Do Top Executive’s Immigration Status and Management Perception of Multiculturalism Matter?

Using data from a largely representative survey of 801 Atlantic Canadian employers, this paper conducts regression analyses to test associations between two diversity variables and five objective and subjective measures of firm performance: revenue change and employment change in the previous three years, projected revenue change and employment change over the next three years and projected provincial economic growth/decline over the next three years. We find that firms with an immigrant CEO and/or owner are more likely to forecast revenue growth, report recent employment growth, and forecast provincial economic growth. Employers who believe that a multicultural workforce enhances creativity are more likely to report recent employment growth and more likely to forecast provincial economic growth in the medium-term. This is consistent with most national studies, which tend to show immigrant-owned companies are more likely to create jobs and firm growth (Picot and Ostrovsky, 2021).