New figures show that Canada welcomed 341,000 new immigrants to its shores last year.
It is only the fifth time in history that the number of immigrants admitted in one year has exceeded 300,000,
The figures show that immigrants from 175 different countries arrived in Canada last year, with 58 per cent of the newcomers admitted through the economic class. A further 27 per cent arrived through family sponsorship, and the remaining 15 per cent under the refugee class.
India was the largest source country for newcomers, with 25 per cent of all new immigrants (85,585) coming from there, followed by those from China (30,260) and the Philippines (27,815). Nigeria and the United States rounded off the top five source countries.
The Indian share of Canada’s newcomers has increased significantly in recent years. Back in 2015, India made up only 14 per cent of Canada’s newcomers.
However, the figures dispel the notion that a dislike of US President Donald Trump is causing more dissatisfied Americans to move to Canada. While 11,000 US citizens moved to Canada in 2019, this is consistent with figures from recent years (about 3 per cent of Canada’s new immigrants come from the US each year).
It is expected that the total number of new immigrants could grow even higher this year, with 360,000 being mentioned as a realistic target.
Top 10 Canadian immigrant source countries
- India
- China
- The Philippines
- Nigeria
- USA
- Pakistan
- Syria
- Eritrea
- The Korean Republic
- Iran
Article published 12th December 2020