RESEARCHBRIEF
Notes on People of
Dominican Ancestry
in Canada
Ramona Hernández
Sarah Marrara
Utku Sezgin
Founded in 1992 and housed at The City College of New York, the Dominican Studies Institute of the
City University of New York (CUNY DSI) is the nation’s first, university-based research institute devoted
to the study of people of Dominican descent in the United States and other parts of the world. CUNY
DSI’s mission is to produce and disseminate research and scholarship about Dominicans, and about the
Dominican Republic itself. The Institute houses the Dominican Archives and the Dominican Library, the
first and only institutions in the United States collecting primary and secondary source material about
Dominicans. CUNY DSI is the locus for a community of scholars, including doctoral fellows, in the field
of Dominican Studies, and sponsors multidisciplinary research projects. The Institute organizes lectures,
conferences, and exhibitions that are open to the public.
Ramona Hernández, Ph.D.
Dr. Ramona Hernández is Director of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute at the Colin
Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, The City College of New York. She is
also Professor of Sociology at The City College and is on the faculty of The Graduate
Center, CUNY.
Sarah Marrara, M.S.
Sarah Marrara is a Research Associate of CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. She holds a
M.S. in Demography from Florida State University and a M.S. in Community Health from
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Utku Sezgin, Ph.D.
Dr. Utku Sezgin is a Senior Researcher at the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. He holds
a Ph.D. in Political Science and Government from The City University of New York. Graphic Designer
Javier Pichardo, CUNY DSI
Research Brief no1
December 2016
INTRODUCTION
While the social science literature on Latinos in the United States is quite vast, the literature on Latin
Americans in Canada is much sparser. With that, the scholarship on smaller Latino populations, such as
Dominicans is even more limited. This research brief by the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute offers a
brief profile of the Latino population in Canada, with a particular focus on Dominicans, in an attempt to
develop wider interest and more scholarly research on the subject.
DATA
Using publicly available data from Statistics Canada and Canada’s Open Government Portal we
examine the 2011 National Household Survey data, immigration data and Census data on Central
American, South American and Caribbean origin populations. Before diving in, it is important to note
that Canadian designations of Central American, South American and Caribbean do not directly
correspond with U.S. notions of Latin American or Latino. That is, under the Canadian category of
Central American and South American, populations from English speaking countries such as Belize and
Guyana and other non-Spanish speaking countries in the region are enumerated. Similarly, under the
Caribbean category, persons of Haitian origin, Jamaican origin and origins based in other non-Spanish
speaking countries are also enumerated (Armony, 2014). Because we are interested in Dominicans
relative to other Latinos (using a U.S. definition of the term) we must examine categories of Central
American, South American and Caribbean origin persons.
ANALYSIS
Table 1 below displays the 2011 population counts of select ethnic groups in the country of Canada.
Notable is the overall size of the Caribbean origin population versus the Central and South American
origin population, 627,590 versus 544,380. Also noteworthy is the distribution of the detailed ethnic
groups. In Canada, as in the U.S., the Mexican origin population is the largest at 96,055. However,
after Mexicans the comparison ends. In the U.S. the size of the Latino population typically reflects
the following order: Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Salvadoran (in more recent years Cubans and
Salvadorans sometimes switch places), Dominican (Ruggles et al., 2015). It is clear based on this
table that such a distribution does not hold true in Canada, with Colombians and Salvadorans as the
second and third largest Latino groups in the country, 76,580 and 63,970 respectively. With regard
to Caribbean origin populations, we also see a different distribution of the population, with Cubans
occupying the top spot at 21,440 followed by Dominicans at 16,720 and then Puerto Ricans with a
population of only 2,340.
1 CUNY Dominican Studies Institute
Table 1: Population of Select Ethnic Groups, Canada 2011
Single and
multiple ethnic
origin responses
Total - Single and
multiple ethnic origin
responses
Single ethnic origin
responses
Multiple ethnic origin
responses
Caribbean origins
(overall)
627,590
360,380
267,215
Latin, Central and
South American
origins (overall)
544,380
285,070
259,305
Mexican
96,055
44,675
51,390
Colombian
76,580
55,595
20,985
Salvadoran
63,970
42,155
21,815
Chilean
38,140
17,160
20,975
Cuban
21,440
6,895
14,545
Dominican
16,720
7,545
9,170
Puerto Rican
2,340
205
2,135
Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 99-010-X2011028.
Table 2 examines Canadian citizenship status for select ethnic groups based on country and region of
birth. Here we have separated out the category of Central American and South American to provide a
more nuanced view. As can be seen, the overall Central and South American populations have similar
levels of citizenship in Canada, both around 70%. Persons from the Caribbean, however, have a slightly
higher citizenship rate at 78%. Among the detailed ethnic groups, it is Colombians and Cubans with the
lowest citizenship rates at approximately 52%, and Salvadorans with the highest citizenship rate at 82%.
Chileans also fall near the top with citizenship levels of about 77%, while the Caribbean origin populations
of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans land in the middle with citizenship rates of approximately 68%.
The levels of citizenship exhibited in Canada are in stark contrast to that which is observed among Latin
Americans in the U.S. Using 2015 IPUMS ACS data (Ruggles et al., 2015) we observe the following
citizenship rates for persons born in Latin American countries and now reside in the U.S: Mexico- 28%,
El Salvador- 32%, Chile- 52%, the Dominican Republic- 54%, Colombia- 56%, and Cuba- 59%. It is only
among Colombians and Cubans that citizenship rates are relatively similar between Canada and the U.S.
Notes on People of Dominican Ancestry in Canada
2
Table 2: Canadian Citizenship Status by Country of Birth
for Select Groups, Canada 2011
Place of birth
Canadian Citizens
Not Canadian Citizens
Canadian Citizenship
Rank
Central America (overall)
68.2%
31.8%
3
South America (overall)
70.8%
29.2%
2
Caribbean and Bermuda
(overall)
78.1%
21.9%
1
Mexico
56.4%
43.6%
5
Colombia
51.5%
48.5%
7
El Salvador
82.4%
17.6%
1
Chile
76.8%
23.2%
2
Cuba
52.5%
47.5%
6
Dominican Republic
68.4%
31.5%
3
Puerto Rico
67.4%
32.6%
4
Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 99-010-X2011026.
Table 3 examines the geographic distribution of select ethnic groups across the country of Canada.
As can be seen, the largest number of each ethnic group are concentrated primarily in Ontario and
Quebec, with smaller, though notable populations in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.
Interestingly, among all groups examined except Dominicans, the population size is larger in Ontario
than Quebec. The reverse holds true for Dominicans, where the largest number of people, 8,345, live in
Quebec versus the 7,085 that live in Ontario.
3 CUNY Dominican Studies Institute
Table 3: Population of Select Ethnic Groups
by Province, Canada 2011
Chilean
Salvadoran
Colombian
Mexican
21,440
38,140
63,970
76,580
96,055
Latin, Central
and South
544,380
American
origins (overall)
Caribbean
627,590
origins (overall)
-
-
25
40
90
70
500
750
-
20
-
25
80
-
60
445
305
30
85
395
60
115
375
520
2,380
4,215
160
25
105
145
55
365
420
1,650
1,620
380
8,345
5,860
12,210
16,630
26,570
25,045
137,255
167,590
890
7,085
11,675
12,225
28,765
34,995
31,690
271,545
396,485
-
125
170
1,305
3,125
1,025
6,420
17,845
8,605
75
60
125
905
680
520
1,320
4,990
2,705
290
475
1,790
6,325
6,895
8,270
14,460
54,650
25,035
490
475
1,240
4,875
7,565
4,330
15,950
52,730
20,035
British
Columbia /
ColombieBritannique
-
-
-
25
-
-
60
170
45
Yukon
-
-
-
-
20
10
40
180
150
-
-
-
10
-
-
-
40
55
Northwest
Territories /
Nunavut
Territoires du
Nord-Ouest
Cuban
16,720
-
Geography
Dominican
2,340
Prince
Newfoundland
New
Edward Nova Scotia
and Labrador
Brunswick Quebec /
Canada
Island / Île- / NouvelleOntario Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta
/ Terre-Neuve/ Nouveau- Québec
du-PrinceÉcosse
et-Labrador
Brunswick
Édouard
Puerto Rican
Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 99-010-X2011028.
Notes on People of Dominican Ancestry in Canada
4
Figure 1: Map of Dominicans in Canada by Province, 2011
Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 99-010-X2011028.
5 CUNY Dominican Studies Institute
Figure 2 examines work permit statuses for select groups by country of citizenship. Specifically,
this chart focuses on International Mobility Program (IMP) work permit holders, Temporary Foreign
Worker Program (TFWP) work permit holders and work permit holders for Humanitarian and
Compassion (H&C) purposes. Percentages are calculated for each country of citizenship by first
summing each of the permit holder types, then dividing the individual permit type value by the
summed value, and multiplying that by 100.
As can be seen from the graph, the data suggests some clear patterns regarding the comparative skill
levels of individuals from different countries, as well as patterns of how countries differ in terms of their
citizens receiving H&C work permits from Canada. Firstly, the data on workers with the H&C permit
status show that Chileans have the lowest share of such work permit holders. Immigrants accepted
from Mexico and the Dominican Republic are the second and third least likely groups to receive entry
privileges under the H&C program. The share of Dominicans receiving such permits from Canada show
a clear trend of decline from 2004 to 2015. At the opposite end of the scale, it is Salvadorans, Cubans,
and Colombians who receive the highest share of H&C permits among the select groups analyzed. The
second type of entry program analyzed is the IMP, which is a program that recruits relatively high-skilled
workers who are exempt from certain onerous vetting requirements and who often have employment
offers already extended to them by Canadian businesses (CanadaVisa.com; Government of Canada,
2016). In this category, the Dominican Republic comes second only to Chile, which has the highest
share of its immigrants recruited under IMP. Dominicans have been using this program to emigrate
to Canada in steadily increasing numbers: from 26% of all Dominicans receiving IMP permits in 2004
to 47% in 2015. This implies a “brain-drain” type of migration attracting highly skilled Dominicans to
Canada from the Dominican Republic. The data also imply that a larger percentage of Dominicans
going to Canada are more highly skilled than those Dominicans who emigrate to Europe or the United
States (Hernández & Rivera-Batiz, 2003; Pellegrino, 2004). Colombia follows closely behind the
Dominican Republic in this category. But the shares of Dominicans receiving high-skilled IMP work
permits far surpass the percentages of immigrants doing the same from all other select Latin American
countries. Lastly, the proportion of workers from the Dominican Republic who receive temporary work
permits (which is a category of entry designed mainly for low-skilled workers) is quite high, second
only to workers from Mexico. These data paint a picture of a socio-economically bifurcated Dominican
population in Canada: The Dominican Republic sends larger shares of highly skilled workers to Canada
in comparison to the other select Latin American countries, while also sending larger shares of Labor
migrants. However, it is important to keep in mind, that the proportion of highly skilled Dominicans
in 2015 (47%) significantly exceeds the share of Dominicans recruited under the TFWP, implying that
despite the bifurcated structure of the Dominican immigrant population in Canada, there is still a very
substantial proportion of Dominicans who are highly skilled. Very small percentages of other Latin
Americans receive this type of work permit compared to Mexicans and Dominicans.
Notes on People of Dominican Ancestry in Canada
6
Figure 2: Proportion of Migrants in Canada by Work Permit Type
for Select Work Permits and Ethnic Groups
Source: Government of Canada. (5/31/2016). Open Data Portal- Temporary Foreign Workers.
Retrieved from http://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/67fd1fae-4950-4018-a491-62e60cbd6974.
7 CUNY Dominican Studies Institute
Table 4 takes a deeper dive into the ethnic group category and examines the generational status
for persons of Dominican descent. As is evident, a little over half of all Dominicans in Canada
are first generation, while another sizeable chunk, 44%, are second generation. A much smaller
proportion of Dominicans, 4%, are third or greater generation, suggesting then that Dominicans are
progressively laying roots in Canada.
Table 4: Dominicans in Canada by Generational Status, 2011
Generation
Persons of Dominican Origin
Percentage
Total
16,720
100.0%
First Generation- Foreign-Born
8,750
52.3%
Second Generation-Canadian-Born of
Dominican Ancestry
7,305
43.7%
Third or Greater Generation-Children
of Canadian Born Persons of
Dominican Ancestry
660
3.9%
Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 99-010-X2011028.
Table 5 goes even deeper and examines Canadian citizenship status for persons born in the
Dominican Republic based on the year they arrived in Canada. As might be expected, there is a
fairly clear linear trend, where length of time in Canada (an earlier arrival year) is associated with a
higher citizenship rate. Generally, with every 10 year increment, moving closer to the present, there
is roughly a 4 percentage point drop in citizenship rates. What is particularly notable is the large
drop-off in citizenship rates between the 1991-2000 period and the 2001-2011 period. While we
cannot say for certain, this may be related to Canadian eligibility requirements regarding citizenship
in which a person must be a permanent resident of Canada (among other things) and be present in
the country for at least 1,460 days during the 6 year period immediately preceding their application
date (Government of Canada, 2016).
Table 5: Canadian Citizenship Status by Year of Arrival
for Person’s Born in the Dominican Republic, 2011
Year of Arrival
Canadian Citizens
Before 1971
100.0%
1971-1980
96.2%
1981-1990
94.6%
1991-2000
91.0%
2001-2011
37.0%
Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 99-010-X2011026.
Notes on People of Dominican Ancestry in Canada
8
Table 6 goes one step further and examines Canadian citizenship status for foreign-born Dominicans
based on their province of residence. Overall, approximately 70% of Dominicans born in the Dominican
Republic are Canadian citizens, however this distribution does not necessarily hold true across all
of Canada’s provinces. In Quebec and Ontario, where the largest number of Dominicans in Canada
reside, the figures are consistent with the national average. Approximately, 70% of persons born in the
Dominican Republic are Canadian citizens. In Manitoba the citizenship rate is slightly below the national
average at 64%; and in Alberta and British Columbia the proportion of persons born in the Dominican
Republic that are Canadian citizens stands at 42% and 38% respectively. While the overall number
of Dominicans in these latter 3 provinces is relatively small compared to Quebec and Ontario, future
research may wish to further examine the lower levels of citizenship in these provinces as compared to
other ethnic groups as well as Dominicans residing in Quebec and Ontario.
Table 6: Canadian Citizenship Status for Person’s Born in the Dominican
Republic by Province of Residence, 2011
Geography
Percent Canadian Citizen
Percent not Canadian Citizen
Canada
68.4%
31.6%
Newfoundland and Labrador /
Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador
0.0%
0.0%
Prince Edward Island / Île-du-PrinceÉdouard
0.0%
0.0%
Nova Scotia / Nouvelle-Écosse
0.0%
0.0%
New Brunswick / NouveauBrunswick
0.0%
0.0%
Quebec / Québec
70.3%
29.7%
Ontario
70.5%
29.5%
Manitoba
64.3%
35.7%
Saskatchewan
0.0%
0.0%
Alberta
42.2%
57.8%
British Columbia / ColombieBritannique
37.8%
62.2%
Yukon
0.0%
0.0%
Northwest Territories / Territoires du
Nord-Ouest
0.0%
0.0%
Nunavut
0.0%
0.0%
Source: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 99-010-X2011026.
9 CUNY Dominican Studies Institute
CONCLUSION:
As is evident from this brief profile, the Latino population in Canada is fairly diverse in terms of the
nationalities that comprise it and the citizenship rates of its detailed ethnic groups. Conversely, the
Latino population in Canada is fairly consistent in terms of its distribution across the country, residing
primarily in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Future research should take aim at further profiling
each group in relation to one another, considering socioeconomic status, educational characteristics,
and health outcomes among other things.
WORKS CITED:
• Armony, V. (2014). Latin American Communities in Canada: Trends in Diversity and Integration.
Canadian Ethnic Studies. 46(3), 7-34.
• CanadaVisa.com. International Mobility Program. Retrieved from http://www.canadavisa.com/
international-mobility-program.html.
• Government of Canada. (2/29/2016). Determine your eligibility – Citizenship. Retrieved from http://
www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/become-eligibility.asp.
• Government of Canada. (07/07/2016). Hire a temporary worker through the International Mobility
Program. Retrieved from http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/employers/hire-how.asp.
• Government of Canada. (5/31/2016). Open Data Portal- Temporary Foreign Workers. Retrieved from
http://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/67fd1fae-4950-4018-a491-62e60cbd6974.
• Hernández, R. & Rivera-Batiz, F. (2003). Dominicans in the United States: A Socioeconomic Profile,
2000. New York: CUNY Dominican Studies Institute.
• Pellegrino, A. (2004). Migration from Latin America to Europe: Trends and Policy Challenges.
International Organization for Migration. Retrieved from http://www.oas.org/atip/migration/iom%20
report%20migration%20lac%20to%20eu.pdf.
• Ruggles, S., Genadek, K., Goeken, R., Grover, J., & Sobek, M. (2015). Integrated Public Use
Microdata Series: Version 6.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.
• Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 99-010X2011026.
• Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 99-010X2011028.
Notes on People of Dominican Ancestry in Canada
10