Economic Disparity Among Immigrants in Canada

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Canada is a country that was built by immigration. Every year, thousands of hopeful immigrants come to Canada in order to have a better life. And for some, a better life can be achieved. However, for many others, this is simply not the case. In recent years, the number of visible minority immigrants has increased. And while this country’s ethnic diversity has benefitted from this influx, the economic landscape has shifted in a way to disfavor them. This economic disparity can be found through the income inequality that many immigrants face due to their educational background, low social and cultural capital, and occupational choices. It is these factors that have led to an overqualified work force, higher unemployment rates, and a widening …show more content…

When speaking about cultural capital and immigrants, one symbolic element may be language. Canada has two official languages in which employers conduct their business in. If an immigrant has limited knowledge of French or English, finding a job may be next to impossible. However, even for the immigrants who do speak French or English, the path to finding a job may not be any easier. As immigrants come from another country, they may have brought with them their own cultural capital in the form of an accent. “Job applicants with noticeable racial markers in their speech were often eliminated” (Banerjee, 2009, p. 471). Even when speaking Canada’s official languages fluently, some immigrants were not offered a job based on their individual accents. However, there are some accents which employers deem “acceptable”, many of which are European. But for those who have less desirable accents, such as those hailing from East and South Asia, their accents can hinder their job application. In some cases, completely disqualify them from the job. And as Canada’s immigrant population largely comes from “less desirable” areas, this may continue to negatively affect the growing unemployment rate. Even when immigrants are able to find a job, they face an uphill battle to earn the same wage as their native-born

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