By CIC News |
In 2019, Canada welcomed more than 300,000 immigrants for only the fifth time in its history and exceeded its federal government immigration target by 10,000 additional newcomers.
Canada continued its immigration record-setting pace by welcoming 341,000 newcomers in 2019. This is only the fifth time in its history that it has welcomed more than 300,000 immigrants in one year (the other times were 1911-1913 and 2018).
Canada also exceeded the target it set in its 2019-2021 Immigration Levels Plan (330,800 immigrants) by more than 10,000 immigrants.
The country also stuck to its plan by welcoming 58 per cent of its newcomers under the economic class, while 27 per cent arrived through family sponsorship, and the remaining 15 per cent were welcomed under the refugee class.
25 per cent of new immigrants came from India
India remains the main source country of newcomers to Canada. The approximately 86,000 Indians who became permanent residents in 2019 accounted for 25 per cent of all newcomers to Canada. China was a distant second accounting for 9 per cent of newcomers, followed by the Philippines which accounted for 8 per cent of new immigrants. Nigeria, the United States of America, Pakistan, Syria, Eritrea, South Korea and Iran rounded out the top 10 source countries.