Prior to joining the University of Ottawa, he spent 18 years as a researcher in a number of federal government departments including, The Secretary of State, Multiculturalism and Citizenship, Canadian Heritage, and, Human Resources and Social Development. His primary research focus is on diversity, with a goal towards assessing the socioeconomic characteristics of language, immigrant and ethnic groups in Canada and other settler societies. Much of his research has been quantitative in nature, using a variety of data sources including census and other micro datasets, immigration intake records, and special surveys to measure group differences. Recent work has attempted to study the relationship between interaction and participation (social capital) and ethnicity. He has also looked at the degree to which Canadian-born minorities face earnings gaps in the labour force.