1. Canadian Immigration One half of recent immigrants come from Asia
One-half of the persons who immigrated to Canada between 1986 and 2001 and who were living in Canada in 2001 were born in Asia.
Immigrants from East Asia—Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan—were the most numerous, accounting for over one quarter of immigrants who landed during
The origins of the pre-1986 immigrant population are representative of Canada’s pre-1967 immigration policy that favoured immigrants from Europe. One-third of these earlier immigrants were born in Western Europe, and another one-fifth came from the United Kingdom.

2. Immigration Patterns

3. Asian countries of birth are predominant
Over the past several decades there has been a considerable change in the source countries of immigrants.
In 2001, for example, there were 963,000 residents who had very recently landed in Canada, between 1996 and 2001.
The most common country of birth for these immigrants was China, accounting for 13% of these new permanent residents to Canada, and 17% including persons born in Hong Kong. The ten most common countries of birth—China, India, the Philippines, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Iran, Taiwan, the United States, South Korea and Sri Lanka—accounted for 52% of these very recent immigrants.
In comparison, only three of these countries—the United States, India and China—were in the top ten countries of birth of immigrants who landed in Canada before 1986.
Among earlier immigrants—those arriving in Canada before 1986—the United Kingdom and Italy were the most common countries of birth, accounting for 28% of this group.

4. Birth Origins
In general, the birth origins of Canada’s immigrant population vary in relation to the period of immigration.
European birth origins are predominant among those who immigrated in the 1950s, 1960s and to a lesser extent in the 1970s, and Asian birth origins are predominant among those who immigrated in the 1980s and 1990s.
For very recent immigrants, nine of the top ten countries of birth are in Asia, as are six of the top ten countries of birth of immigrants who landed during the period.

5. Period of Immigration – Table 1
Table B-1: Immigrants by period of immigration—top ten countries of birth, Canada, 2001
(number and percentage distribution)
All immigrants
Rank
Country
Number
Share 1
United Kingdom
606,000
11% 2
China, People’s Republic of
332,800 6% 3
Italy
315,500 4
India
314,700 5
United States
237,900 4% 6
Hong Kong
235,600 7
Philippines
232,700 8
Poland
180,400 3% 9
Germany
174,100 10
Portugal
153,500
Top ten countries
2,783,200
51%
All other countries
2,665,300
49%
Total
5,448,500
100%

6. Period of Immigration – Table 2
Immigrated before 1986 1
United Kingdom
536,300
18% 2
Italy
305,500
10% 3
United States
164,100 6% 4
Germany
151,300 5% 5
Portugal
119,400 4% 6
India
117,000 7
Netherlands
108,600 8
China, People’s Republic of
95,900 3% 9
Poland
89,300 10
Viet Nam
76,100
Top ten countries
1,763,500
60%
All other countries
1,193,100
40%
Total
2,956,600
100%

7. Period of Immigration – Table 3
Immigrated 1
Hong Kong
131,100 9% 2
China, People’s Republic of
112,000 7% 3
India
106,000 4
Philippines
105,700 5
Poland
82,800 5% 6
Viet Nam
61,300 4% 7
Sri Lanka
54,800 8
United Kingdom
49,900 3% 9
United States
44,100 10
Jamaica
36,600 2%
Top ten countries
784,300
51%
All other countries
744,200
49%
Total
1,528,500
100%

8. Period of Immigration – Table 4
Immigrated 1
China, People’s Republic of
124,900
13% 2
India
91,600
10% 3
Philippines
55,500 6% 4
Pakistan
43,100 4% 5
Hong Kong
37,700 6
Iran
31,100 3% 7
Taiwan
30,300 8
United States
29,700 9
South Korea
29,200 10
Sri Lanka
25,300
Top ten countries
498,400
52%
All other countries
464,900
48%
Total
963,300
100%

9. Provincial Settlement Patterns
The distribution of the immigrant population over Canada’s major regions has been rather stable over time.
Over one-half of each of the three successive groups of immigrants (earlier immigrants, immigrants who landed during the period, and very recent immigrants) lives in Ontario.
The shares of British Columbia and Quebec have increased somewhat, while other regions have seen their shares decline.

10. Provincial Settlement Patterns (cont’d)
Table B-2: Immigrants by period of immigration and Canadian-born—province or territory, Canada, 2001 (number and percentage distribution)
Canadian-born
Immigrants
Immigrated before 1986
Immigrated
Immigrated
British Columbia
2,821,900
1,009,800
527,900
290,500
191,400
Alberta
2,485,500
438,300
259,100
112,700
66,600
Saskatchewan
912,200
47,800
32,500
8,700
6,600
Manitoba
965,500
133,700
85,900
30,200
17,500
Ontario
8,164,900
3,030,100
1,621,600
869,700
538,700
Quebec
6,378,400
707,000
373,700
201,700
131,700
New Brunswick
695,600
22,500
16,500
3,400
2,600
Prince Edward Island
128,900
4,100
3,000
600
500
Nova Scotia
853,700
41,300
27,500
8,000
5,700
Newfoundland and Labrador
499,100
5,400
1,500
1,100
Yukon/Northwest Territory/Nunavut
86,200
5,900
3,500
800
Canada
23,991,900
5,448,500
2,956,600
1,528,500
963,300

11. Provincial Settlement Patterns (cont’d)
British Columbia
11.8%
18.5%
17.9%
19.0%
19.9%
Alberta
10.4%
8.0%
8.8%
7.4%
6.9%
Saskatchewan
3.8%
0.9%
1.1%
0.6%
0.7%
Manitoba
4.0%
2.5%
2.9%
2.0%
1.8%
Ontario
34.0%
55.6%
54.8%
56.9%
55.9%
Quebec
26.6%
13.0%
12.6%
13.2%
13.7%
New Brunswick
0.4%
0.2%
0.3%
Prince Edward Island
0.5%
0.1%
0.0%
Nova Scotia
3.6%
0.8%
Newfoundland and Labrador
2.1%
Yukon/Northwest Territory/Nunavut
Canada
100%

12. Settlement Preferences of Immigrants
The settlement preferences of immigrants, while fairly stable over time, are very different from the choices made by persons born in Canada.
More than one in two recent immigrants and one in three Canadian-born live in Ontario, and one in five recent immigrants and one in eight Canadian-born live in British Columbia.
Only these two provinces have a larger share of the country’s 5.4 million immigrants than of the 24 million Canadian-born.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are the Atlantic provinces with 10% of the Canadian-born and only 1% of recent immigrants.