2020-02-10 – Canada admitted a new modern-era record of more than 341,000 new permanent residents in 2019, new government data shows.

The 341,180 immigrants welcomed last year was the second consecutive year Canada has admitted more than 300,000 immigrants. Before 2018, the last time Canada welcomed more than 300,000 immigrants was 1912.

The 2019 figure exceeds by 10,000 the targeted number of permanent residents laid out in the most recent immigration levels plan, submitted in October 2018.

With the plan being to continue to increase immigration, 2020 could see Canada exceed the milestone of 350,000 new immigrants in a calendar year.

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Indian Citizens Dominate Canada’s 2019 Permanent Resident Arrivals

Ontario dominated as the province of choice for new Canadian permanent residents.

Canada’s most populous province received 45 percent of the total by itself, amounting to a mammoth 153,340 newcomers.

In a distant second place was British Columbia, which welcomed 50,320 new immigrants in 2019, less than a third of the Ontario total. Behind British Columbia in third place was Alberta, welcoming 43,685 new immigrants in 2019.

The figures showed the impact of the Coalition Avenir Quebec’s policies on immigration levels in the French-speaking province.

Traditionally, Quebec sits behind Ontario in second in terms of new immigrant number, but 2019 saw it drop to fourth, welcoming 40,545 new permanent residents.

The figures show Ontario’s total number of new immigrants eclipses the combined total of the next three provinces.

New 2019 Permanent Residents By Province

While Ontario dominated as the largest receiving province, Indians were the largest group when considering new permanent residents to Canada by nationality.

The 85,585 Indian citizens welcomed as new Canadian permanent residents in 2019 was 25 percent of the total, dwarfing the next largest total of 30,260 Chinese citizens.

The total number of Indian citizens admitted was larger than the combined number of the next four countries on the list.

New 2019 Permanent Residents By Country of Citizenship

Of the total number of new permanent residents admitted in 2019, 196,675 of them came through the economic class or 58 percent.

This is in line with the federal government’s objective of welcoming economic immigrants to counter Canada’s ageing population and shrinking labour market.

The 91,335 family class immigrants welcomed in 2019 was 27 percent of the total.

With the recent federal election happening in October, new Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino is yet to submit his first immigration levels plan to parliament.

The levels plan is expected soon, with all eyes on whether Canada plans to continue increasing levels beyond the 350,000 target for 2021, part of the plan published by previous Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen in October 2018.