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Place of Birth, Generation Status, Citizenship and Immigration Reference Guide, 2006 Census

Catalogue no. 97-557-GWE2006003

Definitions and explanations of variable concepts

The census collects a wealth of information on the backgrounds of people living in Canada, including information on their place of birth, their parents' places of birth, their citizenship and their immigrant status. This information provides a portrait of both the Canadian-born and foreign-born populations of Canada.

Portraits of the Canadian-born population may include data on province or territory of birth, multiple citizenship, place of birth of father and mother, and generation status (that is, 1st generation, 2nd generation or 3rd generation or more).

Portraits of the foreign-born population may include data on country of birth, country of citizenship, immigrant status (immigrant or non-permanent resident), period of immigration, age at immigration and place of birth of father and mother.

As well, birthplace and immigration-related variables are often used in conjunction with age, sex, language, visible minority, labour and income variables to paint a picture of the linguistic and cultural diversity and socio-economic successes of both the Canadian-born and foreign-born populations.

The following variables, as defined in the 2006 Census Dictionary, have been created from data collected in the place of birth, generation status, citizenship and immigration questions asked in the census on May 16, 2006:

• Place of birth of respondent
• Citizenship
• Landed immigrant status, including Non-immigrant population, Immigrant population and Non-permanent resident
• Year of immigration and Period of immigration
• Age at immigration
• Place of birth of father and Place of birth of mother
• Generation status

Questions

2006 Census data on place of birth, generation status, citizenship, and immigration were obtained from various questions on the 2006 Census Form 2B questionnaire, which was used to enumerate a 20% sample of all private households in Canada.

For persons living in private households on Indian reserves, Indian settlements and in remote areas, data were collected using the 2006 Census Form 2D questionnaire. The questions asked on the Form 2D questionnaire were the same as on the 2B questionnaire, although respondents living on Indian reserves were instructed to skip the questions on citizenship, landed immigrant status and year of immigration.

While some place of birth, generation status, citizenship, and immigration variables were created from direct questions on the 2B and 2D questionnaires, others were derived from information collected over two or more questions. Specifically:

• Place of birth: Question 9
• Citizenship: Question 10
• Landed immigrant status, including the non-immigrant, immigrant and non-permanent resident populations: Question 11
• Year of immigration and Period of immigration: Question 12
• Age at immigration: derived from the questions on year of birth (Question 3), year of immigration (Question 12) and estimated month of immigration
• Place of birth of father and place of birth of mother: Questions 25(a) and 25(b)
• Generation status: derived from the place of birth of respondent (Question 9), place of birth of father (Question 25[a]) and place of birth of mother (Question 25[b]).

Users should note that the place of birth of father, place of birth of mother and generation status variables are available only for the population 15 years and over. The population under age 15 was not asked Questions 25(a) and 25(b) as the primary purpose of data collected in the place of birth of parents questions is to assess the labour market and socio-economic outcomes of adult children born in Canada to foreign-born parents.

Information on the historical comparability of the 2006 Census place of birth, generation status, citizenship, and immigration questions with those asked in earlier censuses are provided in the section of this document entitled 'Historical comparability'.

Classifications

Data from the place of birth, citizenship, immigrant status, year of landing and place of birth of father and mother questions are used to produce summary and detailed variables which provide a portrait of both the Canadian-born and foreign-born populations of Canada.

Please refer to the tables accessible from the 'Data' section of this document to view the specific classifications created for these variables in 2006 Census standard and specialized data products. A full list of countries of citizenship collected in the 2006 Census and a comparison of places of birth disseminated in the 2006, 2001 and 1996 censuses are also available in the 2006 Census Dictionary appendices.

Data

2006 Census

• Highlight tables, 2006 Census
• Topic-based tabulations, 2006 Census
• Profiles at each level of geography, 2006 Census
  • Cumulative profile and release components
  • Print profile series ($)
  • 2006 Community Profiles
  • Census Tract (CT) Profiles, 2006 Census
  • Aboriginal population profile
  • Federal electoral district (FED) profile
  • Special interest profiles

• Census Trends, 2006 Census

2001 Census

• Highlight tables, 2001 Census
• Topic-based tabulation, 2001 Census
• Profiles at each level of geography, 2001 Census

1996 Census

• The Nation Tables
• Profiles at each level of geography, 1996 Census

Suppression of Citizenship and Immigration data on Indian reserves and Indian settlements

Persons living on Indian reserves and Indian settlements who were enumerated with the 2006 Census Form 2D questionnaire were not asked the questions on citizenship (Question 10), landed immigrant status (Question 11) and year of immigration (Question 12). Consequently, citizenship, landed immigrant status and period of immigration data are suppressed using zeros for Indian reserves and Indian settlements at census subdivision and lower levels of geography where the majority of the population was enumerated with the 2D Form. These data are, however, included in the totals for larger geographic areas, such as census divisions and provinces.

For more information on the census data quality and confidentiality standards and guidelines relating to Indian reserves, please refer to Data quality and confidentiality standards and guidelines (public): Data suppression - Indian reserves.

For a complete list of Indian reserves and Indian settlements for which citizenship, landed immigrant status and period of immigration data are suppressed using zeros, please refer to Indian reserves and Indian settlements for which citizenship, landed immigrant status and period of immigration data are suppressed - 2006 and 2001 censuses.

Data quality

As in the case of all census data, citizenship and immigration variables underwent rigorous quality assessment and critical review. The quality of the citizenship and immigration variables was evaluated internally prior to the release.

The assessment and review process included an evaluation of response and non-response rates, as well as imputation rates. The estimated counts for the 2006 Census were compared with those of the previous censuses in 1996 and 2001.

As well, to the extent possible, the 2006 Census data was compared with alternative data sources. This process involved the evaluation of the counts in relation to those of the Landed Immigrant Data System from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

The citizenship and immigration variables are of high quality.

The data quality measures, based on unweighted data, are as follows:

Question	Non-response rate	Imputation rate
Source: Statistics Canada, census of population, 2006.
Question 9: Place of birth	1.8%	2.0%
Question 10: Citizenship	2.2%	2.9%
Question 11: Immigrant status	2.8%	4.6%
Question 12: Year of immigration	11.7%	12.1%
Question 25(a): Place of birth of father	3.1%	4.3%
Question 25(b): Place of birth of mother	3.6%	4.3%

In general, these non-response and imputation rates were calculated on the basis of all the data collected for the variables through the 2B census questionnaire, excluding the institutional residents. Some specific details on the calculation of the rates are as followed:

• Although persons living on Indian reserves and Indian settlements who were enumerated with the 2006 Census Form 2D questionnaire were not asked the questions on citizenship (Question 10), landed immigrant status (Question 11) and year of immigration (Question 12), data was imputed and was included in the totals for larger geographic areas, such as census divisions and provinces. (Please refer to the section on 'Suppression of Citizenship and Immigration data on Indian reserves and Indian settlements.') However, for the purposes of the response and imputation rate calculations for Question 10, Question 11, and Question 12, this data was excluded.

• There has been a change in the approach to the calculation of the response and imputation rates for the year of immigration (Question 12) in the 2006 Census. As the year of immigration is a variable only applicable to immigrants, the calculations were done only for this population. In the 2001 Census, the calculations included the full set of data.

• As for the data on place of birth of parents (Question 25), the rate calculations were based on the data collected from the 2B and 2D census questionnaires, excluded the institutional residents and included only those 15 years of age and over.

For the most part, modes of collection, either through paper questionnaire or online questionnaire, had little or no effect on data quality, with the exception of the place of birth question when respondents were born in Canada. Among the respondents who filled out their information online, the way the pull-down menu was used to report province of birth could change the response inadvertently. For this reason, data on province of birth should be used with caution.

Historical comparability

The 2006 Census data on Immigration is based on the answers to three questions:

• Question 9: 'Where was this person born?' (2006 Census 2B and 2D forms)
• Question 11: 'Is this person now, or has this person ever been, a landed immigrant?' (2006 Census 2B and 2D forms)
• Question 12: 'In what year did this person first become a landed immigrant?' (2006 Census 2B and 2D forms)

Data on place of birth has been collected since the time of Confederation and information on immigrant status and year of immigration have been collected since 1901. Since 1991, a direct question on landed immigrant status was used to identify the immigrant population. Prior to 1991, the immigrant population was defined as consisting of all persons who were not Canadian citizen by birth.

The 2006 Census data on Citizenship is based on the answers to one question:

• Question 10: 'Of what country is this person a citizen?' (2006 Census 2B form)

Citizenship was first asked in the 1901 Census of Population. Data on citizenship reflects the changes that have occurred over time in Canada's citizenship laws. A person in Canada may hold dual or multiple citizenships. As well, changes to statues and regulations pertaining to citizenship may affect the immigrant population's tendency to acquire Canadian citizenship. Historical comparisons must take into account these changes in the laws.

The 2006 Census data on generation status is derived from the answers to two questions:

• Question 9: 'Where was this person born?' (2006 Census 2B and 2D forms)
• Question 25(a) and 25(b): 'Where was each of this person's parents born?' There were two separate answers for father and mother. (2006 Census 2B and 2D forms)

A question on birthplace of parents was added to the 2001 Census. Prior to this, the last time that birthplace of parents was asked was in the 1971 Census.

Although all of these questions have undergone little change over the past few decades, the following minor adjustments were made in 2006.

Question 9 on place of birth was altered to provide check boxes for the reporting of provinces and territories within Canada as a place of birth. This is a return to the 1996 approach. In 2001, respondents were provided with two write-in text boxes to report their birth place, one for 'Born inside Canada', and the other for 'Born outside Canada.' With respect to reporting countries outside of Canada, no change has been made to the question since 1996. The respondents were provided with a write-in text box and directed to report their place of birth '…according to present boundaries.' No example answers were provided on the form.

Information on province or territory of birth was aggregated as 'born in Canada' for dissemination purpose. Specific countries of birth were disseminated among the individuals who were born outside Canada. For additional information on the concordance of place of birth data over time, please refer to the 2006 Census Dictionary, Appendix J.

The term 'permanent resident' was added to the short preamble of Question 11 on immigrant status to assist the respondent in understanding what is meant by a 'Landed Immigrant.'

For Question 12 (year of immigration), the instruction: 'If exact year is not known, enter best estimate' was moved directly next to each respondent's write-in text box. In 2001 this directive appeared only once immediately following the question.

The derivation of the data on age at immigration in 2006 was slightly different from that of 2001 due to an omission of an estimation process. The result of this omission was an increase of the age at immigration estimate by one year for many records. As such, the overall mean age at immigration for the total weighted immigrant population was estimated as 24.9 years, whereas the correct estimate should be 24.4 years. The median age for the total weighted immigrant population was estimated at 25 years, whereas the correct estimate should be 24 years.

Question 10 (citizenship) has remained relatively unchanged for several censuses. Respondents were provided with the option to check 'Canada, by birth' or 'Canada, by naturalization.' They were also provided with a write-in text box to report the name of any other country where they hold citizenship, and were directed to indicate more than one citizenship if applicable. Although only one write-in text box was provided, up to two write-ins were captured. In 2006, a short note was added to explain the meaning of 'naturalization.'

Question 25 (place of birth of parents) was previously Question 32 on the 2001 Census questionnaire. The only difference made to the question was to repeat the statement directing the respondent to 'Mark 'x' or specify country according to present boundaries' after the heading for father and then again after that of mother. In the last census this statement was only made once directly after the question.