Imporatnt Data Sources

1. Imporatnt Data Sources • Census • IMDB • Ethnic Diversity Survey • Longitudinal Survey of immigrants to Canada

2. Canadian Census • The national census is Canada’s largest survey, conducted every 5 years. It gathers demographic, social, and economic information for the population, and provides information for small areas.

3. A brief history of Canada’s census • Canada's first census was initiated by Intendant Jean Talon in 1666. • The census counted a total of 3,215 inhabitants in the colony and recorded their age, sex, marital status and occupation. • Between 1666 and 1871, 98 colonial and regional censuses were conducted. • Gradually, more questions were added to the census. the colony's the colony's

4. A brief history of Canada’s census • Canada was confederated in 1867. Under Section 8 of The Constitution Act of 1867 (formerly The British North America Act), a census was to be taken in 1871 and every tenth year thereafter. • The first national census was conducted in 1871. It counted the population of the four original provinces of Canada: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario

5. A brief history of Canada’s census • Two major changes were made to the 1881 census: all census takers were required to take an oath of secrecy (a pledge still required today). • The census was extended to include British Columbia, Manitoba and PEI.

6. A brief history of Canada’s census • The 1951 Census was the first census to include all ten provinces and two territories (because Newfoundland did not became part of Canada until 1949). • This census also provided information for small areas such as counties, municipalities, cities, towns, etc

7. A brief history of Canada’s census • In 1956, the first nationwide mid-decade census was conducted. • In 1966, the second mid-decade census of the entire country was taken. • 1971 marked the 100th anniversary of the first national census. Under the new Statistics Act, it became a statutory requirement to hold censuses of population and agriculture every five years

8. A brief history of Canada’s census • In 1956, the first nationwide mid-decade census was conducted. • In 1966, the second mid-decade census of the entire country was taken. • 1971 marked the 100th anniversary of the first national census. Under the new Statistics Act, it became a statutory requirement to hold censuses of population and agriculture every five years

9. A brief history of Canada’s census • Before 1971, census was conducted through home visits and interviews. • Self-enumeration (whereby respondents complete their own questionnaire) was introduced in 1971. This method minimized enumerator error and improved data quality; it also helped to address privacy concerns and respondent burden. • Two questionnaires were used in 1971. The "short" form distributed to two-thirds of Canadian households covered the basic population questions and nine housing questions. The "long" form, distributed to the remaining third.

10. A brief history of Canada’s census • The 2001 Census is the most recent available (the most recent census was conducted in May 2006, but only limited data have been released.) • Between May 1 and May 12, 2001, all households received a census questionnaire. An adult in each household is asked to fill in the questionnaire and mail it back to Statistics Canada. • The questionnaire has two versions: the short form was sent to 80% of the household with 7 questions; the long form was sent to 20% of the household, containing the same 7 questions plus 52 additional questions • For 2% of the population, who live in remote areas and on Indian reserves, a census representative completed the questionnaire during a household interview. • Starting with the 2001 Census, StatCan began to provide data for common-law couples (both opposite sex and same sex) with and without children living at home.

11. Census Contents • The questionnaire consists of 10 groups of questions.

12. Group 1 1. Basic population information (Questions 1-6): • Name • Sex • Date of Birth • Marital status • Is this person living with a common-law partner? • Relationship to person 1.

13. Group 2 Activities of daily living (Q7-8) • Does the person have disability? • Does the condition affect the person at school, work, or other activities (transportation, leisure)

14. Group 3 • Socio-cultural information (Q9-23): • Place of birth • Citizenship • Is his person now, or has this person even been, a landed immigrant? • Year of landing • Official language ability (English and French) • Other languages • Language most often spoken at home/ any other languages used on a regular basis in home. • Language first learned at home in childhood and still understand • Ethnicity (of ancestor) • Aboriginal status • Minority status • Indian/First nation status • Treaty Indian/Registered Indian • Religion

15. Group 4 Mobility (Q24-25) • Place of residence one year ago • Place of residence 5 years ago

16. Group 5 Education (Q26-31) • Highest grade of secondary or elementary school attended • Years of education at university • Years of schooling in other institutions (rather than university and secondary schools) • Was the person attending school in the last 9 months? • Certificate/diploma/university ever obtained • Major field of study of the highest degree/certificate/diploma

17. Group 6 Place of birth of parents (Q32) • a new question used to assess socio-economic conditions of second-generation Canadians.

18. Group 7 Household activities (Q33) Last week, how many hours did this person spend (1) doing unpaid housework; (2) looking after children with no pay; (3) providing unpaid care to seniors?

19. Group 8 • Labour market activity (Q34-50) • Hour doing paid work • Unemployment • Job prospect in the next 4 weeks • Is the person looking for employment? • Is the person ready to accept a job? • When did the person last work? • Employer • Type of industry • Occupation • Main activity at work

20. Group 8 (continued) • Labour market activity (Q34-50) • Self-employment • Address of workplace • mode of transportation to work • language most often spoken at workplace/other languages spoken regularly at workplaces • number of weeks worked in 2000 • employment status (FT vs. PT)

21. Group 9 • Income (Q51) • Employment income • Self-employment income • From government income (Old Age Security Pension; Canada or Quebec Pension plan; EI; others) • Other income (dividends; interests; RRSP; child support, scholarships)

22. Group 10 • About dwellings (H1-H8) • Which person pays for the dwelling (rent, mortgage, tax, utilities etc.) • Ownership (rented or owned) • Total number of rooms; number of bedrooms • Year of original construction • Is this dwelling in need of major repair? • Yearly payment of all utilities • Monthly rent • Monthly mortgage/property tax/expected selling price/condominium fees

23. Census Geography • Census Division (CD) • Census Subdivision (CSD) • Forward Sortation Area (FSA) • Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) • Census Agglomeration (CA) • Census Tracts (CT) • Census Dissemination Area (DA) (formerly called Enumeration Areas, EA) • Block Faces

24. Census Geography CD: census division • Each county, regional district, regional municipality is called a CD • In 1996, there were 288 in Canada; 49 in Ontario

25. Census Geography CSD: census subdivision: • these are subdivisions of CD • it refers to municipalities, Indian reserves, and unorganized territories • each city, town and village is a CSD

26. Census Geography FSA: forward sortation area • the first 3 characters of the postal code • each CSD can be divided into many FSAs

27. Census Geography CMA: census metropolitan area • used for a large urbanized core together with adjacent urban/rural areas that have a high degree of economic and social integration with that core • delineated around an urban core having a population of at least 100,000 • once designated as a CMA, it is always a CMA • each CMA consists of one or more CSDs that meet at least one of the following criteria: • the CSD is entirely within the urbanized core • at least 50% of the employed labour force living in the CSD works in the urbanized core • at least 25% of the employed labour force working in the CSD lives in the core

28. Census Geography CA: census agglomeration • used for an urban region of at least 10,000 people • each CA includes one or more CSDs that meet the same criteria as those for CMA • if the population drops below 10,000, that CA is eliminated from the CA program

29. Census Geography CT: census tract • smaller census divisions that form the CSDs in large urban-centered regions • they are defined using the following criteria • has easily recognizable borders • has a population of 2,500-8,000, with a preferred average of 4,000 • with greatest possible social economic homogeneity • has a compact shape • in many cases, a CT is equivalent to a neighbourhood or community

30. Census Geography DA (dissemination area) • smallest census geography, for which census data are disseminated. It is a new census geography, replacing the enumeration area (EA) as a basic unit for dissemination. • composed of one or more blocks. They are uniform in terms of population size, targeted from 400 to 700 persons to avoid data suppression. • DA boundaries respect the boundaries of CSDs and CTs. They mainly follow roads, but may follow other features (such as railways, water features, power transmission lines) • A DA within a DA is formed when the population of apartment or townhouse complexes meets or exceeds 300 persons.

31. Confidentiality • information collected through census is confidential to protect privacy • when data are disseminated to public and researchers: • no name and address are released • only aggregated data are made public • all numbers of rounded randomly upwards or downwards to a multiple of 5 • all areas (DA or CT) with less than 40 persons are suppressed (becoming a zero) • if the data refers to 6-digit postal codes, area with population less than 100 are suppressed

32. Where and how to get census? • download from Stats Can’s website. • from university libraries. • from CERIS • purchase from Stas Can.

33. IMDB (1) 1 What is IMDB? • IMDB stands for Immigration Database. • It is not a single database; it is a system of database consisting of a number of relational databases. • Currently, only 2 databases are available: • landing records for all immigrants who arrived in Canada between 1980 and 2005 • tax files (T1 General) for the immigrants who arrived in Canada between 1980 and 1999 (with a capture rate of 57%) • CIC and Statistics Canada planned to add 5 more databases to the IMDB, (not done yet): • immigration data system overseas • visitors data system • refugee claimant database • T-4 sp (other income) • T-4 sm (income from business)

34. IMDB (2) 2. What variables does IMDB include: • It includes all the variables that are parts of the landing paper and tax return form.

35. IMDB (3) What data has CERIS received? • CERIS has received a number of CDs from Statistics Canada. • One CD contains individual landing records for all immigrants who came to Canada between 1980 and 2005. • The others contain a number of tables derived from tax files, 1980-1997. Each table is a cross-tabulation with 5-6 dimensions.

36. IMDB (4) Tax files have 2 types of tables: Type (1): tables for in-migration toward each province: • In-migration by immigrant class • In-migration by level of education • In-migration by language ability • In-migration by intended occupation • In-migration by country of origin Type (2): tables for out-migration away from each province • Out-migration by immigrant class • Out-migration by level of education • Out-migration by language ability • Out-migration by intended occupation • Out-migration by country of origin

37. IMDB (5) Each table (in both types) provides the following information: • number of immigrants who reported employment income • amount of employment income they reported • number of immigrants who reported self-employment income • amount of self-employment income they reported • number of immigrants who collected welfare • amount of welfare they reported collecting • number of immigrants who collected UI benefit • amount of UI benefit they reported collecting

38. IMDB (6) 4. Limitations of the Data • Although the landing records have a ‘Destination’ variable (usually a municipality), that variable is reliable only at the CMA level, but not reliable at lower levels of geography. • The tax data are not individual records; they are aggregates for groups of immigrants. In its current form, the tax data has a major limitations: • they are grouped by provinces, not by metropolitan cities; • tax data cannot be broken down to CSD, CT and EA levels; • intra-urban geographical analysis cannot be done. • (This is not a technical problem; it is a confidentiality concern)

39. IMDB (7) How to request the data • available only to CERIS-affiliated researchers. • Graduate students can also use the data for their thesis research, but request must be sponsored by their advisor who is a CERIS-affiliated researcher. • the researcher should prepare a one-page description of her/his research project, • Send the one-page description (through e-mail) to the data committee chair. Can I request customized tables? • Yes. you can request special tabulations from Stats Can. • Before you send your request, it is important to prepare a good data structure.

40. Ethnic Diversity Survey (1) Funded jointly by Statistics Canada and Canadian Heritage There are two primary objectives: • to better understand how people's backgrounds affect their participation in the social, economic and cultural life of Canada • to better understand how Canadians of different ethnic backgrounds interpret and report their ethnicity.

41. Ethnic Diversity Survey (2) • The target population are persons aged 15 years or over • Respondents were selected from those who answered the long questionnaires of the 2001 Census. • Responses to the ethnic origin question were divided up to form the two main categories: • CBFA (one third of the sample) • Non-CBFA (two thirds of the sample) • The final sample was 57,242 persons. 42,476 responded. Response rate of 75.6%

42. Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada(1) • Designed to examine the first four years of settlement in Canada • Objectives are two-fold: • study how new immigrants adjust to life in Canada over time • provide information on the factors that can facilitate or hinder this adjustment.

43. Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada(2) Topics covered in the survey: • language proficiency • housing • education • foreign credential recognition • employment • health • values and attitudes • the development and use of social networks • income • perceptions of settlement in Canada.

44. Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada(3) Target population consists of immigrants who • arrived in Canada between October 2000 and September 2001 • aged 15 years or older at the time of arrival • landed from abroad as permanent residents

45. 1996 Core Tables Description • The data set consists of a series of cross tabulations and profiles (123 in total) at various levels of geography: from the whole country to CMA, CTs, and EAs. • The Tabulations are grouped into 3 parts on the basis of geographical scales: • The highest level of geography • Intermediate level of geography • Lowest level of geography

46. Part 1 (Highest-Level)has 4 cross-tabulations with 43 geographical units.

47. Part 2 (Intermediate level) has 123 group profiles for 155 geographical units

48. Part 3 (lowest level) has 4 cross-tabulationsThe first 3 tables are at CT levels; the last is at CT and EA levels.