During the month of August, Canada invited roughly about 300,000 new permanent residents. Immigration Minister, Sean Fraser mentioned in one of his latest announcements that “Canada met the 300,000 mark earlier this year.”
Unfortunately, the pandemic caused a major slump in newcomers in the year 2020, IRCC geared up the immigration in 2021 and ended the year with a hefty number of 405,330 newcomers. Still, IRCC could not exceed the 300,000 mark until the fourth quarter of last year. According to the data released by IRCC, by the end of June, about 231,620 newcomers had immigrated to Canada. The difference between the numbers from the month of June to August states that Canada invited 68,000 permanent residents over the course of two months.
The available data explains which countries immigrants are immigrating from and the Canadian provinces and territories they are choosing to settle in. Here, we will highlight some essential insights into Canadian immigration.
Top Source Countries
India secures the #1 position when it comes to the top source country. In the first half of the year 2022, 68,280 Indians attained Canadian permanent resident status and representing 29% of all immigrants to Canada. Since 2017, Indians have been the top source country of new immigrants.
There was a drastic rise in the number of permanent residents from Afghanistan. Last year, Afghanistan was in the ninth position as the most popular country for newcomers. However, after a surge in Afghan immigration to Canada in the second half of 2021, the federal government promised to resettle 40,000 refugees in the country. By far, Afghanistan is sitting at the number 4 position and as of August 31, 2022, approximately 18075 refugees landed in Canada under the latest permanent residency programs for Afghans.
| Country | Number of new immigrants (Jan – Jun 2022) |
| India | 68,280 |
| China | 16,540 |
| Philippines | 12,630 |
| Afghanistan | 11,415 |
| Nigeria | 10,080 |
| Iran | 6,425 |
| France | 6,280 |
| USA | 6,025 |
| Pakistan | 5,505 |
| Brazil | 4,810 |
Provincial Immigration
Canadian province Ontario has been the most popular province for immigrants. A total of 101,155 newcomers immigrated to Ontario in the first six months of the year 2022. The number is approximately three times of British Columbia which is the second best choice for immigrants. British Columbia is now home to 36,700 permanent residents. on the other hand, Quebec invited the third-highest immigrants and started the first half of the year with 31880 immigrants. Alberta came fourth with 26920 newcomers.
Ontario welcomed the maximum number of newcomers through these Canadian immigration classes: economic, family, refugee, and other. British Columbia invited second-highest economic and family class immigrants and secured the third position under the other category. Wherein, Alberta came second highest for refugees and third for family-class immigrants. On the other hand, Quebec had the third most economic and refugee class immigrants, and the second most invited under the other category.
