Immigration to Canada

Canadian citizenship
This article is part of a series
Immigration
Immigration to Canada History of immigration to Canada Economic impact of immigration Canadian immigration and refugee law Immigration Act, 1976 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act Permanent residency Temporary residency Permanent Resident Card
Canadian nationality law
History of nationality law Citizenship Act 1946 Citizenship Test Oath of Citizenship
Agencies
Citizenship and Immigration Canada Passport Canada
Citizenship classes
Honorary citizenship Commonwealth citizen
Issues
Lost Canadians "Canadians of convenience"
Demographics of Canada
Canadians Population by year Ethnic origins

Immigration to Canada is the process by which people migrate to Canada to reside in the country. The majority of these individuals become Canadian citizens. After 1947, domestic immigration law and policy went through major changes, most notably with the Immigration Act, 1976, and the current Immigration and Refugee Protection Act from 2002. Canadian immigration policies are still evolving. As recent as in 2008, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has made significant changes to streamline the steady flow of immigrants. The changes included reduced professional categories for skilled immigration as well as caps for immigrants in various categories. Since 2001, immigration has ranged between 221,352 and 262,236 immigrants per annum.^[1]

In Canada there are four categories of immigrants: family class (closely related persons of Canadian residents living in Canada), economic immigrants (skilled workers and business people), other (people accepted as immigrants for humanitarian or compassionate reasons) and refugees (people who are escaping persecution, torture or cruel and unusual punishment). According to the 2001 census by Statistics Canada, Canada has 33 ethnic groups with at least one hundred thousand members each, of which 10 have over 1,000,000 people and numerous others represented in smaller amounts. 16.2% of the population belonged to visible minorities.

The Canadian public as-well as the major political parties support either sustaining or increasing the current level of immigration.^[2][3][4] A 2014 sociological study concluded that "Australia and Canada are the most receptive to immigration among western nations".^[5]

History

A collection of four maps showing the distribution of the Canadian population for 1851 (Newfoundland 1857), 1871 (Newfoundland 1869), 1901 and 1921 by historical region.

Come to Stay, printed in 1880 in the Canadian Illustrated News, which refers to immigration to the "Dominion".

After the initial period of British and French colonization, four major waves (or peaks) of immigration and settlement of non-aboriginal peoples took place over a period of almost two centuries. The fifth wave is currently ongoing.

First wave

The first wave of significant, non-aboriginal immigration to Canada occurred over almost two centuries with slow but progressive French settlement of Quebec and Acadia with smaller numbers of American and European entrepreneurs in addition to British military personnel. This wave culminated with the influx of 46–50,000 British Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, chiefly from the Mid-Atlantic States mostly into what is today Southern Ontario, the Eastern Townships of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. A second wave of 30,000 Americans settled in Ontario and the Eastern Townships between the late 1780s and 1812 with promises of land. Scottish Highlanders from land clearances also became landers in Canada during this period. It marked a new age for Canada and its people.

Second wave

The second wave from Britain and Ireland was encouraged to settle in Canada after the War of 1812, and included British army regulars who had served in the war. The colonial governors of Canada, who were worried about another American invasion attempt and to counter the French-speaking influence of Quebec, rushed to promote settlement in back country areas along newly constructed plank roads within organized land tracts, mostly in Upper Canada (present-day Ontario). With the second wave Irish immigration to Canada had been increasing and peaked when the Irish Potato Famine occurred from 1846 to 1849 resulting in hundreds of thousands more Irish arriving on Canada's shores, although a significant portion migrated to the United States either in the short-term or over the subsequent decades.

The Dominion Lands Act of 1872 copied the American system by offering ownership of 160 acres of land free (except for a small registration fee) to any man over 18 or any woman heading a household. They did not need to be citizens, but had to live on the plot and improve it.

Also during this period, Canada became a port of entry for many Europeans seeking to gain entry into the U.S. Canadian transportation companies advertised Canadian ports as a hassle-free way to enter the U.S. especially as the U.S. began barring entry to certain ethnicities. The U.S. and Canada mitigated this situation in 1894 with the Canadian Agreement which allowed for U.S. immigration officials to inspect ships landing at Canadian ports for immigrants excluded from the U.S. If found, the transporting companies were responsible for shipping the persons back.^[6]

Clifford Sifton, minister of the Interior in Ottawa, 1896–1905, argued that the free western lands were ideal for growing wheat and would attract large numbers of hard-working farmers. He removed obstacles that included control of the lands by companies or organizations that did little to encourage settlement. Land companies, the Hudson's Bay Company, and school lands all accounted for large tracts of excellent land. The railways kept closed even larger tracts because they were reluctant to take legal title to the even-numbered lands they were due, thus blocking sale of odd-numbered tracts. Sifton broke the legal log jam, and set up aggressive advertising campaigns in the U.S. and Europe, with a host of agents promoting the Canadian west. He also brokered deals with ethnic groups that wanted large tracts for homogeneous settlement. His goal was to maximize immigration from Britain, eastern Canada and the U.S.^[7]

Third wave (1900-1914) and fourth wave (1940s-1960s)

The government promoted cheap wheat lands in the Prairies. 1898

The third wave of immigration coming mostly from continental Europe peaked prior to World War I, between 1911–1913 (over 400,000 in 1912) and the fourth wave also from that same continent in 1957 (282,000), making Canada a more multiethnic country with substantial non-British or non-French (but white) populations. For example, Ukrainian Canadians account for the largest Ukrainian population outside Ukraine and Russia. Periods of lowered immigration have also occurred, especially during the First World War and the Second World War, in addition to the Great Depression.

Fifth wave (1970s-present)

Immigration since the 1970s has overwhelmingly been of visible minorities from the developing world. This was largely influenced in 1976 when the Immigration Act was revised and this continued to be official government policy. During the Mulroney government, immigration levels were increased. By the late 1980s, the fifth wave of immigration has maintained with slight fluctuations since (225,000–275,000 annually). Currently, most immigrants come from South Asia, China and Caribbean and this trend is expected to continue.

Chinese

Exclusionist cartoon in Saturday Sunset magazine by N. H. Hawkins, Vancouver, 24 August 1907

Prior to 1885, restrictions on immigration were imposed mostly in response to large waves of immigration rather than planned policy decisions, but not specifically targeted at one group or ethnicity, at least as official policy. Then came the introduction of the first Chinese Head Tax legislation passed in 1885, which was in response to a growing number of Chinese working on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Subsequent increases in the head tax in 1900 and 1903 limited Chinese entrants to Canada. In 1907 a major riot against Asians took place in Vancouver, BC. In 1923 the government passed the Chinese Immigration Act which excluded Chinese from entering Canada altogether between 1923 and 1947. For discriminating against Chinese immigrants in past periods, an official government apology and compensations were announced on 22 June 2006.

Citizenship

The term Canadian as a term of nationalism or citizenship was first used under the Immigration Act, 1910, to designate those British subjects who were domiciled in Canada. All other British subjects required permission to land. A separate status of "Canadian national" was created under the Canadian Nationals Act, 1921, which was defined as being a Canadian as defined above, their wives, and any children (fathered by such citizens) that had not yet landed in Canada. After the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, the monarchy ceased to be an exclusively British institution. Because of this Canadians, and others living in countries that became known as Commonwealth realms, were known as subjects of the Crown. However, in legal documents the term "British subject" continued to be used and "Canadians" were officially British Subjects born or regularly domiciled in Canada.

Canada was the first nation in the then British Commonwealth to establish its own nationality law in 1946, with the enactment of the Canadian Citizenship Act 1946. This took effect on January 1, 1947. In order to be deemed a Canadian citizen on January 1, 1947, one generally had to be a British subject on that date, or had been admitted to Canada as landed immigrants before that date. First nations people were later included by amendment in 1956. The phrase British subject refers in general to anyone from the United Kingdom, its colonies at the time, or a Commonwealth country. Acquisition and loss of British subject status before 1947 was determined by United Kingdom law (see History of British nationality law).

Canada offers Canadian citizenship through naturalization. In June 2015 the implementation of the latest reforms to the Citizenship Act took effect and revised access to Canadian citizenship. The new reforms raises the residency requirements to 4 years out of 6 years during the period immediately prior to filing the application thereby reducing the length of time to 66% from 75% of the relevant residency period. However, it also requires physical residence for 183 days in each of four the qualifying calendar years prior to submission and a requirement to file income tax. Persons aged 14 to 64 years of age must demonstrate a knowledge of Canada and a basic ability in either official language. There is a provision of an intention to reside on the part of an applicant that applies only during the application process and is irrelevant once a person is a citizen.^[8] On 15 February 1977, Canada removed restrictions on dual citizenship. Many of the provisions to acquire or lose Canadian citizenship that existed under the 1946 legislation were repealed. Canadian citizens are in general no longer subject to involuntary loss of citizenship, barring revocation on the grounds of immigration fraud.

Statistics Canada has tabulated the effect of immigration on population growth in Canada from 1851 to 2001.^[9]

Emigration

Emigration from Canada to the United States has historically exceeded immigration, but there were short periods where the reverse was true; for example, the Loyalist refugees; during the various British Columbia gold rushes and later the Klondike Gold Rush which saw many American prospectors inhabiting British Columbia and the Yukon; land settlers moving from the Northern Plains to the Prairies in the early 20th century and also during periods of political turmoil and/or during wars, for example the Vietnam War. In recent years, the emigration from Canada to the U.S. is very small in numbers compared to immigrants coming to Canada.

Immigration rate

In 2001, 250,640 people immigrated to Canada, relative to a total population of 30,007,094 people per the 2001 Census. On a compounded basis, that immigration rate represents 8.7% population growth over 10 years, or 23.1% over 25 years (or 6.9 million people). Since 2001, immigration has ranged between 221,352 and 262,236 immigrants per annum.^[1] The three main official reasons given for the level of immigration are:

100,000 +

50,000-99,999

20,000-49,999

10,000-19,999

1. The social component – Canada facilitates family reunification.
2. The humanitarian component – Relating to refugees.
3. The economic component – Attracting immigrants who will contribute economically and fill labour market needs (See related article, Economic impact of immigration to Canada).

The level of immigration peaked in 1993 in the last year of the Progressive Conservative government and was maintained by Liberal Party of Canada. Ambitious targets of an annual 1% per capita immigration rate were hampered by financial constraints. The Liberals committed to raising actual immigration levels further in 2005. All political parties are now cautious about criticizing the high level of immigration. Consequently, immigration levels to Canada (roughly 0.7% per year) are considerably higher per capita than to the United States (about a million, or 0.3%, per year). Further, much of the immigration to the United States is from Latin America, with relatively less from Asia; the United States only admits about twice as many immigrants from Asian countries like China, India, the Philippines, and Pakistan as Canada, despite having nine times the population. Due to this, the largest minority in the United States is the Latin American population, while Canada's largest minority is its Asian population.

Immigrant population growth is concentrated in or near large cities (particularly Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal). These cities are experiencing increased services demands that accompany strong population growth, causing concern about the capability of infrastructure in those cities to handle the influx. For example, a Toronto Star article published on 14 July 2006 authored by Daniel Stoffman noted that 43% of immigrants move to the Greater Toronto Area and said "unless Canada cuts immigrant numbers, our major cities will not be able to maintain their social and physical infrastructures".^[10] Most of the provinces that do not have one of those destination cities have implemented strategies to try to boost their share of immigration.

According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, under the Canada-Quebec Accord of 1991, Quebec has sole responsibility for selecting most immigrants destined to the province. Of course, once immigrants are granted permanent residency or citizenship they are free to move between and reside in any provinces under Section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Immigration categories

There are three main categories to Canadian immigration:

Economic immigrants

Citizenship and Immigration Canada uses seven sub-categories of economic immigrants. The high-profile Skilled worker principal applicants group comprised 19.8% of all immigration in 2005. Canada has also created a VIP Business Immigration Program which allows immigrants with sufficient business experience or management experience to receive the Permanent Residency in a shorter period than other types of immigrations. The Province of Quebec has a program called the Immigrant Investor Program.^[1]

Family class

Under a government program, both citizens and permanent residents can sponsor family members to immigrate to Canada.

Refugees

Immigration of refugees and those in need of protection.

In 2010, Canada accepted 280,681 immigrants (permanent and temporary) of which 186,913 (67%) were Economic immigrants; 60,220 (22%) were Family class; 24,696 (9%) were Refugees; and 8,845 (2%) were Other.^[11] Some 60,000 come to Canada each year under the International Experience Canada initiative, which provides Working Holiday, internship, and study visas. ^[12]

Under Canadian nationality law an immigrant can apply for citizenship after living in Canada for 1095 days (3 years) in any 5-year period provided that they lived in Canada as a permanent resident for at least two of those years.^[13]

As of May 1, 2014 the Federal Skilled Worker Class opened once again accepting 25,000 applicants with intake caps at 1,000 per category. A New Economic Action Plan 2015 took effect in January 2015 in which the skilled worker program will be more of an employer based program. The current list of accepted occupations for 2014 includes many occupations such as senior managers, accountants, physicians and medical professionals, professionals in marketing and advertising, real estate professionals and many more.^[14] The changes in 2015 moved permanent residency in Canada away from the 'first come, first served' model, and towards a new structure that took on permanent residents based on Canada's economic need. The new system is called 'Express Entry'. ^[15]

Sources of immigration

Canada receives its immigrant population from 195 countries.

Permanent Residents Admitted in 2013, by Top 10 Source Countries^[16]

Rank	Country	Number	Percentage
1	China	33,908	13.1
2	India	30,576	11.8
3	Philippines	28,943	10.5
4	Pakistan	9,931	4.4
5	United States	9,414	4.1
6	Iran	8,138	3.9
7	France	6,463	2.8
8	United Kingdom and Territories	6,365	2.3
9	South Korea	5,599	1.7
10	United Arab Emirates	5,308	1.6
	Top 10 Total	145,418	56.2
	Other	113,535	43.8
	Total	258,953	100

Statistics Canada projects that, by 2031, almost one-half of the population over the age of 15 will be foreign-born or have at least one foreign-born parent.^[17] The number of visible minorities will double and make up the majority of the population of cities in Canada.^[18]

Canadian immigrant population by country of birth (2005)

"Immigrant" refers to all those who hold or have ever held permanent resident status in Canada, including naturalized citizens.^[19][20]

Rank	Country of birth	Population	Portion of immigrants in Canada	Portion of Canadian population	Notes
1	Canada	24,788,720	N/A	79.3%
	Outside Canada	6,186,950	100%	19.8%
2	United Kingdom	579,620	9.4%	1.9%	From England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
3	China	466,940	7.5%	1.5%	The official name is 'People's Republic of China'. These figures exclude Hong Kong and Macau, which have separate lines below in this table.
4	India	443,690	7.2%	1.4%
5	Philippines	303,195	4.9%	1%
6	Italy	296,850	4.8%	1%
7	United States	250,535	4%	0.8%
8	Hong Kong	215,430	3.5%	0.7%	Special administrative region of the People's Republic of China.
9	Germany	171,405	2.8%	0.5%
10	Poland	170,490	2.8%	0.5%
11	Vietnam	160,170	2.6%	0.5%	Many from the former Republic of Vietnam
12	Portugal	150,390	2.4%	0.5%
13	Pakistan	133,280	2.2%	0.4%
14	Jamaica	123,420	2%	0.4%
15	Netherlands	111,990	1.8%	0.4%
16	Sri Lanka	105,670	1.7%	0.3%
17	South Korea	98,395	1.6%	0.3%
18	Iran	92,090	1.5%	0.3%
19	Guyana	87,195	1.4%	0.3%
20	Romania	82,645	1.3%	0.3%
21	France	79,550	1.3%	0.3%
22	Lebanon	75,275	1.2%	0.2%
23	Greece	73,125	1.2%	0.2%
24	Trinidad and Tobago	65,540	1.1%	0.2%
25	Taiwan	65,205	1.1%	0.2%	The official name is 'Republic of China'.
26	Russia	64,130	1%	0.2%
27	Haiti	63,350	1%	0.2%
28	Ukraine	59,460	1%	0.2%
29	Mexico	49,925	0.8%	0.2%
30	Hungary	45,940	0.7%	0.1%
31	El Salvador	42,780	0.7%	0.1%
32	Egypt	40,575	0.7%	0.1%
33	Croatia	39,250	0.6%	0.1%
34	Colombia	39,145	0.6%	0.1%
35	Morocco	39,055	0.6%	0.1%
36	South Africa	38,305	0.6%	0.1%
37	Yugoslavia, n.o.s.	37,205	0.6%	0.1%	The abbreviation 'n.o.s.' means 'not otherwise specified'. Includes immigrants from the former Yugoslavia who did not specify Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, or Slovenia.
38	Afghanistan	36,165	0.6%	0.1%
39	Iraq	33,545	0.5%	0.1%
40	Bangladesh	33,230	0.5%	0.1%
41	Algeria	32,255	0.5%	0.1%
42	Bosnia and Herzegovina	28,730	0.5%	0.1%
43	Chile	26,505	0.4%	0.1%
44	Serbia	25,465	0.4%	0.1%	Now divided into Serbia and Montenegro.
45	Fiji	24,390	0.4%	0.1%
46	Kenya	22,475	0.4%	0.1%
47	Ireland	22,370	0.4%	0.1%
48	Peru	22,080	0.4%	0.1%
49	Czech Republic	22,030	0.4%	0.1%
50	Malaysia	21,885	0.4%	0.1%
51	Japan	21,705	0.4%	0.1%
52	Turkey	21,580	0.3%	0.1%
53	Israel	21,320	0.3%	0.1%
54	Austria	20,795	0.3%	0.1%
55	Belgium	20,215	0.3%	0.1%
56	Cambodia	20,190	0.3%	0.1%
57	Switzerland	19,955	0.3%	0.1%
58	Tanzania	19,765	0.3%	0.1%
59	Ethiopia	19,715	0.3%	0.1%
60	Somalia	19,515	0.3%	0.1%
61	Ghana	18,830	0.3%	0.1%
62	Syria	18,800	0.3%	0.1%
63	Australia	18,165	0.3%	0.1%	Includes Norfolk Island.
64	Argentina	18,120	0.3%	0.1%
65	Denmark	17,360	0.3%	0.1%	Includes the Faroe Islands.
66	Bulgaria	15,955	0.3%	0.1%
67	Guatemala	15,705	0.3%	0.1%
68	Barbados	15,325	0.2%	0%
69	Brazil	15,120	0.2%	0%
70	Slovakia	14,825	0.2%	0%
71	Nigeria	14,705	0.2%	0%
72	Laos	14,465	0.2%	0%
73	Democratic Republic of the Congo	14,125	0.2%	0%
74	Ecuador	13,480	0.2%	0%
75	Sudan	12,590	0.2%	0%	Now divided into Sudan and South Sudan.
76	Finland	12,545	0.2%	0%
77	Indonesia	12,260	0.2%	0%
78	Saudi Arabia	11,630	0.2%	0%
79	Uganda	11,005	0.2%	0%
80	Kuwait	10,520	0.2%	0%
81	Albania	10,295	0.2%	0%
82	Spain	10,290	0.2%	0%
83	Venezuela	10,270	0.2%	0%
84	Singapore	9,880	0.2%	0%
85	United Arab Emirates	9,865	0.2%	0%
86	Thailand	9,705	0.2%	0%
87	Mauritius	9,660	0.2%	0%
88	Slovenia	9,460	0.2%	0%
89	New Zealand	9,415	0.2%	0%	Includes Niue and Tokelau.
90	Nicaragua	9,095	0.1%	0%
91	Cuba	8,865	0.1%	0%
92	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	8,795	0.1%	0%
93	Grenada	8,740	0.1%	0%
94	Macedonia	8,505	0.1%	0%
95	Malta	8,255	0.1%	0%
96	Paraguay	7,530	0.1%	0%
97	Jordan	7,440	0.1%	0%
98	Tunisia	7,410	0.1%	0%
99	Belarus	7,270	0.1%	0%
100	Latvia	7,085	0.1%	0%
101	Sweden	6,845	0.1%	0%
102	Uruguay	6,635	0.1%	0%
103	Zimbabwe	6,525	0.1%	0%
104	Dominican Republic	6,505	0.1%	0%
105	Kazakhstan	6,420	0.1%	0%
106	Lithuania	6,415	0.1%	0%
107	Palestine	6,200	0.1%	0%	Composed of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
108	Eritrea	6,130	0.1%	0%
109	Macau	6,005	0.1%	0%	Special administrative region of the People's Republic of China.
110	Estonia	5,300	0.1%	0%
111	Moldova	5,250	0.1%	0%
112	Norway	5,245	0.1%	0%
113	Honduras	5,165	0.1%	0%
114	Myanmar	4,800	0.1%	0%	Formerly known as Burma.
115	Brunei	4,425	0.1%	0%
116	Cyprus	4,220	0.1%	0%
117	Burundi	4,175	0.1%	0%
118	Bolivia	3,770	0.1%	0%
119	St. Lucia	3,520	0.1%	0%
120	Rwanda	3,440	0.1%	0%
121	Nepal	3,305	0.1%	0%
122	Cameroon	3,090	0%	0%
123	Angola	3,045	0%	0%
124	Costa Rica	2,940	0%	0%
125	Dominica	2,830	0%	0%
126	Sierra Leone	2,800	0%	0%
127	Panama	2,760	0%	0%
128	Libya	2,620	0%	0%
129	Uzbekistan	2,610	0%	0%
130	Zambia	2,520	0%	0%
131	St. Kitts and Nevis	2,370	0%	0%
132	Antigua and Barbuda	2,340	0%	0%
133	Ivory Coast	2,305	0%	0%	Also known as Côte d'Ivoire.
134	Azerbaijan	2,260	0%	0%
135	Soviet Union, n.o.s.	2,220	0%	0%	The abbreviation 'n.o.s.' means 'not otherwise specified'. The official name of the country was 'Union of Soviet Socialist Republics'. Includes immigrants from the former Soviet Union who did not state which former Soviet country they were born in. As of the Canada 2006 Census, the countries that were once part of the Soviet Union include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
136	Senegal	2,205	0%	0%
137	Armenia	2,195	0%	0%
138	Belize	2,080	0%	0%
138	Czechoslovakia, n.o.s.	2,080	0%	0%	The abbreviation 'n.o.s.' means 'not otherwise specified'. Includes immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia who did not state which former Czechoslovak country they were born in. As of the Canada 2006 Census, the countries that were once part of Czechoslovakia include the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
139	Guinea	2,055	0%	0%
140	Madagascar	2,030	0%	0%
141	Bermuda	1,930	0%	0%
142	Bahrain	1,590	0%	0%
143	Georgia	1,530	0%	0%
144	Liberia	1,400	0%	0%
145	Qatar	1,340	0%	0%
146	Togo	1,255	0%	0%
147	Kyrgyzstan	1,215	0%	0%
148	Yemen	1,090	0%	0%
149	Mozambique	1,050	0%	0%
150	Bahamas	970	0%	0%
151	Seychelles	885	0%	0%
152	Mali	855	0%	0%
153	Oman	830	0%	0%
154	Chad	810	0%	0%
155	Suriname	765	0%	0%
156	Montserrat	730	0%	0%
157	Benin	685	0%	0%
158	Republic of the Congo	630	0%	0%
159	Aruba	580	0%	0%
160	Luxembourg	570	0%	0%
161	Tajikistan	560	0%	0%
162	Iceland	530	0%	0%
163	Mongolia	525	0%	0%
164	Djibouti	515	0%	0%
165	Gabon	510	0%	0%
166	Netherlands Antilles	500	0%	0%	Now divided into Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius, and St. Maarten. At one time it also included Aruba.
167	Malawi	425	0%	0%
168	Martinique	385	0%	0%
169	The Gambia	380	0%	0%
170	St. Pierre and Miquelon	375	0%	0%
171	Burkina Faso	365	0%	0%
172	Mauritania	335	0%	0%
173	Namibia	330	0%	0%
174	Puerto Rico	325	0%	0%
175	Guadeloupe	320	0%	0%
176	Papua New Guinea	275	0%	0%
177	Turkmenistan	225	0%	0%
178	Niger	220	0%	0%
179	Botswana	215	0%	0%
179	Gibraltar	215	0%	0%
180	Cayman Islands	200	0%	0%
181	Cape Verde	165	0%	0%
181	North Korea	165	0%	0%	The official name is 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea'.
182	Central African Republic	160	0%	0%
183	Swaziland	140	0%	0%
184	Anguilla	100	0%	0%
185	Monaco	95	0%	0%
186	French Polynesia	90	0%	0%
186	Lesotho	90	0%	0%
186	Samoa	90	0%	0%
187	Bhutan	85	0%	0%
187	New Caledonia	85	0%	0%
188	Tonga	80	0%	0%
189	French Guiana	70	0%	0%
189	Guinea-Bissau	70	0%	0%
190	Réunion	60	0%	0%
190	British Virgin Islands	60	0%	0%
191	Liechtenstein	55	0%	0%
192	Federated States of Micronesia	45	0%	0%
192	Turks and Caicos Islands	45	0%	0%
193	Comoros	40	0%	0%
194	Greenland	40	0%	0%
195	Solomon Islands	35	0%	0%
196	Andorra	30	0%	0%
196	Equatorial Guinea	30	0%	0%
196	Guam	30	0%	0%
197	Maldives	20	0%	0%
197	Nauru	20	0%	0%
197	Palau	20	0%	0%
198	East Timor	15	0%	0%	Also known as Timor-Leste.
198	Falkland Islands	15	0%	0%
198	St. Helena and Dependencies	15	0%	0%	Now known as St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
198	San Marino	15	0%	0%
199	American Samoa	10	0%	0%
199	Marshall Islands	10	0%	0%
199	Tuvalu	10	0%	0%
199	Vanuatu	10	0%	0%
199	United States Virgin Islands	10	0%	0%
199	Wallis and Futuna	10	0%	0%
	Others	6,220	0.1%	0%	Includes a small number of immigrants who were born in Canada, as well as other places of birth not classified elsewhere.

2011 immigration statistics

Number of immigrants granted permanent residence in Canada in 2011 by source country[21]
Rank	Country	Number of immigrants admitted	Proportion of total	Notes
1	Philippines	34,991	14.1%
2	China	28,696	11.5%	Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan included separately.
3	India	24,965	10%
4	United States	8,829	3.5%
5	Iran	6,840	2.7%
6	United Kingdom	6,550	2.6%
7	Haiti	6,208	2.5%
8	Pakistan	6,073	2.4%
9	France	5,867	2.4%
10	United Arab Emirates	5,223	2.1%
11	Iraq	4,698	1.9%
12	South Korea	4,573	1.8%
13	Colombia	4,317	1.7%
14	Morocco	4,155	1.7%
15	Algeria	3,800	1.5%
16	Mexico	3,642	1.5%
17	Egypt	3,403	1.4%
18	Sri Lanka	3,104	1.2%
19	Nigeria	2,768	1.1%
20	Ukraine	2,455	1%
21	Bangladesh	2,449	1%
22	Lebanon	2,335	0.9%
23	Saudi Arabia	2,299	0.9%
24	Germany	2,254	0.9%
25	Ethiopia	2,038	0.8%
26	Jamaica	2,021	0.8%
27	Afghanistan	1,977	0.8%
28	Israel	1,967	0.8%	Does not include the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, or the West Bank.
29	Taiwan	1,894	0.8%
30	Russia	1,887	0.8%
31	Romania	1,723	0.7%
32	Vietnam	1,682	0.7%
33	Brazil	1,519	0.6%
34	Japan	1,475	0.6%
35	Venezuela	1,446	0.6%
36	Tunisia	1,368	0.5%
37	Moldova	1,349	0.5%
38	Turkey	1,339	0.5%
39	Somalia	1,256	0.5%
40	Nepal	1,249	0.5%
41	Syria	1,181	0.5%
42	Kuwait	1,179	0.5%
43	Cameroon	1,166	0.5%
44	Mauritius	1,120	0.5%
45	Democratic Republic of the Congo	1,058	0.4%
46	South Africa	1,036	0.4%
47	Jordan	1,025	0.4%
48	Australia	979	0.4%
49	Cuba	938	0.4%
50	Peru	876	0.4%
51	Eritrea	874	0.4%
52	Hong Kong	820	0.3%	Special administrative region of the People's Republic of China.
53	Guyana	761	0.3%
54	Dominican Republic	759	0.3%
55	Kenya	750	0.3%
56	Ireland	662	0.3%
57	El Salvador	658	0.3%
58	Poland	657	0.3%
59	Belgium	633	0.3%
60	Netherlands	629	0.3%
61	Qatar	615	0.2%
61	Trinidad and Tobago	615	0.2%
62	Italy	572	0.2%
63	Libya	544	0.2%
64	Honduras	542	0.2%
65	Senegal	523	0.2%
66	Burundi	518	0.2%
67	Ghana	511	0.2%
68	Portugal	506	0.2%
69	Ivory Coast	503	0.2%
70	Sudan	488	0.2%	Now divided into Sudan and South Sudan.
71	Malaysia	485	0.2%
72	Albania	471	0.2%
73	Singapore	458	0.2%
74	Thailand	455	0.2%
75	Switzerland	448	0.2%
76	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	447	0.2%
77	Ecuador	437	0.2%
78	Rwanda	436	0.2%
79	New Zealand	410	0.2%
80	Zimbabwe	388	0.2%
81	Indonesia	368	0.1%
82	Kazakhstan	367	0.1%
83	Bulgaria	356	0.1%
84	Belarus	355	0.1%
85	Myanmar	311	0.1%
85	Fiji	311	0.1%
86	Argentina	298	0.1%
87	Uganda	288	0.1%
88	Oman	285	0.1%
89	Hungary	281	0.1%
90	Guatemala	276	0.2%
91	St. Lucia	262	0.1%
92	Palestine	261	0.1%	Includes the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
93	Guinea	252	0.1%
94	Spain	248	0.1%
95	Sweden	244	0.1%
96	Benin	233	0.1%
97	Tanzania	229	0.1%
98	Armenia	227	0.1%
99	Bahrain	209	0.1%
100	Cambodia	196	0.1%	#
101	Yemen	188	0.1%
102	Chile	183	0.1%
103	Bosnia and Herzegovina	178	0.1%
104	Costa Rica	173	0.1%
105	Grenada	169	0.1%
106	Greece	163	0.1%
107	Togo	154	0.1%
108	Kyrgyzstan	152	0.1%
109	Uzbekistan	146	0.1%
110	Azerbaijan	141	0.1%
111	Georgia	138	0.1%
112	Denmark	129	0.1%
113	Czech Republic	128	0.1%
113	Mali	128	0.1%
114	Sierra Leone	127	0.1%
115	Slovakia	125	0.1%
115	Djibouti	125	0.1%
116	Macedonia	124	0%
117	Croatia	123	0%
118	Madagascar	120	0%
118	Nicaragua	120	0%
119	Burkina Faso	117	0%
120	Barbados	110	0%
121	Latvia	104	0%
121	Paraguay	104	0%
122	Niger	97	0%
123	Mongolia	96	0%
124	Finland	95	0%
125	Austria	93	0%
126	North Korea	91	0%
127	Botswana	90	0%
128	Bolivia	82	0%
129	Republic of the Congo	79	0%
130	Uruguay	77	0%
131	Zambia	75	0%
132	Norway	71	0%
133	Gabon	65	0%
134	Chad	59	0%
134	Bahamas	59	0%
135	Panama	56	0%
136	Cyprus	54	0%
137	Tajikistan	53	0%
138	Liberia	49	0%
139	Malawi	45	0%
140	Antigua and Barbuda	43	0%
141	Lithuania	42	0%
141	Brunei	42	0%
142	Dominica	41	0%
143	Belize	40	0%
144	Angola	38	0%
145	Mauritania	34	0%
146	Bermuda	31	0%
147	Macau	29	0%	Special administrative region of the People's Republic of China.
148	Luxembourg	28	0%
149	The Gambia	27	0%
150	Serbia	25	0%	Now divided into Serbia, and Montenegro.
151	Namibia	24	0%
151	Martinique	24	0%
152	Laos	23	0%
152	Cayman Islands	23	0%
153	Turkmenistan	19	0%
154	Estonia	16	0%
154	Suriname	16	0%
155	Malta	14	0%
155	Swaziland	14	0%
155	St. Kitts and Nevis	14	0%
156	Central African Republic	12	0%
156	Seychelles	12	0%
157	Slovenia	10	0%
158	Guadeloupe	6	0%
	Other countries	2,326	0.9%
	Country not stated	58	0%
	Total	248,748	100%

Permanent Residents admitted in 2013

Permanent Residents admitted in 2013, by top 10 source countries^[22]

Rank	Country	Number	Percentage
1	China	33,908	13.1
2	India	30,576	11.8
3	Philippines	27,292	10.5
4	Pakistan	11,354	4.4
5	United States	10,624	4.1
6	Iran	10,038	3.9
7	France	7,148	2.8
8	United Kingdom and Territories	5,935	2.3
9	South Korea	4,450	1.7
10	United Arab Emirates	4,093	1.6
	Top 10 Total	145,418	56.2
	Other	113,535	43.8
	Total	258,953	100

Autism and excessive demand

Several families have recently been denied immigration to Canada because members of their family have an autism spectrum diagnosis and Citizenship and Immigration Canada felt the potential cost of care for those family members would place an excessive demand on health or social services.^[23][24] People with autism disorders can be accepted if they are able to depend on themselves.^[24]

Temporary Foreign Worker Program

In 2012 more than 200 000 people were admitted to Canada under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, three times the number in 2002.^[25]

Illegal immigration in Canada

Estimates of illegal immigrants range between 35,000 and 120,000.^[26] James Bissett, a former head of the Canadian Immigration Service, has suggested that the lack of any credible refugee screening process, combined with a high likelihood of ignoring any deportation orders, has resulted in tens of thousands of outstanding warrants for the arrest of rejected refugee claimants, with little attempt at enforcement.^[27] A 2008 report by the Auditor General Sheila Fraser stated that Canada has lost track of as many as 41,000 illegal immigrants.^[28][29]

See also

• Visa policy of Canada
• Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) v. Khosa
• Demographics of Canada
• Emigration from the United States
• Former colonies and territories in Canada
• History of Chinese immigration to Canada
• History of immigration to Canada
• Ministry of Immigration and Cultural Communities (Quebec), Government department for immigration to Quebec
• Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Award

References

1. Annual Immigration by Category, Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Retrieved July 12, 2006.
2. James Hollifield; Philip Martin; Pia Orrenius (2014). Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective, Third Edition. Stanford University Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-8047-8627-0.
3. Gary P. Freeman; Randall Hansen; David L. Leal (2013). Immigration and Public Opinion in Liberal Democracies. Routledge. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-136-21161-4.
4. Abdur Rahim (2014). Canadian Immigration and South Asian Immigrants. Xlibris Corporation. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-4990-5874-1.
5. Markus, Andrew. "Attitudes to immigration and cultural diversity in Australia." Journal of Sociology 50.1 (2014): 10-22.
6. Marina L. Smith, "The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) at the U.S.–Canadian Border, 1893–1993: An Overview of Issues and Topics," Michigan Historical Review 26, No. 2 (Fall 2000), 127-147.
7. Hall, "Clifford Sifton: Immigration and Settlement Policy, 1896–1905."
8. Colin Singer (June 15, 2015). "Canada: Canada Citizenship Reform: A Comparative Analysis". CCIRC (Canadian Citizenship & Immigration Resource Center). Retrieved December 26, 2015.
9. Statistics Canada – immigration from 1851 to 2001
10. When immigration goes awry, Toronto Star, 14 July 2006. Retrieved 5 August 2006.
11. Citizenship & Immigration Canada: "Facts and figures 2010 – Immigration overview: Permanent and temporary residents" retrieved November 17, 2011
12. Moving2Canada Working Holiday Visa in Canada guide retrieved March 24, 2016
13. Citizenship & Immigration Canada retrieved November 17, 2011
14. Offering "Express Entry" to Qualified Economic Immigrants - Actively Recruiting Talented Newcomers For the Benefit of Canada’s Economy. (Archived) Government of Canada, April 8, 2014.
15. Moving2Canada Express Entry guide January 30, 2016
16. "Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Facts and Figures". Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 2014. Retrieved Nov 30, 2014.
17. "Projections of the Diversity of the Canadian Population". Statistics Canada. March 9, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
18. "Parties prepare to battle for Immigrant votes". CTV.ca. 2010-03-14. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
19. "Place of birth for the immigrant population by period of immigration", 2006 counts and percentages.
20. "Population by immigrant status and period of immigration", 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories.
21. , Facts and figures 2011 — Immigration overview: Permanent and temporary residents — Permanent residents
22. "Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Facts and Figures". Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
23. "American UVic prof forced to leave Canada after immigration rules son’s autism too big a taxpayer burden". Daily Brew. March 31, 2012.
24. "Family faces deportation over son's autism". Toronto Star. June 9, 2011.
25. "Harper says foreign worker program is being fixed - PM defends recent changes to EI and foreign worker program". CBC News. 2013-05-07.
26. "Canadians want illegal immigrants deported: poll". Ottawa Citizen (CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.). 20 October 2007. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
27. "James Bissett: Stop bogus refugees before they get in". National Post. 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
28. "Canada has lost track of 41,000 illegals: Fraser". CTV.ca. 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2011-01-25.
29. OAG 2008 May Report of the Auditor General of Canada

Further reading

History

• Adelman, Howard; Borowski, Allan; Burstein, Meyer; and Foster, Lois, eds. Immigration and Refugee Policy: Australia and Canada Compared (1996)
• Avery, Donald H. Reluctant Host: Canada's Response to Immigrant Workers, 1896–1994 (1996)
• Carment, David; Bercuson, David Jay (2008), The World in Canada: Diaspora, Demography, and Domestic Politics, McGill-Queen's Univ. Press, ISBN 9780773532960
• Dirks, Gerald E (May 1, 1977), Canada's Refugee Policy: Indifference or Opportunism?, McGill-Queen's University Press, ISBN 978-0-7735-0296-3
• Hall, D.J. (1977), Howard Palmer, ed., "Clifford Sifton: Immigration and Settlement Policy, 1896–1905", The Settlement of the West, pp. 60–85
• Hawkins, Freda (1990), Critical Years in Immigration: Canada and Australia Compared, McGill-Queen's Press
• Kelley, Ninette; Trebilcock, Michael J. (2010), The Making of the Mosaic: A History of Canadian Immigration Policy (2nd ed.), University of Toronto Press, ISBN 978-0-8020-9536-7
• Knowles, Valerie (2008), Strangers at Our Gates: Canadian Immigration and Immigration Policy, 1540–2006 a standard scholarly history
• Magocsi, Paul R (1999), Encyclopedia of Canada's peoples
• Powell, John (2005), Encyclopedia of North American Immigration, Facts On File, ISBN 0-8160-4658-1
• Timlin, Mabel F (November 1960), "Canada's Immigration Policy, 1896-1910", Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science 26 (4), pp. 517–532 in JSTOR
• Walker, Barrington (2008), The History of Immigration and Racism in Canada: Essential Readings, Canadian Scholars' Press, ISBN 978-1-55130-340-6

Guides

• Adu-Febiri, Francis (2009), Succeeding from the margins of Canadian society: a strategic resource for new immigrants, refugees and international students, CCB Pub, ISBN 978-1-926585-27-7
• Kranc, Benjamin A; Constantin, Elena (2004), Getting into Canada: How to Make a Successful Application for Permanent Residence, How To Books, ISBN 1-85703-929-7
• DeRocco, John F. Chabot (2008), From Sea to Sea to Sea: A Newcomer's Guide to Canada, Full Blast Productions, ISBN 978-0-9784738-4-6
• Driedger, Leo; Halli, Shivalingappa S. (1999), Immigrant Canada: Demographic, Economic, and Social Shallenges, University of Toronto Press, ISBN 0-8020-4276-7
• Moens, Alexander; Collacott, Martin (2008), Immigration Policy and the Terrorist Threat in Canada and the United States, Fraser Institute, ISBN 978-0-88975-235-1
• Noorani, Nick; Noorani, Sabrina (2008), Arrival Survival Canada: A Handbook for New Immigrants, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-542891-9

External links

• History of Canadian immigration at Marianopolis College
• Moving Here, Staying Here: The Canadian Immigrant Experience at Library and Archives Canada
• Immigration from Canada to Belgium
• Going to Canada - Immigration Portal: A source of free and useful information for newcomers and prospective immigrants to Canada.
• Be Aware! Canadian import laws
• Multicultural Canada website