Interview:
Brahim Boudarbat and Maude Boulet


Policies and market integration

Last month, CIRANO published a report documenting the challenges immigrants confront integrating into the Quebec labour market. Publication of this report received widespread media coverage throughout Quebec and Canada.
The Web overview of CIRANO’s activities related to the issue of immigration contains the following elements:
  • In an interview, Brahim Boudarbat and Maude Boulet explain that immigrants struggle to integrate into the Quebec labour market


despite the fact that Quebec is one of the most hands-on provinces in terms of immigration policy. They conclude that all stakeholders in the labour market – employers, immigrant employees, and governments – must do their part for integration to succeed.
  • The table on the left presents key data from the study for each region of origin of immigrants to Quebec;

  • Two previous CIRANO reports on the issue of immigration and the labour market: Qualification et immigration : réforme de la grille d’admission du Québec et composition de la population d’immigrants s’établissant au Québec (by Daniel Parent and Christopher Worswick) and La pénurie de travailleurs qualifiés (by Claude Montmarquette and Laure Thomas)


Regional data on immigration
États-Unis, Europe septentrionale et occidentale
Québec
Ontario
B.C.
Employment rate in 2006
All immigrants
University graduates
Unemployment rate in 2006
All immigrants
University graduates
Regional weight
All immigrants
Recent immigrants (2001–2006)
84.1 %
84.3 %
82.5 %
89.0 %
87.4 %
86.1 %
4.3 %
3.2 %
4.7 %
2.7 %
2.2 %
3.6 %
15.5 %
18.8 %
26.3 %
11.2 %
5.8 %
9.9 %
Immigrant participation in the labour market
All immigrants
Post-secondary degrees
Level of education