Immigration in Canada:A Portrait of the

Foreign-born Population

2006 Census of Canada

December 4, 2007

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Annual flow of immigrants to Canada, 1901 to 2006

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

1901

1906

1911

1916

1921

1926

1931

1936

1941

1946

1951

1956

1961

1966

1971

1976

1981

1986

1991

1996

2001

2006

Thousands

Opening and Settlement of the West

World War I1914-1918

The Great Depression and World

War II1939 to1945

Post-war economic boom and the acceptance of "Displaced Persons" from European countries after World

War II

Slow economy of the early

1980s

1978: Immigration Act became law

Canada has welcomed over 1 million immigrants during the first five years of the millennium

2002: Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

One in five were foreign-born, highest proportion in the population in 75 years since 1931

Number and Proportion of foreign-born in Canada, by census year

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

7,000,000

1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2006

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Number

%

Sources: Statistics Canada, censuses of population, 1901 to 2006.

Proportion of foreign-born population, 2006

12.5

19.8

22.2

0

5

10

15

20

25

United States Canada Australia

%

Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of population, 2006. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006 Census. United States Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey.

Canada’s proportion of foreign-born is lower than the Australia, but higher than the United States

Sources: Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada, Waves 1 & 3.

Top reasons for choosing to come to Canada

• Improve future for family• Join family or close

friends• Education opportunity

Top reasons for staying permanently

• Quality of life• Positive future

prospects for family• To be close to family

and friends

4 years later

Family is the reason why many come and quality of life is why many remain

0

20

40

60

80

100

1971 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006

%

United States

Central, South America, theCaribbean and Bermuda

Europe

Africa

Asia (including the MiddleEast)

Oceania and Other

Sources: Statistics Canada, censuses of population, 1971 to 2006.

Region of birth of recent immigrants (in Canada up to 5 years prior to Census year), 1971 to 2006

Most recent immigrants came from Asia, but its share was unchanged since 2001

The majority of the recent immigrants (85.8%) lived in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia

Distribution of total population and recent immigrants

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.4

1.6

2.3

2.9

3.1

3.6

10.4

13.0

23.8

38.5

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.4

0.6

0.7

2.8

9.3

16.0

17.5

52.3

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Nunavut

Yukon Territory

Northwest Territories

Prince Edward Island

Newfoundland and Labrador

New Brunswick

Nova Scotia

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Alberta

British Columbia

Québec

Ontario

%

Recent immigrants

Total population

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of population, 2006.

Ontario and British Columbia had a higher share of recent immigrants than their population share

Relative ratio of recent immigrants to total Population of the provinces or territories, 2006

0.10.2 0.2 0.2

0.7

1.4

0.8

0.2

1.2

0.4 0.4

0.1

0.9

0.00

0.40

0.80

1.20

1.60

relative ratio

1.00 Equal share of recent immigrants to the share of the total population

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of population, 2006.

Toronto has long been the major destination for recent immigrants, but some other urban centres (e.g., Calgary) have increased their share

Sources: Statistics Canada, censuses of population, 1981 to 2006.

Share of recent immigrants who settled in the largest CMAs, 1981 to 2006

30.7

13.011.3

5.4

2.7

19.617.3

41.4

14.213.0

3.6 3.8

16.2

7.7

43.1

11.9

17.6

3.8 4.0

14.6

5.1

40.4

14.913.7

5.23.2

16.8

5.9

0

10

20

30

40

50

Toronto Montréal Vancouver Calgary Ottawa - Gatineau Other CMAs Non-CMA

%

1981 1991

2001 2006

Some urban centres such as Toronto and Vancouver received a higher share of newcomers than their population share in 2006. But there was a shift from 2001, with Calgary and Montréal receiving a higher share

0.4

1.01.1

2.8

0.91.1

0.7

1.5

0.6

1.2

0.7

2.7

0.4

1.3

0.9

2.5

0.91.1

0.8

1.21.0

1.5

0.9

2.0

0.0

0.4

0.8

1.2

1.6

2.0

2.4

2.8

3.2

Halifa

x

Mon

tréal

Ottawa

- Gat

ineau

Toron

to

Hamilto

n

Kitche

ner

Lond

on

Win

dsor

Win

nipeg

Calgar

y

Edmon

ton

Vanco

uver

2001

2006

relative ratio

Sources: Statistics Canada, censuses of Population, 2001 and 2006.

Relative ratio of recent immigrants to total population of the given CMA, 2006

1.00 Equal share of recent immigrants to the total population

Foreign-born as a proportion of metropolitan population, 2006

45.7

39.636.5

34.731.7

28.9 27.9

20.6 19.9

0

10

20

30

40

50

Toronto Vancouver Miami Los Angeles Sydney Melbourne New YorkCity

Montreal Washington

%

Sources: Canadian cities – Statistics Canada, 2006 Census. United States cities – US Census Bureau, 2005 American Community Survey; Australian cities, 2006 Census.

Toronto and Vancouver led many of the largest metropolitan areas in the proportion of the foreign-born population

Proportion of foreign-born in selected census metropolitan areas, 2006

0 10 20 30 40 50

Kelowna

Oshawa

Winnipeg

Ottawa - Gatineau

St. Catharines - Niagara

Edmonton

Victoria

London

Guelph

Montréal

Kitchener

Windsor

Calgary

Abbotsford

Hamilton

Vancouver

Toronto

%

Immigrated between 2001 and 2006

Immigrated before 2001

Canada: 19.8%

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of population, 2006.

In 2006, over 20% of the population in some CMAs, such as Hamilton, Abbotsford, Calgary, Windsor and Kitchener, were foreign-born

Percentage recent immigrants and total population in selected municipalities in Toronto CMA, 2006

59.8

16.7

9.6

4.2 2.8 2.5 1.5 0.7 0.5

48.8

13.1

8.55.1

3.2 4.7 3.2 1.8 1.7

0

20

40

60

80

Toronto City Mississauga Brampton Markham RichmondHill

Vaughan Oakville Ajax Pickering

%

Recent Immigrants

Total population

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2006.

Recent immigrants were more likely to settle in the city of Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton

A majority of the population in certain municipalities in Toronto CMA was foreign-born

 Number of recent immigrants % Recent immigrants % Foreign Born

City of Toronto 267,855 10.8 50.0

Mississauga 74,810 11.2 51.6

Brampton 42,890 9.9 47.8

Markham 18,870 7.2 56.5

Richmond Hill 12,360 7.6 51.5

Vaughan 11,120 4.7 44.9

Oakville 6,820 4.1 30.5

Ajax 3,170 3.5 30.7

Pickering 2,275 2.6 30.2

Newmarket 1,985 2.7 22.0

Top 10 municipalities in the Toronto CMA where recent immigrants settled in 2006

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2006.

In the Montréal CMA, the majority of the recent immigrants lived in the City of Montréal

76,3

5,4 4,72,3 1,4 1,2 0,7 0,7 0,6 0,6

44,4

10,26,3

2,0 0,8 1,4 0,5 0,6 0,5 0,8

0

20

40

60

80

City ofMontréal

Laval Longueuil Brossard Côte-Saint-Luc

Dollard-DesOrmeaux

Mont-Royal Westmount Dorval Pointe-Claire

%

Recent immigrants

Total population

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2006.

Percentage recent immigrants and the total population in selected municipalities in Montréal CMA, 2006

Three in 10 of the residents in the city of Montréal were foreign-born

  Number of recent immigrants

% Recent immigrants

% foreign-born

City of Montréal 126,180 7.9 30.8

Laval 8,930 2.4 20.2

Longueuil 7,815 3.4 12.7

Brossard 3,745 5.3 33.4

Côte-Saint-Luc 2,300 7.6 45.4

Dollard-Des-Ormeaux 2,050 4.2 37.1

Mont-Royal 1,195 6.4 34.8

Westmount 1,135 5.7 29.2

Dorval 990 5.5 25.6

Pointe-Claire 940 3.1 22.9

Top 10 municipalities in the Montréal CMA where recent immigrants settled in 2006

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2006.

Three-quarters of the newcomers in Vancouver CMA lived in just four municipalities: the city of Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby and Richmond

28,7

19,3

14,412,4

5,92,8 2,7 2,4 2,3 1,5

27,2

18,7

9,6 8,35,4

2,8 3,9 4,62,1

4,4

0

20

40

60

80

City ofVancouver

Surrey Burnaby Richmond Coquitlam NewWestminster

NorthVancouver

DM

Delta NorthVancouver

CY

Langley

%

Recent immigrants

Total population

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2006.

Percentage recent immigrants and the total population in selected municipalities in Vancouver CMA, 2006

Almost six in 10 of the residents in the municipality of Richmond were foreign-born

  Number of recent immigrants % Recent immigrants % foreign-born

City of Vancouver 43,470 7.6 45.6

Surrey 29,230 7.4 38.3

Burnaby 21,790 10.8 50.8

Richmond 18,780 10.8 57.4

Coquitlam 8,930 7.9 39.4

New Westminster 4,250 7.3 31.7

North Vancouver DM 4,075 5.0 31.7

Delta 3,695 3.8 28.1

North Vancouver CY 3,470 7.7 36.5

Langley 2,350 2.5 17.1

Top 10 municipalities in the Vancouver CMA where recent immigrants settled in 2006

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2006.

There was a diversity of origin countries, but the People’s Republic of China and India were consistently among the top source countries

Toronto CMA Montréal CMA Vancouver CMA

India People's Republic of China People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China Algeria India

Pakistan Morocco Philippines

Philippines Romania South Korea

Sri Lanka France Taiwan

Iran Haiti Iran

South Korea Lebanon United States of America

Russian Federation Colombia United Kingdom

Ukraine Pakistan Hong Kong, SAR

Bangladesh Mexico Russian Federation

Top 10 birthplaces of recent immigrants in Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver, 2006

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2006.

The vast majority of the foreign-born people hold Canadian citizenship

• 85.1% of eligible immigrants are Canadian citizens

• 2.8% of the total population hold dual or multiple citizenships

• United Kingdom, Poland and the United States are the most common countries of citizenship among the multiple-citizenship holders

Canadian citizenship status(Total Canadian population)

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of population, 2006.

Canadian by naturalization

15%

Not a Canadian citizen 5.6%

Canadian by birth 79%

Upcoming 2006 Census releases

• January 15, 2008: Aboriginal peoples

• March 4, 2008: Labour (including labour market activity, industry and occupation); Place of work and commuting to work (including mode of transportation); Education (including school attendance and educational attainment); Language (including language of work)

• April 2, 2008: Ethnic origin and visible minorities

• May 1, 2008: Income and earnings; Housing and shelter costs