.
Their dependents earned $27,600, which was 7% greater than their contemporaries admitted in 2017 ($25,800).
While the median entrance pay of refugees ($19,200) was the lowest among permanent residents accepted in 2018, it was nevertheless 2.7% higher than the refugees admitted a year earlier ($18,700).
The median entrance wage for family-sponsored immigrants admitted in 2017 and 2018 remained at $24,500.
The report, the first in a two-part series on immigrants’ earnings, is intended to serve as a baseline for measuring the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on newcomers once data on those admitted to Canada in 2019 later becomes available.
The Long-term benefits of studying in Canada
The Statistics Canada study also discovered that, compared to applicants with similar language profiles and pre-immigration Canadian work experience, those with Canadian study experience earned less in the first years than those without, owing to a greater proclivity to pursue further education in the first years after immigrating to Canada.
Despite this, the long-term benefits of studying in Canada were clear. As economic immigrants worked more in the Canadian labor market, pre-arrival factors became less important in explaining the earnings benefits of studying in Canada.
Ten years after immigration, economic immigrants who had studied in Canada earned more than those with Canadian study experience.
According to Statistics Canada, formal education in Canadian learning institutions offers immigrants high-quality occupational skills targeted at the Canadian labor market, as well as an improved capacity to integrate into their Canadian communities’ economies and societies.