NB-IRDT Immigrant Retention Series
Permanent URI for this collection
New Brunswick has been identified as having the lowest rate of immigrant retention. These reports identify some of the factors influencing retention rates in NB.
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Immigrant retention in New Brunswick: Results from BizNet and Citizen Database(New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training, 2019) Leonard, Philip; McDonald, Ted; Miah, PabloHow many immigrants typically land in New Brunswick? And how many stay? In an effort to boost the population and economy of New Brunswick, the provincial government has invested many resources in attracting and retaining immigrants. One such initiative is the Provincial Nomination Program (PNP), which accelerates the immigration and Permanent Resident application process for skilled workers and immigrants (and their family members) with experience in business. In this report, researchers from the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training (NB-IRDT) use linked data from BizNet and the Citizen Database to investigate the number of landings (2001-2017) and retention rates (2005-2017) of immigrations in New Brunswick, focusing in particular on immigrants who arrived through the PNP. Results show that the number of Provincial Nominees has been steadily rising since 2005, reaching over 950 a year in 2017. Meanwhile, of the Nominees in New Brunswick long enough to receive a Medicare number, 75% remain in province one year later; 60% remain 3 years later, and less than 50% remain 5 years later. Report findings indicate that New Brunswick retains approximately 64% of targeted immigrants through the PNP. Findings also show that the largest number of Provincial Nominees has consistently come from China, though the number from the Philippines has been increasing rapidly since 2016. Immigrants from the Philippines also have the highest retention rates. Future updates to the Citizen Database and BizNet datasets will make it possible to analyze retention rates of applicants through the Atlantic Immigration Pilot as well.Item Immigrant retention in New Brunswick: An analysis using linked federal-provincial administrative data(New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training, 2021-07) McDonald, Ted; Miah, PabloThe Government of New Brunswick (GNB) has identified immigration as a key strategy for addressing stagnant population growth and a shrinking labour force. GNB invests significant resources and efforts to attract more immigrants to the province and retain them. However, to understand if current policies are effective or need to be altered, it is important to know the retention rates of immigrants arriving in New Brunswick and which factors influence these rates. In 2019, NB-IRDT released a report titled “Immigrant retention in New Brunswick: Results from BizNet and Citizen Database” (Leonard et al.), in which data from Biznet (the Provincial Nominee Program database) and the Citizen Database (Medicare registry) were used to estimate the retention rates of immigrants who arrived through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). The current study provides an update and extension to the 2019 report with the objective of using matched federal data from the Permanent Resident Landing File of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Citizen Database to estimate the retention rates of all immigrants who intended to arrive in New Brunswick (NB). As such, this study investigates - which streams of immigrants have higher retention rates, - factors influencing the decision to leave NB, and - retention rates for immigrants in the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP) program. It also examines retention rates for PNP and immigration streams within PNP using data from Immigration New Brunswick (previously BizNet) and the Citizen Database for additional granularity in settlement streams not available in the IRCC data. These databases have been matched through the Department of Health using the name, gender, and birthdate of individuals; stripped of any personal identifiers (e.g., addresses); and pseudonymized (de-identified) before being sent to NB-IRDT.Item Immigrant Retention in New Brunswick: 2019 and 2020 Arrival Cohorts(New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training, 2022-11) McDonald, Ted; Miah, Pablo; Mokhtar, RawiaThis report is the first in a series of annual updates on immigrant retention in New Brunswick each year. These reports provide an overview of NB immigration retention patterns since the previous reporting period. These periodic updates on immigration trends can guide public policy concerned with strategies to attract immigrants and ways to retain established immigrant populations. The current study, which includes data on immigrant cohorts that landed in 2019 and 2020, provides an update to the immigrant retention results released by NB-IRDT in 2021 (McDonald & Miah, 2021), which only included data until 2018.Item Immigrant income and labour market outcomes: 2006 - 2015 cohorts(New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training, 2021-06) Boco, Eton; Emery, Herb; McDonald, Ted; Mokhtar, RawiaOne of the central goals for the province of New Brunswick (NB) is to boost economic development by increasing labour market participation, and immigration is key to this plan. NB is faced with many demographic challenges, including an aging population, slow population growth, and the out-migration of its younger workers. All these issues have a negative impact on the provincial economy, which in turn is faced with the fiscal challenges of a shrinking tax-base and decreasing workforce. The Government of New Brunswick (GNB) has implemented many immigration programs, all with the expectation that immigrants will play a vital role in remedying these challenges while benefitting from participation in and contribution to the culture and labour market of NB. However, while NB has successfully welcomed a growing number of immigrants over time, there is still a need to retain the immigrants who land here. Immigrant retention poses a challenge for the province’s goal of population growth, as a substantial number of immigrants choose to leave the NB years after landing. In 2019, the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training (NB-IRDT) examined the retention of immigrants arriving through NB’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) – one of the many immigration streams implemented by GNB to boost immigration in NB. Researchers found that just about half of PNP immigrants destined for NB were still living in the province five years after arriving. These findings raise further questions, such as, “Who decides to stay? Who decides to leave? And what factors influence these decisions?” Understanding the experiences of immigrants residing in NB may help the province address challenges related to immigrant retention, and since there is a well-established link between mobility and economic opportunity, focusing on the economic experiences of immigrants in NB may shed light on a correlation between experiences and retention. To this end, this report examines the economic outcomes and retention rates of immigrants in NB to investigate trends and determinants of income and retention. With the goal of contributing to evidence-based assessments of provincial immigration policies and efforts, it presents detailed descriptive and empirical evidence on the evolution of immigrant retention and immigrants’ post-landing labour market experiences. This report has five aims: To show changes in the economic and demographic profiles of NB immigrants over time To show how NB’s major cities – Moncton, Saint John, and Fredericton – are doing at retaining immigrants destined for them To show which characteristics are associated with immigrants performing better (i.e., earning more) in the NB labour market To consider whether those with pre-admission time spent in NB on a work or study permit or with asylum claims have an advantage over those who had none before landing as permanent residents To show correlations, if any, between retention and economic success in the form of employment income for immigrants in NB