India is the leading country of birth for recent immigrants, according to Canada’s 2021 census. For the first time, India surpassed all other countries as the major location of the birth of new immigrants to Canada (18.6% of recent immigrants from 2016 to 2021), or nearly one in five recent immigrants, according to statistics provided by Statistics Canada in its study Portrait of Immigration to Canada.
For the first time, India surpassed the Philippines (11.4%) and China (8.9%) as the country where the most recent immigrants to Canada were born (18.6% from 2016 to 2021). When 20.9% of all recent immigrants came from the United Kingdom in the 1971 Census, it was the highest percentage of immigrants from a single country of origin ever recorded.
By location of birth, time of immigration, admission category, and place of residency, different aspects of immigration can be seen in Canada.
More than 8.3 million individuals, or about 23% of the total population, were or had ever been landed immigrants or permanent residents in Canada as of 2021. Since Canada’s dominion was established as a self-governing entity in 1867, the proportion of immigrants in the population has increased to its highest level.
The bulk of immigrants to Canada historically came from Europe, but during the past 50 years, the proportion of new immigrants born in Asia (including the Middle East) has increased and the proportion of new immigrants from Europe has decreased.
In Canada, more than half of recent immigrants were accepted under the economic category. Just over one-third (34.5%) and another third (33.6%) of the 748,120 economic immigrants were chosen through skilled worker programmes and the Provincial Nominee Program, respectively.
Particularly high among recent immigrants who settled since 2016 (36.6%) was the percentage of immigrants who originally arrived in Canada temporarily on work or study visas or as asylum seekers before being approved as permanent residents.
The Immigration Levels Plan for the following year will be unveiled by the Canadian government on November 1. It will detail the distribution of immigrants from economic, familial, and humanitarian programmes that Canada anticipates welcoming during the following three years.
A target of bringing in 431,645 new permanent residents has been established by Canada under the Immigration Levels Plan for 2022–2024. The goal will rise until 2024 when a total of 451,000 additional permanent residents are expected. A record number of people have been moving to Canada as permanent citizens. Over 300,000 new permanent residents have already arrived in Canada in 2022.
The biggest proportion of recent immigrants born in a single country since 1971, about one in five were born in India. An infographic that lists the top 10 locations of birth according to the percentage of recent immigrants from the 2021 Census illustrates this. It includes the flag of the place of birth, the percentage of recent immigrants from that place of birth in 2021 and 2016, and its ranking for 2016.
A person who acquired landed immigrant or permanent resident status within the five years preceding a certain census is referred to as a “recent immigrant.” This relates to the period from January 1, 2016, to May 11, 2021, for the 2021 Census of Population.
India was the country with the highest percentage of recent immigrants (18.6%) who indicated their place of birth in 2021. 12.1% of recent immigrants identified India as their country of birth in 2016. In that year’s census, India was the second most often stated place of birth.
However, the Philippines, where 11.4% of recent immigrants were from, was the second most common country of birth listed by immigrants in 2021. In 2016, 15.6% of recent immigrants claimed to have been born in the Philippines. In 2016, the Philippines was the country where births were most often recorded.
