Immigration to Canada

Immigration to Canada is the process by which people migrate to Canada for the purpose of residing there—and where a majority go on to become Canadian citizens. citation needed Following 1947, Canadian domestic immigration law and policy went through significant changes, most notably with the Immigration Act, 1976 , and the current Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) from 2002. In Canadian law, immigrants are distinguished by four categories:

Following initial British and French colonization, what is now Canada has seen four major waves (or peaks) of immigration and settlement of non-Aboriginal Peoples take place over a span of nearly two centuries. Canada is currently undergoing its fifth wave. Periods of low immigration in Canada have also occurred: international movement was very difficult during the world wars, and there was a lack of jobs "pulling" workers to Canada during the Great Depression in Canada. Statistics Canada has tabulated the effect of immigration on population growth in Canada from 1851 to 2001. First wave edit This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2020 ) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) The first significant wave of non-Aboriginal immigration to Canada occurred over almost two centuries with slow, but progressive, French settlement in Quebe...

Immigration in Canada since the 1970s, i.e. the 'fifth wave,' has overwhelmingly been of visible minorities from the developing world. This was largely influenced in 1976 when the Immigration Act was revised and was maintained as official government policy. The regulations introduced in 1967 consisted of 9 categories: education, occupation, professional skills, age, arranged employment, knowledge of English and/or French, relatives in Canada and “personal characteristics”. 50 points out of 100 were necessary in order to qualify for immigration. On February 20, 1978, Canada and Quebec sign an immigration agreement allowing Quebec decision-making power in independently choosing its immigrants, who would then still have to be approved by Ottawa. During the Mulroney administration, immigration levels were increased. From the late 1980s, the 'fifth wave' of immigration has since maintained, with slight fluctuations (225,000–275,000 annually). Today, political parties remain...

Citizenship edit The word 'Canadian' as a term of nationalism or citizenship was first used under the Immigration Act, 1910 , to designate those British subjects who were domiciled in Canada, whereas all other British subjects required permission to land. A separate status of "Canadian national" was created under the Canadian Nationals Act, 1921 , which would broaden the definition of 'Canadian' to include such citizen's wife and children (fathered by the citizen) who had not yet landed in Canada. After the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, the monarchy ceased to be an exclusively British institution. Thus, Canadians—as well as all others living among what is known today as the Commonwealth realms—were regarded as subjects of the Crown . However, in legal documents, the term 'British subject' continued to be used, hence 'Canadians' were still, officially, British subjects born or regularly domiciled in Canada. citation needed ...

In Canadian law, (legal) immigrants are categorized by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) as either of the following: Family: persons closely related to one or more Canadian residents who live in Canada. Economic: skilled workers, caregivers, or business persons. Protected person or Refugee: persons who are escaping persecution, torture, and/or cruel and unusual punishment. Humanitarian or other: persons accepted as immigrants for humanitarian or compassionate reasons. In 2010, Canada accepted 280,681 immigrants (permanent and temporary) of which 186,913 (67%) were Economic immigrants; 60,220 (22%) were Family class; 24,696 (9%) were Refugees; and 8,845 (2%) were others through working holidays, internships, and studies. Economic immigrants edit IRCC uses seven sub-categories of economic immigrants, including skilled workers, under the following classes: Quebec skilled worker; Federal skilled trades; Federal skilled worker; Provincial nominee class; and the Cana...

Canada receives its immigrant population from almost 200 countries. Statistics Canada projects that, by 2031, almost one-half of the population could have at least one foreign-born parent. The number of visible ethno-cultural composition of population will double and make up the minority of the population of cities in Canada. 2019 edit 2017 edit 2016 edit Total immigrant population by country of birth Immigrant refers to all those who hold or have ever held permanent resident status in Canada, including naturalized citizens. Rank Country of birth Population Portion of immigrants in Canada Portion of Canadian population Notes N/A   Canada 37,815,446 N/A 78.55% 1   India 668,565 8.87% 1.9% 2   China 649,260 8.61% 1.85% Officially the People's Republic of China. Excludes Hong Kong and Macau (included in this table below). 3   Philippines 588,305 7.8% 1.67% 4   United Kingdom 499,120 6.62% 1.42% Officially the United Kingdom of Gre...