1 What is IMDB?
·
IMDB stands for Immigration Database.
·
It is not a single database; it is a system of database that
consists of a number of relational databases.
·
Currently, there are only 2 component databases in the IMDB that
are available for researchers to use. These are:
·
CIC and Statistics Canada have been working to add 5 more
databases to the IMDB. These will be:
-
immigration data system overseas
-
visitors data system
-
refugee claimant database
-
T-4 sp (other income)
-
T-4 sm (income from business)
2. What
variables does IMDB include?
·
The list of variables is long. Generally speaking, it includes
all the variables that are parts of the landing paper and tax return form.
3. What data has CERIS received?
·
CERIS has received a number of CDs from Citizenship and
Immigration Canada.
·
One CD contains individual landing records for all immigrants
who came to Canada between 1980 and 2001.
·
The others contain a number of compendium tables derived from
tax files, 1980-1997. Each table is a cross-tabulation with 5-6 dimensions.
·
Tax files have 2 series of tables:
o
Series 1 consists of tables for in-migration toward each
province, which are further organized into the following sub-categories:
·
In-migration by immigrant class
·
In-migration by level of education
·
In-migration by language ability
·
In-migration by intended occupation
·
In-migration by country of origin
o
Series 2 consists of tables for out-migration away from each
province, which are further organized into the following sub-categories:
-
Out-migration by immigrant class
-
Out-migration by level of education
-
Out-migration by language ability
-
Out-migration by intended occupation
-
Out-migration by country of origin
·
The tables in both series contains the following information:
-
number of immigrants who reported employment income
-
amount of employment income they reported
-
number of immigrants who reported self-employment income
-
amount of self-employment income they reported
-
number of immigrants who collected welfare
-
amount of welfare they reported collecting
-
number of immigrants who collected UI benefit
-
amount of UI benefit they reported collecting
·
These tables can be viewed using Beyond20/20, and each dimension
can be saved as a single table for use in SPSS, Quattro Pro, Excel, dBase,
etc.
4. Limitations of the Data
-
The landing data are individual records, which are very useful
for a variety of analysis. Although the landing records have a ‘Destination’
variable (which is usually a municipality in Canada), that variable is
reliable only at the CMA level, but not reliable at lower levels of geography.
-
The tax data are not individual records; they are aggregates for
groups of immigrants. In its current form, the tax data has two major
limitations:
-
they are grouped by provinces, not by metropolitan cities.
-
They
do not allow for intra-urban geographical analysis because unlike census, the
tax data cannot be broken down to CSD, CT and EA levels.
5. Can I request customized tables?
-
Yes. If these compendium tables (of tax data) do not meet your
research needs, you can request special tabulations.
-
Your request should be sent to Stats Can’s
o
Ms.Jane Badets or
o
Dr. Heather Dryburgh.
-
Before you send your request, it is important to prepare a good
data structure. Keep in mind that each table can only have up to 6-7
dimensions. If your request has more than 6-7 dimensions, you will need more
than one table, which has cost implications.
6. For more details, please read the long document. The
long document can be downloaded by
following the steps below:
-
on the 'Metropolis Data' page, click on Data
Library Service
at the top of the page (Now you
should see a page titled 'University of Toronto Data Library Service')
-
Click on 'CERIS data sets'
-
Click on 'Longitudinal immigration data base (IMDB)'
-
right click (the right mouse button) on 'Guide',
and select 'Save Target as ...' to download a copy onto your own computer.
(Please note, the file is 32 MB in size; it takes 30 minutes or so to
complete downloading.)