More Qualified—But Unemployed: Montréal’s Immigration Paradox

As a result of population aging, Montréal has lost 10 per cent of its native-born labour force over the past 10 years. That makes the contribution of immigrants essential to the success of the city’s economy. And according to the results of a study by the Insitut du Québec, in contrast to most of the other cities studied here, post-secondary education levels are higher among the city’s immigrant population than among native-born Montréalers. However, Montréal has a smaller share of immigrants than do Toronto or Vancouver. As well, in every category of academic achievement, and particularly among those with a university education, immigrants in Montréal have a higher share of unemployment that do those born and raised here.

This report identifies the main causes of this phenomenon and puts forward eight suggestions on how to ensure that immigrants are able to play a strong role in Montreal’s workforce.