Immigrant “Quality” in Canada: More Direct Evidence of Human Capital Content, 1956–1994

Abstract

This article provides direct evidence about educational attainments of new arrivals in Canada over the period 1956 to 1994. This evidence is based on immigrants’ educational attainment data obtained from two sources: different population censuses from 1961 to 1986, including those from 1961, 1971, 1981 and 1986; and landing documents of immigrants. Data from these two sources allow an analysis of educational attainment trends over a longer period than that conducted in some other studies and in more depth. Finally, immigrant data are also compared with the educational attainment of the Canadian-born population in corresponding periods. Individuals aged 25 years or older are considered. Results show that, in the total immigrant inflows of any subperiod since 1956, the percentages of those with high school education or less have been declining and have been lower than those for the Canadian-born population, while the percentages of those with university degrees have been rising and have been higher than those for the Canadian-born population. These results contradict the generally held view in Canada that in the post-1967 period, the immigration policy's increased focus on family and refugee classes has resulted in the admission of immigrants who are less educated than those who arrived before 1967. This result indicates that other factors such as discrimination and general economic conditions in the country should be investigated in depth to explain the recently cited decline in the economic performance of Canadian immigrants.