It's funny sometimes how hard it is to shake old perceptions once the reality has changed.

With its rich tradition of Italian festivals, Portuguese bakeries and Asian restaurants, Hamilton seems like a city of immigrants.

And it once was. Nearly half of the people in the Hamilton ages 65 and older were born outside Canada.

"But a huge majority of those people have been here for 40 years and don't feel like immigrants," said Sara Mayo, a social planner with Hamilton's Social Planning and Research Council.

Look at the city's entire population and just a quarter of all Hamiltonians are immigrants to Canada. That's actually below the provincial average of 29 per cent, according to a new demographic analysis of the city produced by the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton.

"Hamilton hasn't been a strong attractor of immigrants in decades," said Mayo. "And now it's being compounded because Ontario in general has fewer immigrants than it used to have.

"Immigrants are much more likely choosing to live in the west," she said. "Even Manitoba has seen big increases in immigration growth compared to Ontario."

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In 1996-97, nearly 4,000 immigrants settled in Hamilton. By 2014-15, that number had been cut nearly in half to just over 2,000.

In fact, newcomers to Hamilton are now just as likely to have come from elsewhere in Ontario than from another country.

Whether they're attracted by employment opportunities or cheaper real estate than the rest of the Greater Toronto Area, these provincial migrants have helped reverse a worrying downward growth trend in Hamilton.

For the first time since 1997, Hamilton's growth rate has caught up to the provincial average.

During the mid-2000s, Hamilton's growth rate lagged significantly behind the province and the rest of the GTA. In fact, Hamilton's growth rate was below the provincial average every year from 1997 to 2012.

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Enter Sarah Wayland, project lead at Global Hamilton, part of the city's economic development department.

Global Hamilton's goal is to attract immigrant entrepreneurs and those with skills to the city.

It's a job she seems ideally suited to hold since she's an immigrant herself, moving from the U.S. to Toronto in 1994.

Wayland also works with businesses already here that are owned by immigrants to help them grow, because those types of connections are another important way to attract immigrants.

"People around the world have heard of Toronto or Vancouver but they haven't necessarily heard of Hamilton," said Wayland. "Part of our strategy is to help our existing diverse communities to have a positive experience, to feel that they belong in Hamilton.

"And our hope is they will tell their friends and family, 'Hey, you should live here, this is a great place.'

"We're a big enough city that we have what people are looking for," said Wayland.

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Hamilton has been particularly successful in recent years when it comes to attracting and retaining young adults. In part, that's helped by McMaster University and Mohawk College.

There are about 5,000 international students in the city and another objective of Global Hamilton is to try to keep them here.

"Most of them want to stay in Canada after graduation anyway so why not stay in Hamilton," said Wayland.

The rate of growth of young adults ages 20-29 is twice the growth rate of Toronto and five times the rate of growth in Waterloo Region — which is particularly interesting, since Kitchener-Waterloo is considered a technology hotbed.

Throw in a vibrant arts and culture scene and Hamilton can now boast some momentum after enduring the steady loss of manufacturing jobs over the past three decades.

"When people make decisions about moving places, they're not doing a whole research project on it," said Mayo. "A lot of it is on the brand of a city and the feeling if that's an enjoyable place to be.

"People are appreciating Hamilton more than in previous years," she said.

"Young adults now are seeing Hamilton as a place to be."

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The immigration data in the SPRC report doesn't reflect the recent influx of 1,000 Syrian refugees, which includes about 500 children who could help keep open some lower city schools struggling with low enrolment.

"Those refugee children will be an important counterbalance," said Mayo.

As for the Syrian adults, "it's a great opportunity for Hamilton because they're coming with all levels of education and skills," added Wayland.

By the numbers The number of immigrants from other countries who came to Hamilton in 2014-15 — about 2,000 — is about equal to the number of people who migrated to Hamilton from other parts of Ontario.

Between 1996-97 and 2014-15, Hamilton suffered a 42 per cent drop in the number of immigrants who settled here.

The growth rate for those ages 25-35 is almost twice as high in Hamilton than it is for the province as a whole.

Hamilton has seen a huge increase in immigrants arriving at age 45 and older. Before 2006, about 6 per cent of immigrants were 45 and older. Between 2006-11, about 16 per cent of immigrants were 45 and older.

Click to enlarge What does it mean? Cranes in the sky, condos sprouting like mushrooms across the lower city, a new home for train service to Toronto — it's an exciting time in Hamilton as the city's growth rate has rebounded steadily after stagnating throughout much of the preceding decade.

Except now the 'G' word has entered the discussion: gentrification.

It's a question rebuilding cities often face — how to keep a healthy balance between affluent newcomers and those people lower on the economic totem pole who could be displaced by rising rents and real estate values in older established neighbourhoods.

"Population growth always brings a struggle," said Sara Mayo. "Often one of the problems is that it takes longer for new housing to be built than the rate at which new people arrive.

"It can lead to housing shortages and higher prices as we're seeing a little bit now."

Maybe more than a little bit. Here's the latest anecdote that sums up Hamilton's overheated real estate market.

Recently, a couple with a small bungalow near Gage Park got a knock on the door. An Oakville couple, unsolicited, tells them they want to buy the house, sight unseen.

Perplexed, the owners tell them the house isn't for sale. How about $500,000 cash, came the reply from the Oakville couple.

Sold.

Click to enlarge About the series Part one of a four-part series Where have all the kids gone?

Part two of a four-part series The millennial takeover

Part four of a four-part series: A growing proportion of visible minorities