Introduction

Canada boasts about being a multi-cultural mosaic, a land of opportunity, with a vision to build “a stronger Canada – a safe and secure country with a shared bond of citizenship and values; a country that continues to support our humanitarian tradition and draws the best from the world to help build a nation that is economically, socially and culturally prosperous” (Government of Canada, 2011). Yet a look at the income statistics for Canadian immigrants makes one wonder whom is prospering economically. Are Canadian immigrants given equal economic opportunity when they arrive here, or are they subject to economic inequality?

To answer this question, one can first look at earnings statistics and reports from Statistics
The 2006 Census report on earnings and incomes of Canadians noted that the income gap between recent immigrants and Canadian-born workers has continually widened, with immigrant men earning 63 cents per every dollar received by Canadian-born men, and immigrant women earning 56 cents per every dollar received by Canadian-born women (Statistics Canada, 2009).

With statistics like this, why would anyone want to immigrate to Canada? In a 2005 study of immigrants to Toronto, Ontario, in which new citizens were interviewed about their personal immigration experiences, found that “based on Canada’s [immigration] point system, these ….. immigrants believed their foreign skills would be valued and recognized in Canada, however their post-migration experiences involve high levels of unemployment and underemployment. Participants remark on the discrepancy between the selection/admission process and the employment process in Canada” (Somerville & Walsworth, 2010).

When immigrants come to Canada expecting to get into a career that is related to their education, only to find that their education means nothing, they have two options: one, find a job at any place that will hire you so you can earn a living, and two: upgrade your education. The second option is one that many new immigrants opt for, particularly highly skilled immigrants. Immigrants who previously worked in professional occupations, such as