Executive Summary
Submitted to: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Prepared by: Leger
Contract number B8815-180322/001/CY
POR #067-17
Contract Award Date: 2017-12-20
Delivery Date: 2018-03-07
For more information on this report, please email: IRCC.COMMPOR-ROPCOMM.IRCC@cic.gc.ca
Ce rapport est aussi disponible en français.
Leger is pleased to present Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada with this report on findings from a quantitative survey aimed to provide insights about perceptions and attitudes towards travel and work abroad experiences among the International Experience Canada’s target audience.
This report was prepared by Leger who was contracted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (contract number B8815-180322/001/CY awarded December 20, 2017).
International Experience Canada (IEC) is a program managed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, which offers Canadian youth aged 18-35 the opportunity to travel and work in one of 33 partner countries and territories. Because it is a reciprocal program, foreign youth from partner countries/territories can do the same in Canada. The age limit and types of work permits available depend on the youth mobility arrangement negotiated with each partner country. There are two categories of work permits:
The IEC program has the mandate to maximize reciprocity between international and Canadian youth participation in the work-travel pathways it has negotiated with 33 countries and territories. IEC also has a targeted stakeholder engagement and promotion plan in place, with the goal of increasing Canadian youth participation in the program. The purpose of this research is to evaluate knowledge of the IEC program among its target audience, as well as any related travel experiences.
Research objectives include measuring the following:
This research will be used to provide insight into the travel and work abroad behaviors of Canadian youth, as well as perceptions and attitudes towards travel and work abroad experiences among IEC’s target audience. Barriers and motivators to pursuing work abroad experiences will also help inform policy and targeted engagement and promotion. In short, this information will help the government to improve the IEC program and its promotion among young Canadians.
Quantitative research was conducted through online surveys, using Computer Aided Web Interviewing (CAWI) technology.
Fieldwork for the survey was conducted from January 24, 2018 and February 9, 2018. The national participation rate for the survey was 18.6 %. A pre-test of 52 interviews, in both official languages, was completed on January 23, 2018. More specifically, 18 interviews were conducted in French and 34 were conducted in English. Survey interviews lasted 9 minutes on average.
To achieve data reliability in all subgroups, a total sample of 2,500 Canadian adults, aged between 18 and 35 were surveyed in all regions of the country. Participant selection was done randomly from LegerWeb’s online panel.
Special attention was given to ensure a distribution of respondents that reflects the general population, while ensuring a minimum number in every region of the country. The following table shows the target distribution of respondents across the regions and the effective sample collected by Leger:
| Regions | Target sample n | Effective sample n |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | 250 | 246 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 50 | 38 |
| Nova Scotia | 100 | 97 |
| New Brunswick | 75 | 87 |
| PEI | 25 | 24 |
| Québec | 550 | 585 |
| Ontario | 850 | 874 |
| Prairies (MB, SK) | 250 | 232 |
| Manitoba | 150 | 131 |
| Saskatchewan | 125 | 101 |
| Alberta | 300 | 317 |
| British Columbia, Yukon, Yellowknife, Whitehorse | 300 | 246 |
| TOTAL | 2,500 | 2,500 |
It was deemed important to oversample indigenous persons in the survey because a normal random sample of Canadians from an Internet panel may not yield sufficient sample sizes to properly analyze data for this highly important group.
Additional samples of targeted indigenous persons and foreign-born Canadians were used to maximize the proportion that took part in the survey, but can’t be considered a random sample of indigenous persons and foreign-born Canadians.
| Subsample | Target sample n | Effective sample n |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign born | 310 | 310 |
| Indigenous peoples | 250 | 249 |
| TOTAL | 560 | 559 |
| Age | Target sample n | Effective sample n |
|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 940 | 930 |
| 25-29 | 710 | 902 |
| 30-35 | 850 | 668 |
| TOTAL | 2,500 | 2,500 |
Since an Internet sample (from the panel) is non-probabilistic in nature, the margin of error does not apply. Indeed, because the sample is based on those who initially self-selected for participation [in the LegerWeb panel], no estimates of sampling error can be calculated. Because respondents for this survey were selected among those who have registered to participate in online surveys, the results of this survey cannot be described as statistically projectable to the target population.
The data have been weighted to reflect the demographic composition of (target population). Based on data from Statistics Canada’s 2016 national census, Leger weighted the results of this survey by age, gender, region and language (mother tongue), and whether a respondent was an indigenous person or foreign born.
Details regarding the weighting procedures can be found in Appendix A.
Below is the calculation of the survey’s participation rate for an online survey. The calculation of the participation rate is as follows: Participation rate = Number of completed questionnaire / Total number of completed sent.
| Items | n= |
|---|---|
| Total number of invitations sent | 13,408 |
| Total number of clicks on the link | 4,082 |
| Number of completed questionnaires | 2,500 |
| Number of screened out | 1,055 |
| Number of incompletes | 255 |
| Participation rate | 18,6 % |
As a Certified Gold-Seal MRIA Member, Leger adheres to the most stringent guidelines for quantitative research. The survey has been registered with the MRIA in accordance with Government of Canada requirements for quantitative research, including the MRIA Code of Conduct and Standards of the Conduct of Government of Canada Public Opinion Research – Series A –Fieldwork and Data Tabulation for Online Surveys.
The details of the methodology procedure, sampling procedures, data collection, participation rate, weighting procedure as well as more information on Leger’s quality control mechanisms are presented in Appendix A.
The French and English questionnaires (the same questionnaire was used for both languages of the study) are available in Appendix B.
The views and observations expressed in this document do not reflect those of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. This report was compiled by Leger based on the research conducted specifically for this project. This research is not probabilistic; the results cannot be inferred to the general population of Canada.
I hereby certify as Senior Officer of Leger that the deliverables fully comply with the Government of Canada political neutrality requirements outlined in the Policy on Communications and Federal Identity and the Directive on the Management of Communications (Appendix C: Mandatory Procedures for Public Opinion Research).
Specifically, the deliverables do not include information on electoral voting intentions, political party preferences, standings with the electorate, or ratings of the performance of a political party or its leaders.
Christian Bourque
Executive Vice-President and Associate
Leger
cbourque@leger360.com
514-982-2464
Supplier name: Leger
Contract Number: B8815-180322/001/CY
Contract Award Date: 2017-12-20
The expenditure for this project is $38,995.00 (including HST).