Fertility Behavior of Immigrants in Canada: Converging Trends

Using data from the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey, this paper compares fertility behavior across three immigrant generations: foreign born, second generation, the population of third or more generations. Several important findings emerge from this study. First, consistent with previous studies, we have documented higher fertility for the foreign born and lowest for the second generation, but these differences are no longer statistically significant after controls for sociodemographic factors. The differentials by age, with higher fertility for those who arrived after age 15, also disappear after controls. These findings support the hypothesis that it is the sociodemographic characteristics of the immigrant generations that matter rather than the generational status itself. The controls did not eliminate the differentials by visible minority status, which show highest fertility in the Black population and lowest in the Chinese population. Consistent with the finding that lowest fertility occurs among persons who are least acculturated, we suggest that the relative opportunity structures of given minority groups may be part of the explanation.