Immigration to Canada


According to the 2021 Canadian census, immigrants in Canada number 8.3 million persons and make up approximately 23 percent of Canada's total population. This represents the eighth-largest immigrant population in the world, while the proportion represents one of the highest ratios for industrialized Western countries.
Following Canada's confederation in 1867, immigration played an integral role in helping develop vast tracts of land. During this era, the Canadian Government would sponsor information campaigns and recruiters to encourage settlement in rural areas; however, this would primarily be only towards those of European and religious Christian backgrounds, while others – "Buddhist, Shinto, Sikh, Muslim, and Jewish immigrants in particular" as well as the poor, ill, and disabled – would be less than welcome. Examples of this exclusion include the 1885 Chinese Immigration Act, the 1908 continuous journey regulation and ensuing 1914 Komagata Maru incident, and the 1940s internment of Japanese Canadians. Following 1947, in the post–World War II period, Canadian domestic immigration law and policy went through significant changes, most notably with the Immigration Act, 1976, and the current Immigration and Refugee Protection Act from 2002.
The main driver of Canadian population growth is immigration, driven mainly by economic policy and also family reunification. A record number of 405,000 immigrants were admitted to Canada in 2021, with plans to increase the annual intake of immigrants to 500,000 per year. New immigrants settle mostly in major urban areas in the country, such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Canada also accepts large numbers of refugees, accounting for over 10 percent of annual global refugee resettlements; it resettled more than 28,000 in 2018 and has spent $769 million in 2023 alone for free housing and meals.

Statistics and sources of immigration

Canada receives its immigrant population from almost 200 countries. Statistics Canada projects that immigrants will represent between 29.1% and 34.0% of Canada's population in 2041, compared with 23.0% in 2021, while the Canadian population with at least one foreign born parent could rise to between 49.8% and 54.3%, up from 44.0% in 2021. The number of people in the category "visible minorities" is by 2041 projected to double, making up the majority of the population of cities in Canada.

Economic impact of immigration

Economic impact of Immigration on Canada is a divisive topic. Two main narratives exist on this matter, one is based on an educated prediction that higher immigration rates increases the size of the economy for government spending, and the other is based on studies that it decreases living standards for the resident population. According to a 2011 report by the conservative Fraser Institute, immigrants to Canada cost the federal government up to $23 billion annually and was found to be a large fiscal burden on Canadian taxpayers. Many sources consider the reason for Canada's mass immigration is because of "dependency ratio," in Canada this ratio in total is rising hence the government wants mass immigration to increase the taxpayer base for Canada to be a total welfare state. Many consider this as a low-wage-low-productivity model of immigration that does not focus on creating wealth, and as a failed approach due to not having systems and settings in place for smoothly transitioning new immigrants into jobs in skill shortage sectors that they were invited to fill, and that can empower them for being highly productive and contributing citizens, and top rate tax payers. Among other factors, a major systemic impediment to this transition is the prevalent socioeconomic racialization of immigrants and its life-course altering impact on their quality of life. A popular narrative that exists for immigration is that mass immigration can provide a solution to an aging population. This narrative has been questioned by some and they state immigration alone "can do little" in addressing the issue. Many critics consider Canada has to systematically re-focus on legislating and promoting pro-family policies, and have to work actively in raising the living standard of Canadians. In 2023, Statistics Canada released a report indicating that the longstanding concern regarding labor shortages has ceased to be a predicament, a major objective of the immigration policy. The report recommends accommodating workers at all levels for employment by easing unnecessary hiring requirements, prioritizing on-the-job training, and establishing sustainable workplace practices. Economists at banking institutions assert that the implications of rapid population growth for Canada are unmistakably disruptive. They contend that the labor market cannot feasibly accommodate the continued influx of newcomers. This expansion of the labor force lacks prudent planning and increases the risk of unemployment, posing a significant threat to the national economy. Critics of mass immigration state that Canada does not have the infrastructure and public services to accommodate immigrants and temporary residents in large numbers. Added to this they observe Canada's moral responsibility to the welcomed refugees is as bad as its responsibility to the bulging homelessness issue.

History of immigration

Following initial British and French colonization, what is now Canada has seen four major waves of immigration and settlement of non-Aboriginal Peoples take place over a span of nearly two centuries. Canada is currently undergoing its fifth wave.
Periods of low immigration in Canada have also occurred: international movement was very difficult during the world wars, and there was a lack of jobs "pulling" workers to Canada during the Great Depression in Canada. Statistics Canada has tabulated the effect of immigration on population growth in Canada from 1851 to 2001.

First wave, pre-1815

The first significant wave of non-Aboriginal immigration to Canada occurred over almost two centuries with slow, but progressive, French settlement in Quebec and Acadia, along 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 are now Southern Ontario, the Eastern Townships of Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. 36,000 of these migrants went to the Maritimes, and some would later make their way to Ontario.
Another wave of 30,000 Americans settled in Ontario and the Eastern Townships between the late 1780s and 1812 with promises of land. From forcibly having cleared land in Scotland, several thousands of Gaelic-speaking Scottish Highlanders migrated to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and parts of Eastern Ontario during this period, marking a new age for Canada and its people.

Second wave (The Great Migration), 1815–50

The second wave of immigrants, known as the Great Migration of Canada, saw the arrival of at least 800,000 people between 1815 and 1850, 60% of whom were British, while the remainder was mostly Irish.
The Great Migration encouraged immigrants to settle in Canada after the War of 1812, including British army regulars who had served in that war. In 1815, 80% of the 250,000 English-speaking people in Canada were either American colonists or their descendants. Worried about another American attempt at invasion—and to counter the French-speaking influence of Quebec—colonial governors of Canada rushed to promote settlement in backcountry areas along newly constructed plank roads within organized land tracts, mostly in Upper Canada. Much of the settlements were organized by large companies to promote clearing, and thus farming of land lots. By 1851, the percentage of Americans had dropped to 30% or 500k. By the 1820s Irish immigration to Canada had increased in small numbers to organize land settlements, mostly to work on canals, timber, railroads but also established themselves in the cities in the Maritimes, Québec, and Ontario. Irish immigration would peak from 1846 to 1849 due to the Great Famine of Ireland, which resulted in hundreds of thousands more Irish migrants arriving on Canada's shores, with a portion migrating to the United States, either in the short-term or over the subsequent decades.
This movement of people boosted Canada's population from approximately 500,000 in 1812 to 2.5 million by 1851. The Francophones were 300,000 of the population in 1812, increasing to approx. 700,000 by the 1851 census, however, demographically Canada had swung to a majority Anglophone country. Canada's 1851 population by region would look as follows:
The Dominion Lands Act of 1872 copied the American system by offering ownership of 160 acres of land free to any man over the age of 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 United States. Canadian transportation companies advertised Canadian ports as a hassle-free way to enter the US, especially as the States began barring entry to certain ethnicities. Both the US 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 US. If found, the transporting companies were responsible for shipping the persons back.
Clifford Sifton, Ottawa's Minister of the Interior, 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 property. 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 the sale of odd-numbered tracts. With the goal of maximizing immigration from Britain, eastern Canada and the US, 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 would also broker deals with ethnic groups who wanted large tracts for homogeneous settlement. Attempts to form permanent settlement colonies west of the Great Lakes were beset by difficulty and isolation until the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the second of the two Riel Rebellions. Despite the railway making the region more accessible, there were fears that a tide of settlers from the United States might overrun the British territory.