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Widening wage gap hurts newest Canadians

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Why you can trust SCMP
Petti Fong

Vancouver

To immigrate to Canada these days is one of the surest ways to enter the ranks of poverty.

Compared with peer countries, Canada takes in a lot of legal immigrants - a quarter of a million new citizens enter the country each year. This liberal immigration stance is something most Canadians take pride in.

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There is an estimated backlog of 1 million applicants waiting around the world. But problems with the system are mounting.

New data shows that the median wage gap between immigrants and native-born Canadians is widening. This is happening at a time when all political parties acknowledge the increasing reliance on immigrants to bolster an ageing workforce.

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In a period of unprecedented economic expansion in Canada, new Canadians have been largely left behind. The unemployment rate among immigrants is higher than for Canadian-born workers, and those who do find work end up mainly in the service sector, where benefits are few and wages low.

The white-collar finance and insurance sectors, public administration and scientific research remain impenetrable for many immigrants.

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