Immigrant status
Immigrant status refers to whether the respondent is a non-immigrant, an immigrant or a non-permanent resident.
Specifically, non-immigrant refers to a person who is a Canadian citizen by birth. Whereas Immigrant refers to a person who is or has ever been a landed immigrant or permanent resident. Lastly, non-permanent resident refers to a person from another country who has a work or study permit or who is a refugee claimant, and any non-Canadian-born family member living in Canada with them (NHS Dictionary, 2011).
Immigrants are not a homogeneous group. 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, the group of Immigrants includes those who landed in Canada prior to May 10, 2011.
- Immigrant Category (16) World Area (8) Knowledge of Official Languages (6) Education Qualifications (6) Income Type (6) Statistics (4) and Sex (3) for Canada [1981-2013] (Cat. CANSIM table 054-0002)
Generation status
Generation status refers to whether or not the person or the person's parents were born in Canada. It identifies persons as being first generation, second generation or third generation or more. (NHS Dictionary, 2011: 30). The academic literature also identifies ‘generation 1.5’, that is, those who came to Canada as children.
Within the generation status variable, the three main categories are defined as follows. First generation includes persons who were born outside Canada. For the most part, these are people who are now, or have ever been, immigrants to Canada. Second generation includes persons who were born in Canada and had at least one parent born outside Canada. For the most part, these are the children of immigrants. Third generation or more includes persons who were born in Canada with both parents born in Canada. (NHS Dictionary, 2011)
Ethnic origins
Ethnic Origin refers to the ethnic or cultural origins of the respondent’s ancestors, where an ancestor is someone more distant than a grandparent. Other than Aboriginal persons, most people can trace their origins to their ancestors who first came to this continent. A person may have only a single ethnic origin, or may have multiple ethnicities. There are over 200 ethnic origins reported in the 2011 NHS survey. (Ethnic Origin Reference Guide, 2011)
- Ethnic Origin (264) Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Reponses (3) Generation Status (4) Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Metropolitan areas. (Cat. 99-010-x2011028)
- Ethnic Origin (101) Age Groups (10) Sex (3) Selected Demographic, Cultural, Labour Force, Educational, and Income Characteristics (327) [including Mother Tongue, Home Language, Knowledge of Official Languages, Language of Work] for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Metropolitan areas. (Cat. 99-010-X2011036)
Visible Minority
Visible minority refers to whether a person belongs to a visible minority group as defined by the Employment Equity Act. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as 'persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour.' The visible minority population consists mainly of the following groups: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Arab, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese. (NHS Dictionary, 2011)
- Visible Minority (15) Generation Status (4) Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for Canada, Provinces, Territories, and Metropolitan areas.
- Visible Minority (15) Age Groups (10) Sex (3) and Selected Demographic, Cultural, Labour Force, Educational and Income Characteristics (315) [including Mother Tongue, Home Language, Knowledge of Official Languages, and Language of Work] for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Metropolitan areas.
Religion
Religion refers to the person's self-identification as having a connection or affiliation with any religious denomination, group, body, sect, cult or other religiously defined community or system of belief. Religion is not limited to formal membership in a religious organization or group. Persons without a religious connection or affiliation can self-identify as atheist, agnostic or humanist, or can provide another applicable response. Some examples include: Roman Catholic, United Church, Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Muslim, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Greek Orthodox, etc. (NHS Dictionary, 2011: 48). The 2011 NHS identifies 108 different religions.
- Religion (108) Immigrant Status and Period of Immigration (11) Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Metropolitan areas. (Cat. 99-010-X2011032)
- Religion (19) Age Groups (10) Sex (3) Selected Demographic, Cultural, Labour Force, and Educational Characteristics (268) [including Mother Tongue, Home Language, Knowledge of Official Languages, and Language of Work] for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Metropolitan areas.
Aboriginal Identity
Aboriginal identity refers to whether the person reported being an Aboriginal person, that is, First Nations (North American Indian), Métis or Inuk (Inuit) and/or being a Registered or Treaty Indian (that is, registered under the Indian Act of Canada) and/or being a member of a First Nation or Indian band. Aboriginal peoples of Canada are defined in the Constitution Act, 1982, section 35 (2) as including the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada. (NHS Dictionary, 2011: 19) (Aboriginal Peoples Technical Report, 2014: 11)
- Aboriginal identity (8) Age Groups (20) Area of Residence: Inuit Nunangat (7) and Sex (3) for Canada, Provinces and Territories, Metropolitan areas (Cat. 99-011-X2011027)
- Detailed Knowledge of Aboriginal Languages (79) Knowledge of Languages: Single and Multiple Language Responses (3) Aboriginal Identity (8) Registered or Treaty Indian Status (3) Aboriginal Mother Tongue (11) Area of Residence: On Reserve (3) Age Groups (8) for Canada, Provinces and Territories (Cat. 99-011-X2011030)
- Knowledge of Inuit Languages (10) Knowledge of Languages: Single and Multiple Language Responses (3) Aboriginal Identity (8) Mother Tongue – Detailed Inuit Languages (15) Area of Residence: Inuit Nunangat (7) Age Groups (8) for Canada, Provinces and Territories (Cat. 99-011-X2011031)
