Recent immigration trends indicate that Canada is becoming more culturally and linguistically diverse than ever before and diversity has always been a pillar for Canada’s history.
While immigrants from Europe used to dominate Canadian immigration, the country is now welcoming immigrants from all over the world. Since 40 years ago, there were 12.1% Asian and Middle Eastern immigrants and 61.6% European immigrants. That ratio has now reversed
62% of recent immigrants living in Canada between 2016 and 2021 said they were born in an Asian or Middle Eastern country. Immigrants from Europe also represented a similar proportion.
There were six birthplaces in these two areas that ranked among the top ten for recent immigrants. According to Statistics Canada, a significant proportion of recent Canadian immigrants were born in the Philippines (11.4%), China (8.9%), Syria (4.8%), and India (18.6%). Pakistan and Iran accounted for 2.7% and 1.9% of recent immigrants to Canada, respectively.
Among the other countries outside Asian and Middle Eastern countries in the top 10, Nigeria has the fifth place (3%), the United States has the sixth place (3%), France has the eighth place (2%), and the United Kingdom has the tenth place (1.7%).
Canada’s recent immigration trend – What does this mean?
Canada’s immigrant population has varied recently from a range of nations, indicating that the country is now more culturally and linguistically diversified than ever.
As Canada continues to welcome immigrants from all over the world, it shows that it is succeeding in achieving its goal of being a nation that welcomes all. Canadians speak 450 different mother tongues as recorded in the 2021 census, demonstrating this country’s growing diversity. Aside from English and French, Arabic (10.3%), Tagalog (8.4%), Mandarin (7.9%), and Punjabi (6.5%) were the most frequently indicated non-official languages by recent immigrants.
Consequently, these findings imply that immigrants’ diverse birthplaces significantly impact Canada’s linguistic diversity.
Among immigrants from different birth countries, there are also differences in ethnocultural practices. Canada is growing increasingly diverse regarding food, music, and clothing, among other things, as a result of the increasing number of birth countries receiving immigrants.
