Canada's immigrant population will double in size by 2031

March 10 2010 by Liam Clifford

A new study claims that by 2031, 25 per cent of Canada’s population will have been born outside of the country.

The figures from Statistics Canada also project that Vancouver’s immigrant populace will increase the most with the ‘minority’ groups there at present doubling in size from 916,000 to 2 million. This would have the resulting effect of bolstering the number of immigrants in the city or those that arrived on a Canada visa, to 60% by 2031. Making it the second most ethnically diverse city in Canada behind Toronto.

The Canada immigration study says that those born outside of the country will grow 'four times faster than the natural population born in Canada over the next 20 years.'

Henry Yu, from the University of British Columbia agrees that in the built up areas such as Toronto and Vancouver the majority of the population will shift to those born outside of the country, particularly from Asia and the Caribbean.

As much as 96% of the current minorities are expected to be living in one of the 33 metropolitan areas.

"This is the strongest indication yet, obviously it's been developing for decades, that there is a new Canada."

Professor in ethnic and Canada immigration studies at the University of Toronto, Jeffrey Reitz, supports the argument that cities will be the focal point for Canada immigration in the next 20 years.

“Newcomers to Canada tend to settle in larger cities not only because the sheer size means more job opportunities, but also because there are built-in communities of people with similar backgrounds.”

Other cities such as Victoria are also likely to see a considerable increase of the immigrant population due to immigration into Canada, the statistics claim.

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