Immigrant Born Students In Canada Gain More Degrees Than Local Students

Newly released data shows immigrants in Canada have high aspirations for their children’s academic success.

Recently released statistical data has shown immigrants have been a strong force behind Canada’s status as one of the world’s most educated countries. It seems the vast majority of new arrivals have a degree or its equivalent in order to comply with strict immigration requirements, but immigrant-born students are far more likely to gain university education than Canadian-born young people.

An access for information request to Canada’s Immigration Department sourced the statistics, which indicated 36 per cent of those whose parents were immigrants held university degrees as against 24 per cent of those with Canadian national parents. The data also revealed India and China as the most prolific migrant source countries for parents whose children go on to higher education and degree studies.

An average of 35 per cent of the children of immigrants from Western European states went on to complete university courses, with those from Caribbean countries and Latin America coming in at between 23 to 28 per cent, similar to the percentage of university degrees held by Canadian-born children. Analysis of the data suggests parents’ educational success is a prime factor in ensuring academic success in young adults, as children of highly-educated immigrants tend to follow their parents’ example.

Asian expatriate parents have the highest expectations for their children, encouraging them to study and attain success both at school and at university, whatever their speciality at the higher level. Canadian parents’ score as regards expectations for their children’s educational standards is far lower, as is the encouragement given to persuade them to succeed. The data may explain why provinces such as Ontario are having to resort to expanding their immigrant nominee programmes in order to provide pathways to permanent residence for internationally educated professionals, students and entrepreneurs.