150 years of immigration in Canada

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Release date: June 29, 2016 More Information

Canada has long been, and continues to be, a land of immigration. Since Confederation in 1867, more than 17 million immigrants have come to Canada.

Population fluctuations The annual number of landed immigrants in Canada has fluctuated considerably over the last 150 years. Some of these fluctuations can be linked to immigration policy changes, others to Canada's economic situation or world events connected with the movement of migrants and refugees. For example, in the late 1800s, the number of immigrants admitted annually to Canada varied between 6,300 and 133,000. Record numbers of immigrants were admitted in the early 1900s when Canada was promoting the settlement of Western Canada. The highest number ever recorded was in 1913, when more than 400,000 immigrants arrived in the country. However, the number of people entering the country dropped dramatically during World War I, to fewer than 34,000 landed immigrants in 1915. The lowest numbers of landed immigrants were recorded during the Great Depression in the 1930s and during World War II. The return of peace fostered economic recovery and an immigration boom in Canada. Other record levels of immigration have been registered during political and humanitarian crises, including in 1956 and 1957, when 37,500 Hungarian refugees arrived in the country, and in the 1970s and 1980s, when a large number of Ugandan, Chilean, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian refugees came to Canada. Since the early 1990s, the number of landed immigrants has remained relatively high, with an average of approximately 235,000 new immigrants per year.

Description for Chart 1 Chart 1 Number of immigrants who landed annually in Canada, 1852 to 2014 Year of immigration Number of landed immigrants 1852 29,300 1853 29,500 1854 37,300 1855 25,300 1856 22,500 1857 33,900 1858 12,300 1859 6,300 1860 6,300 1861 13,600 1862 18,300 1863 21,000 1864 24,800 1865 19,000 1866 11,400 1867 10,700 1868 12,800 1869 18,600 1870 24,700 1871 27,800 1872 36,600 1873 50,100 1874 39,400 1875 27,400 1876 25,600 1877 27,100 1878 29,800 1879 40,500 1880 38,500 1881 48,000 1882 112,500 1883 133,600 1884 103,800 1885 79,200 1886 69,200 1887 84,500 1888 88,800 1889 91,600 1890 75,100 1891 82,200 1892 31,000 1893 29,600 1894 20,800 1895 18,800 1896 16,800 1897 21,700 1898 31,900 1899 44,500 1900 41,700 1901 55,700 1902 89,100 1903 138,700 1904 131,300 1905 141,500 1906 211,700 1907 272,400 1908 143,300 1909 173,700 1910 286,800 1911 331,300 1912 375,800 1913 400,900 1914 150,500 1915 36,700 1916 55,900 1917 72,900 1918 41,800 1919 107,700 1920 138,800 1921 91,700 1922 64,200 1923 133,700 1924 124,200 1925 84,900 1926 135,100 1927 158,900 1928 166,800 1929 165,000 1930 104,800 1931 27,500 1932 20,600 1933 14,400 1934 12,500 1935 11,300 1936 11,600 1937 15,100 1938 17,200 1939 17,000 1940 11,300 1941 9,300 1942 7,600 1943 8,500 1944 12,800 1945 22,700 1946 71,700 1947 64,100 1948 125,400 1949 95,200 1950 73,900 1951 194,400 1952 164,500 1953 168,900 1954 154,200 1955 109,900 1956 164,900 1957 282,200 1958 124,900 1959 106,900 1960 104,100 1961 71,700 1962 74,600 1963 93,200 1964 112,600 1965 146,800 1966 194,700 1967 222,900 1968 184,000 1969 161,500 1970 147,700 1971 121,900 1972 122,000 1973 184,200 1974 218,500 1975 187,900 1976 149,400 1977 114,900 1978 86,300 1979 112,100 1980 143,100 1981 128,600 1982 121,200 1983 89,200 1984 88,300 1985 84,300 1986 99,400 1987 152,100 1988 161,600 1989 191,600 1990 216,500 1991 232,800 1992 254,800 1993 256,600 1994 224,400 1995 212,900 1996 226,100 1997 216,000 1998 174,200 1999 190,000 2000 227,500 2001 250,600 2002 229,000 2003 221,300 2004 235,800 2005 262,200 2006 251,600 2007 236,800 2008 247,200 2009 252,200 2010 280,700 2011 248,700 2012 257,900 2013 259,000 2014 260,400

Increase in the number and proportion of foreign-born people Annual statistics on landed immigrants in Canada may not reflect the number of people living in the country. Some immigrants may simply be passing through on their way to settle in a third country. Others may travel back and forth between their country of origin and Canada. Some immigrants may have died. The Census of Population measures the most direct impact of immigration on Canada's population by counting the number of people who have been or who are landed immigrants (or permanent residents) living in Canada at a specific point in time. The 1871 Census enumerated approximately half a million foreign-born people, representing 16.1% of the Canadian population. The foreign-born population continued to rise at the end of the 1800s, but at a slower pace than the population born in Canada. The 1901 Census recorded the lowest proportion of foreign-born population in Canada (13.0%). After the considerable rise in immigration at the beginning of the 1900s, the 1931 Census counted nearly 2.3 million of foreign-born people, representing 22.2% of Canada's population. This influx of foreign-born people was followed by a significant drop to approximately 2 million in 1941, as a result of the Great Depression and World War II, but also due to high emigration levels. By contrast, since the 1950s, the foreign-born population has been steadily increasing. For example, by 2011, the National Household Survey estimated the foreign-born population at 6,775,700, representing 20.6% of the total population. This was the largest proportion since the 1931 Census.

Description for Chart 2 Chart 2 Number and proportion of the foreign-born population in Canada, 1871 to 2011 Number Percentage 1871 594,207 16.1% 1881 602,984 13.9% 1891 643,871 13.3% 1901 699,500 13.0% 1911 1,586,961 22.0% 1921 1,955,736 22.3% 1931 2,307,525 22.2% 1941 2,018,847 17.5% 1951 2,059,911 14.7% 1961 2,844,263 15.6% 1971 3,295,530 15.3% 1981 3,843,335 16.0% 1991 4,342,890 16.1% 2001 5,448,480 18.4% 2011 6,775,770 20.6%

Source countries changing The composition of the foreign-born population has changed considerably in 150 years, and the censuses revealed a shift in the places of birth of Canada’s foreign-born population.

In the past, immigrants mainly from European countries During the first few censuses after Confederation, the British Isles were the main source of immigration, accounting for 83.6% of the foreign-born population in the 1871 Census, or close to half a million people. Immigrants from the United States (10.9%), Germany (4.1%) and France (0.5%) were far behind. The population of immigrants born in European countries other than those of the British Isles started to increase in the late 1800s, slowly at first and then more rapidly, peaking in the 1970s. This transformation consisted of three major waves. The first wave began in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with the arrival of new groups of immigrants from Eastern Europe (Russians, Polish and Ukrainians), Western Europe and Scandinavia. A second immigration boom following World War II continued to favour immigration from the British Isles, but a significant number of immigrants also arrived from Western Europe (Germany and the Netherlands) and Southern Europe (Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia and Portugal) from the 1950s to the 1970s. At the time of the 1971 Census, 28.3% of immigrants were born in the United Kingdom and 51.4% were born in another European country. Lastly, Canada admitted immigrants from Eastern Europe (including the Russian Federation and former Soviet republics, Poland and Romania) in the 1980s and 1990s, following political changes in Communist bloc countries, including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Description for Chart 3 Chart 3 Canadian population born in Europe and United States, 1871 to 2011 Country or Area of interest United States Western Europe Eastern Europe Scandinavia British Isles Southern Europe 1871 64,600 27,200 400 600 496,600 500 1881 77,800 31,400 7,000 2,100 470,900 1,400 1891 80,900 35,400 10,600 12,600 477,700 3,400 1901 127,900 47,600 52,300 21,400 390,000 8,000 1911 303,700 100,700 191,100 72,300 784,500 41,700 1921 374,000 99,700 238,900 77,000 1,025,000 45,300 1931 344,600 110,400 415,400 120,400 1,138,900 69,000 1941 312,500 94,000 397,500 96,800 960,100 66,400 1951 282,000 157,700 443,700 86,600 936,600 92,600 1961 283,900 470,100 493,800 104,100 1,000,600 346,900 1971 309,600 477,100 458,200 85,100 971,500 634,900 1981 301,500 458,400 409,400 70,900 895,700 728,900 1991 249,100 431,500 420,500 55,000 746,100 707,300 2001 237,900 423,800 471,400 45,200 631,800 715,400 2011 263,500 397,400 501,600 36,200 565,400 626,600

From the 1960s onwards, increasing diversity During the first 100 years after Confederation, Canada also admitted immigrants from Asia (primarily China and Japan) and other parts of the world. Starting in the 1960s, when major amendments were made to Canada's immigration legislation and regulations, the number of immigrants from Asia and other regions of the world started to grow. World events also led to the massive movement of refugees and migrants from different parts of the world to Canada. Examples include the arrival of 60,000 boat people from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in the late 1970s; 85,000 immigrants from the Caribbean and Bermuda (for example, Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago) in the 1980s; 225,000 immigrants from Hong Kong over the 10 years leading up to its return to China by the United Kingdom in 1997; and 800,000 immigrants from the People's Republic of China, India and the Philippines in the 2000s. According to the 2011 National Household Survey, Asia (including the Middle East) is now the main continent of origin of the immigrant population, although Africa's share has increased. As well, for the first time since Confederation, China and India (excluding the two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macao) have surpassed the United Kingdom as the country of birth most frequently reported by foreign-born people.

Description for Chart 4 Chart 4 Foreign-born population in Canada, by selected regions of birth, 1951 to 2011 Area of interest 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 Caribbean and Bermuda 4,400 12,400 68,100 173,200 232,500 294,100 351,400 Central and South America 3,100 0 36,000 106,800 219,400 304,700 442,700 Northern Africa 400 0 28,700 38,700 53,200 93,200 186,700 Sub-Saharan Africa > 2,400 4,000 10,700 63,000 113,000 189,500 305,300 Western Asia and Middle East 6,500 0 25,200 63,200 151,100 285,600 456,000 Eastern Asia 30,800 43,500 66,600 195,500 377,200 730,600 962,600 Southeast Asia 800 0 13,100 152,200 312,000 469,100 729,800 Southern Asia 4,200 9,000 46,300 130,000 228,800 503,900 892,800 Oceania 6,100 6,700 14,300 33,000 38,000 47,900 54,500

Description for Chart 5 Chart 5 Distribution in percentage of the foreign-born population, by place of birth, Canada, 1871 to 2011 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 Country/Area Name % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Total - foreign-born population 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 British Isles 83.6 78.1 74.2 55.8 49.4 52.4 49.4 47.6 45.5 35.2 29.5 23.3 17.2 11.6 8.3 Scandinavia 0.1 0.3 2.0 3.1 4.6 3.9 5.2 4.8 4.2 3.7 2.6 1.8 1.3 0.8 0.5 Western Europe 4.6 5.2 5.5 6.8 6.3 5.1 4.8 4.7 7.7 16.5 14.5 11.9 9.9 7.8 5.9 Eastern Europe 0.1 1.2 1.6 7.5 12.0 12.2 18.0 19.7 21.5 17.4 13.9 10.7 9.7 8.7 7.4 Southern Europe 0.1 0.2 0.5 1.1 2.6 2.3 3.0 3.3 4.5 12.2 19.3 19.0 16.3 13.1 9.2 United States 10.9 12.9 12.6 18.3 19.1 19.1 14.9 15.5 13.7 10.0 9.4 7.8 5.7 4.4 3.9 Caribbean and Bermuda 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 2.1 4.5 5.4 5.4 5.2 Central and South America 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 1.1 2.8 5.1 5.6 6.5 Northern Africa 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.9 1.0 1.2 1.7 2.8 Sub-Saharan Africa 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 1.6 2.6 3.5 4.5 Western Asia and Middle East 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.8 1.6 3.5 5.2 6.7 Eastern Asia 0.0 0.7 1.5 3.1 2.3 2.5 2.4 1.9 1.5 1.5 2.0 5.1 8.7 13.4 14.2 Southeast Asia 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 4.0 7.2 8.6 10.8 Southern Asia 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 1.4 3.4 5.3 9.2 13.2 Oceania and other 0.7 1.0 1.8 3.7 2.6 1.5 1.5 1.6 0.4 2.7 2.0 1.5 1.1 1.0 0.8

In summary, immigration has changed a great deal since Confederation, becoming the main driver of population growth in Canada. Each wave of immigrants has contributed, and continues to contribute, to the ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity of Canada’s population.

Definitions Landed immigrant (or permanent resident): A person who has been granted the right to live permanently in Canada by immigration authorities, but who has not yet become a Canadian citizen through naturalization. Foreign-born population (also referred to as immigrant population): In censuses, persons who are or have been landed immigrants or permanent residents in Canada. The foreign-born population includes Canadian citizens through naturalization; however, it does not include non-permanent residents or Canadian citizens by birth who were born abroad. Non-permanent resident: A person in Canada who has a work or study permit, or who is a refugee claimant. Emigrant: A Canadian citizen or immigrant who has left Canada to settle permanently in another country. Place of birth: The name of the geographic location in which a person was born. The geographic location is specified according to the geographic boundaries current at the time of data collection, not the geographic boundaries at the time of birth.