A joint study by the Institute for Clinical Evaluation Sciences and the University of Toronto has found that immigrants are 60% less likely to die during a given time period than native born Canadians and long-term Ontario residents.

The study examined mortality rates based on immigration and socioeconomic status.  It found that immigrants had a much lower death rate than non-immigrants, even if they lived in the most deprived areas of the province.

The so-called “healthy immigrant effect” translated to into almost 43,000 fewer deaths overall and more than 18,000 fewer premature deaths during the study period between 2002 and 2012.

Since the immigration system only lets healthy and resilient immigrants into the country, the study concludes that poverty is the overwhelming determinant of health.

The study is published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.