Canada is the most attractive territory to migrate to. Over the past two decades, Canada’s appeal as an immigration destination has grown with a total of 284,387 people migrating to the country between July 2019 and June 2020.
The capital of Canada is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Recently Ottawa Gatineau has joined an exclusive club.
Top 4 Canadian cities for immigration as of last year
Canadian cities are competing with each other to attract more immigrants. Charlotte Town, Regina, Toronto, and Ottawa welcomed the highest number of immigrants per capita last year. Canada needs immigrants to sustain its economy because the country has a low birth rate and a rapidly aging population. As such, there is fierce competition among Canadian cities for more immigrants. Plans are afoot to overtake other cities.
Canada Express Entry is welcoming more immigrants through new initiatives such as the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), as well as the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP). Canada welcomed more than 341,000 immigrants or about 0.9% of its population in 2019.
Immigrants welcomed by Toronto in 2019
Toronto is the largest city of Canada and the province of Ontario province. It is a global financial hub and home to many well-known Canadian companies. Toronto welcomes a high number of immigrants in Canada and it attracted 118,000 immigrants last year. Toronto welcomes 35% of total immigrants to Canada. It competes with five cities Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton in the immigration race.
Importance of per capita intake of one percent
Welcoming immigrants to Canadian cities at least 1% of their population will significantly improve the economic situation in Canada. As a result, immigration will play a key role in helping Canada’s economic growth. A city in Canada that welcomes 1% of the population, whether at the national, provincial, or municipal level, is a milestone. This reception level of immigration is an important means of boosting economic growth. Economic growth depends on welcoming more people and using people in the labor market for productivity. Economic growth depends on the reception of more people and the use of people for productive capacity in the labor market.
More than 190,000 immigrants arrived in Canada in 2019 under the economic class. Of these immigrants, only just over 90,000 arrived by express entry. Canada welcomes about 60% of its permanent residents in economic class. This will be the case as well under the 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan.
Ranking on per capita basis
1- Charlottetown
Prince Edward Island, a city in Charlotte County, ranks first in welcoming a large number of immigrants on a per capita basis. On a per-capita basis, Charlottetown welcomed 2.4% of its population as newcomers. This is because the province of Prince Edward Island, through its PNP and AIP, has succeeded in engaging a large number of economic class immigrants.
2- Regina
Per capita, immigration wise is Reginaat number two. It is the capital of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The number of newcomers to Regna was close to 2.4% of its population.
3- Toronto
Toronto is at number three. It welcomed 1.8 percent of the newcomers making it ranking third nationally.
4- Saskatoon
Saskatoon was also a successful city to welcome newcomers to Canada. It was in fourth position with 1.8 % of its population.
Winnipeg also got the same numbers. Whereas Saskatchewan and Manitoba (provinces) have been welcoming many immigrants from the economic class through the PNP for the past twenty years.
Atlantic Canada progress in 2019
Numerous Atlantic Canadian cities have helped large numbers of immigrants boost their economic growth in recent years.
Atlantic Canada cities are important, Fredericton, Halifax, and Moncton topping the list. Moncton received at least 1.2% of its population among newcomers last year. Fredericton received 1.3 percent, and Halifax received at least 1.1 percent of his population. Both the PNP and the AIP have been instrumental in stabilizing immigration in the region.
Number of immigrants accepted by Canadian cities last year
| Population | Newcomers | Newcomer % | |||||
| Canada total | 37589262 | 341180 | 0.91 | ||||
| Charlottetown, PEI | 78568 | 1900 | 2.42 | ||||
| Regina, SK | 261684 | 6140 | 2.35 | ||||
| Tronto, ON | 6471850 | 117720 | 1.82 | ||||
| Saskatoon, SK | 330674 | 5865 | 1.77 | ||||
| Winnipeg, MP | 844566 | 14745 | 1.75 | ||||
| Vancouver, BC | 2691351 | 40020 | 1.49 | ||||
| Fredericton, NB | 109883 | 1570 | 1.43 | ||||
| Halifax, NS | 440348 | 6240 | 1.42 | ||||
| Calgary, AB | 1514723 | 19625 | 1.3 | ||||
| Moncton, NB | 155825 | 1915 | 1.23 | ||||
| Edmonton, AB | 1447143 | 16420 | 1.13 | ||||
| Ottawa-Gatineau, On Side | 1095134 | 10930 | 1.00 | ||||
| Windsor, ON | 354917 | 2990 | 0.84 | ||||
| Montreal, QC | 4318505 | 34620 | 0.80 | ||||
| Saint John, Nb | 131025 | 1035 | 0.79 | ||||
| kitcener-Cambridge -Watrioo, ON | 584259 | 4585 | 0.78 | ||||
| St. Jhon’s NL | 212433 | 1290 | 0.61 | ||||
Ottawa Gatineau’s joining in an exclusive club
Ottawa-Gatineau welcomed more than 0.9 percent of its population as newcomers in 2019. Ottawa-Gatineau’s hard work and good planning have led to a large influx of immigrants. In addition to welcoming new immigrants, it is also recognizing more immigrants from the economic class. As a result, it’s immigration levels are rising sharply. Some immigrants seeking to settle in Quebec may have chosen to live in neighboring Ottawa-Guito instead of the province. That is why the number of immigrants is increasing here. More international students are expected to move to Goethe via the Ontario PNP via express enrollment and permanent residence.
Canada immigration overview from last year
More than 190,000 immigrants arrived in Canada in 2019 under the economic class. Of these immigrants, only just over 90,000 arrived by express entry. Canada welcomes about 60% of its permanent residents in economic class. This will be the case as well under the 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan. The PNP program also contributed to the main immigration stream. Almost 71% of immigrants made it through Ontario. The ratio has been 8% for Alberta whereas 17% for British Columbia. There were 68,647 people selected through the Provincial Nominee Program in 2019, the highest number since the program’s launch.
New and popular immigration programs that contributed to Canadian immigration in 2019
- Canada wants to ease tensions of one-sided immigration towards densely populated urban areas. This is why IRCC launched the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot in 2019 to support smaller and more remote communities to access the economic benefits of immigration.
- The Department continued to work in partnership with the Atlantic provinces to enhance the effectiveness of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, an employer- and retention-driven approach to responding to the economic development and labor needs of Atlantic Canada.
- The best option introduced for the temporary workers was the three-year Agri-Food Pilot. It was launched on May 15, 2020, and provides a new pathway to permanent residence for experienced non-seasonal workers in specific agri-food industries and occupations.
Read here the complete report for Canada visa stats.
Parents and Grandparents of Canada