According to a recent Statistics Canada report, immigrants who settle in smaller Canadian cities and rural areas are better off financially than those who head to larger urban areas. The Perspectives on Labour and Income study finds that the earnings gap between newcomers and Canadians is significantly less in smaller towns than in big cities. Furthermore, that gap narrows much more quickly in small towns.

Nonetheless, the vast majority of immigrants decide to settle in Canada’s largest cities (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver), in which they will find a larger network of people from their home country. Many small cities are trying to create awareness to attract more immigrants to their communities for population and labour force growth. This new report should provide them some ammunition.

Newcomers to small towns earns on average 14 per cent less than the Canadian-born population during their first three years in Canada. By the fourth year of residence, these immigrants earn slightly more on average than native-born residents, and by their 11th year, earnings are 18 per cent above the median. Income disparity is much larger for newcomers in big cities with the wage gap persisting even after ten years of residence.

Statistics Canada hypothesizes that education and language barriers are easier to overcome in smaller towns. Learning one of Canada’s official languages is easier in an area where there is less language diversity. Three quarters of immigrants in smaller cities are fluent in English or French, compared to 61.5per cent of those in large cities. Additionally, given current labour shortages, there are many job opportunities for skilled workers in smaller cities. Immigrants with university degrees are well represented in these areas. “It’s just easier for immigrants to connect with employers in smaller communities, where the chambers of commerce, councils, employers and service agencies all know each other and work as a team to develop immigrant attraction and retention plans,” explained a professor at the University of Winnipeg.