An examination of the working conditions and risk factors for work-related injuries among immigrant workers in Ontario

Institute for Work & Health
481 University Avenue, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario

Peter Smith
Institute for Work & Health

Immigrants are an increasingly important segment of Canadian society, in particular to the Canadian labour market. While there is much Canadian research on the earnings of immigrants — documenting that recent immigrants earn less than Canadian-born workers — there has been relatively little research in Canada on the occupational health and safety (OHS) risks facing immigrant workers, or on the incidence and consequences of work injuries among immigrants compared to Canadian-born workers.

In this presentation, Dr. Peter Smith will report the results of a recently completed project at the Institute for Work & Health examining OHS risk factors, work injuries and compensation after injury among recent immigrant workers in Canada. The results suggest that recent immigrants to Canada face a number of OHS hazards that put them at increased risk of work-related injuries requiring medical attention. In addition, the results suggest recent immigrants are at an increased risk of not receiving any compensation following a work-related absence of seven days or longer.

However, considerable gaps still exist in our knowledge about immigrant workers. These knowledge gaps and policy recommendations will be discussed.

About presenter

Photo of Peter Smith

Dr. Peter Smith is president and senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) in Toronto, and a professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Prior to moving into the president's role in January 2022, Smith was IWH's scientific co-director.

About IWH Speaker Series

The IWH Speaker Series brings you the latest findings from work and health researchers from the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and beyond. For those unable to attend, the recorded webinar of most presentations in the IWH Speaker Series are made available on its web page within a week of the event.