If we look at Canada's success rate in integrating newcomers into the economy, I would say we are facing a pressing challenge. That's one of the reasons I've been encouraged by the immigration reforms the government has been doing. If we look at income level, the difference in income for newcomers relative to Canadian-born citizens is that in the early eighties a newcomer would earn about 82¢ on the dollar and over a couple of decades they could close the gap with Canadian-born individuals. Today that is about 62¢ on the dollar, and newcomers will never close that gap over their lifetimes.
What's amazing is that even given that outcome, StatsCan surveys show that more than 90% of newcomers say yes when asked if they would do it again; if they could do it again, they would come to Canada.
I've done a lot of work on immigration issues, and I've found that newcomers come because they believe there will be a better outcome for their children.