New study provides insights on Alberta immigrant workers

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on January 6, 2026.

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com

A study of data by Statistics Canada shows immigrants in Alberta earn more with time, but still less than the national average.

The on the economic outcomes of immigrants in Alberta analyzed thousands of immigrant workers and their families over a five-year period and examines how workers integrate into the province’s labour market over time.

The study published on Dec. 15, titled “Economic of Immigrants in Alberta” and using data from Stats Canada’s Longitudinal Immigration Database, follows more than 18,000 newcomers who arrived to Alberta in 2017 and how their median wages changed over a five-year period.

The cohort of more than 18,000 who arrived in 2017 represents approximately 11,000 who were selected for their skills and work experience and are known as “economic immigrants,” as well as their spouses, families and dependants.

The study also included 10 per cent of its cohort as refugees to Alberta.

That data from 2017 is the most recent group with full five-year records of wages, however wage data shows a temporary decline in 2020 linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the province’s economy relies on immigrants to support growth and meet labour needs the study used this data to help understand how well newcomers are integrating into the labour market and whether they are catching up economically.

Overall the student suggests that most skilled immigrant workers who enter Alberta’s labour market earn more than the provincial average, however spouses and dependents of those workers typically receive lower wages for jobs, which “limit their economic participation and progression.”

The study shows that the “economic immigrants” in the cohort earned an average of $49,300 in their first full year after arrival, and after five years in 2022 their average wages increased by more than 19 per cent to $58,700.

Their spouses and dependents earned $29,700 on average in their first full year after arrival, which increased by more than 16 per cent to $34,600 in 2022.

Newcomers who arrived under the Express Entry Canadian Experience Class for skilled workers earned the highest wages of all admission categories, and experienced average wage increases from $61,100 after their first full year after arrival to $71,300 in 2022.

However, over that five-year period, skilled immigrants in Alberta earned less than the national average of $63,400 in 2017 to $82,400 in 2022.

Workers who earned on average more than their counterparts across Canada during this time period included caregivers, federal skilled workers and skilled trades workers.

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