Immigrants from Post-Soviet States: Socioeconomic Characteristics and Integration Outcomes in Canada

Abstract

This chapter first provides an overview of the level and characteristics of post-Soviet immigration to Canada. It further examines the labor market outcomes of post-Soviet immigrants relative to other immigrants and the Canadian-born. About 179,000 post-Soviet immigrants came to Canada between 1992 and 2009, and another 55,000 came in the early 2010s. Post-Soviet immigrants were admitted primarily as economic immigrants. The majority of them arrived at prime working ages and were able to speak one of Canada’s official languages. They had a very large advantage in educational attainment over the Canadian-born and other immigrant populations. Compared with other immigrants, post-Soviet immigrants achieved a higher employment rate and a higher share working in highly skilled occupations, although their economic outcomes were not as good as the Canadian-born with the same educational level. Employed post-Soviet immigrants earned significantly less than the Canadian-born with similar sociodemographic characteristics.