Study finds immigrants healthier than Canadian-born

Despite Canada having an internationally acclaimed public health care system, holders of a Canada visa are healthier than those born in the country, according to data released by Statistics Canada yesterday.

The report revealed that new immigrants to Canada had lower mortality rates as well as lower levels of "fair or poor health" than their Canadian-born counterparts.

In compiling the data, Statistics Canada researchers tracked 2.7 million Canadians - 20% of whom were migrants that went through Canadian immigration between 1991 and 2001 - and surveyed 350,000 people - of which 50,000 were immigrants - to conduct comparative health studies.

Furthermore it was found that while immigrants had comparatively high levels of health upon entry into Canada, their health declined the longer they remained in Canada.

The high recorded levels of health by immigrants has been attributed to the strict health requirements of the Canadian visa application process.

"The immigration policy tends to let people in who are healthier," said Edward Ng, a senior analyst in the health analysis division of Statistics Canada.

"The more time they spend in Canada, the less likely they are to go through the same rigorous medical screening, raising possibilities that they can become sick".

Statistics Canada expects immigrants will make up 25% of the Canadian population by 2031.

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The Canadian Visa Bureau is an independent migration consultancy specialising in helping people make their application to the Canadian Embassy.