trackitt: latest U.S. immigration news

Contrary to conventional wisdom, immigrants in smaller Canadian cities and rural areas fare better financially than those who flock to Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

Newcomers to small towns earned on average 14 per cent less than native-born residents during their first three years in Canada, a Statistics Canada study released yesterday found. But their big-city peers earned 37 per cent less.

The small-town advantage became more pronounced over time. Not only did the income gap narrow in small urban centres, by the fourth year immigrants earned slightly more on average than the native-born population. By the 11th year, their earnings were 18 per cent above the median.

Big-city immigrants earned 22 per cent less than Canadian-born workers after four years, and almost 10 per cent less after 12 years.

The report suggests that immigrants can settle across the country, said Tom Carter, geography professor at the University of Winnipeg. Read more