Economic Life

Afghans arrive in Canada with a variety of skills and professional training. Among the immigrants are medical doctors, engineers, university professors, and other professionals. Often, however, their skills are not marketable in Canada, in part because professional training or licensing requirements are different. For instance, in Afghanistan medical doctors study at college for only five years and do not take the same certification examinations as in Canada. The result is that medical doctors and others with professional skills are not able to move into comparable Canadian positions without additional training. Forced to take lower-paying jobs in Canada, many experience emotional and financial stress.

Afghans are entrepreneurs. They avoid working for hourly wages, preferring to own their own businesses. Since they traditionally operate in extended kinship groups in Afghanistan, they often pool money among relatives to buy small enterprises. These establishments include grocery stores, janitorial services, restaurants, or other retail business operations. In such enterprises the Afghan small businessman can employ relatives for little or no pay and build equity for his family. The goal is to expand holdings in the long run rather than to maximize profits in the short term. Many Afghan businesses fail, but in general the community is moving towards self-sufficiency, and few Afghans remain on public assistance for long. The average family income is below Canadian standards; however, considering their relatively recent arrival, Afghans are generally doing well.