Overall Quality of Life is Better in Canada Than Home Country for Majority of Ethnic and New Canadians

Toronto, ON - A new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on the newly launched Multicultural Connection Panel finds that ethnic and new Canadians view overall quality of life as better in Canada compared to their home country. Nearly nine-in-ten ethnic and new Canadians feel overall quality of life in Canada is better than their home country (86% with 44% much better in Canada and 42% somewhat better in Canada). One-in-ten believe quality of life is about the same between the two countries (9%) and only 5% believe the opposite is true - quality of life is somewhat better in their home country.

Despite a better overall quality of life, ethnic and new Canadians view their social life and job opportunities less favourably. Specifically, the poll finds that four-in-ten ethnic and new Canadians consider their social life to be better in their home country than in Canada (42% with 15% much better in home country and 27% somewhat better in home country). This is compared to three-in-ten who have a better social life in Canada (28% with 13% much better in Canada and 15% somewhat better in Canada). A significant minority view their social life to be the same in both countries (30%).

Views are split for job opportunities. Slightly more than one-third think job opportunities are better in Canada (39% with 18% much better in Canada and 21% somewhat better in Canada), while an similar percentage believe there are better job opportunities in their home country (36% with 9% much better in home country and 27% somewhat better in home country). One-quarter feel there is no difference between Canada and their home country when it comes to job opportunities (25%).

"Immigrants come to Canada seeking a better life for their family and children. Though quality of life (i.e., air, environment) is perceived to be better in Canada compared to their home country, there is still disappointment with job opportunities. Recent immigrants to Canada are well-educated with professional degrees, and have extensive skills and work experience. More companies need to create or participate in programs to hire these new Canadians who are able to make an immediate contribution to the Canadian economy. They are our solution to Canada's rapidly aging workforce, which we risk losing to reverse immigration back to their home countries," says Patricia Simmie, Executive Vice-President at Ipsos Reid in Toronto.

These views are similar across various demographic subgroups: gender, household income, and province (British Columbia vs. Ontario). However, a few differences between population subgroups exist. In particular, South Asians are more likely than Chinese to view aspects of life in Canada positively compared to their home country:

• South Asians are more likely than Chinese to feel overall quality of life is much better in Canada than their home country (62% vs. 37%);
• South Asians are more likely than Chinese to view their social life as better in Canada than their home country (48% vs. 21%); and,
• South Asians are more likely than Chinese to consider job opportunities to be better in Canada than in their home country (71% vs. 27%).

As well, those who have lived in Canada less than 10 years are more likely to view their social life as better in their home country than in Canada (56% vs. 35% of those who have lived in Canada for more than 10 years).

The Multicultural Connection Panel allows ethnic and new Canadian respondents to conduct online surveys in multiple languages including Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Punjabi, Hindi and English. This panel is housed in Ipsos Reid's Interactive Forum (IAF) software which is a custom panel platform. The panel offers marketers the opportunity to reach Canada's growing segment of ethnic and new Canadians at a fraction of the cost of traditional research with this population.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid study fielded from November 24 to December 1, 2008 and from March 11 to March 31, 2009. This online survey of 329 adult ethnic and new Canadians was conducted using Ipsos Reid's proprietary "Multicultural Connection Panel" - an online panel of more than 3,000 ethnic and new Canadians including: African Canadian, Chinese, East Asian, Latin American, South Asian, South Pacific, Southeast Asian, West Asian/ Arabian/Middle Eastern, and West Indies. Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online studies of this nature, however, an unweighted probability sample of this size, with a 100% response rate, would have an estimated margin of error of 1775.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Patricia Simmie
Executive Vice-President
Ipsos Reid
(416) 324-2007
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid

Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, health and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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