Period of immigration

Part A - Short definition:

Not applicable

Part B - Detailed definition:

Period of immigration refers to the period in which the immigrant first obtained his or her landed immigrant/permanent resident status.

A landed immigrant/permanent resident is a person who has been granted the right to live permanently in Canada by immigration authorities. Some immigrants have resided in Canada for a number of years, while others have arrived recently. Some immigrants are Canadian citizens, while others are not. Most immigrants are born outside Canada, but a small number are born in Canada. In the 2011 National Household Survey, 'Immigrants' includes immigrants who landed in Canada prior to May 10, 2011.

Reported in:

2011

Reported for:

Persons in private households who are, or have ever been, landed immigrants

Question number(s):

Derived variable: Question 12

Responses:

Ranges of years for the years 1901 to 2011.

For the immigrant population, period of immigration is derived from Year of immigration (Question 12).

Typically, single years of immigration are collapsed to form larger categories of five or ten years.

Remarks:

Respondents who answered 'Yes' to the landed immigrant status question (Question 11) were asked to answer the year of immigration question (Question 12) by reporting the year in which they first obtained landed immigrant status. Persons who were unable to give the exact year of immigration were asked to give the best possible estimate. People who immigrated to Canada more than once were to report the year in which they first received landed immigrant status.

Some immigrants have resided in Canada for a number of years, while others have arrived recently. In the 2011 National Household Survey, 'Immigrants' refers to immigrants who landed in Canada before the reference date, May 10, 2011.

Respondents who answered 'No' to Question 11 will not have gone through the immigration process and, thus, did not have to answer the year of immigration question (Question 12). These people include Canadian citizens by birth (non-immigrants) and non-permanent residents. A non-permanent resident refers to a person from another country who is living in Canada on a work or study permit or as a refugee claimant, and any foreign-born family member living with him or her.

For further information on immigrants, non-immigrants and non-permanent residents, refer to Figures 1.5 and 1.6.

For more information on the other immigration variables, refer to the definitions for Immigrant status and Year of immigration.

For additional information on the collection and dissemination of period of immigration data, refer to the Place of Birth, Generation status, Citizenship and Immigration Reference Guide, National Household Survey, 2011.