Immigration to Canada
Rank Country Number of immigrants admitted Proportion of total
1 Philippines 34,991 14.1%
2 China 28,696 11.5%
3 India 24,965 10%
4 United States 8,829 3.5%
5 Iran 6,840 2.7%
6 United Kingdom 6,550 2.6%
7 Haiti 6,208 2.5%
8 Pakistan 6,073 2.4%
9 France 5,867 2.4%
10 United Arab Emirates 5,223 2.1%
11 Iraq 4,698 1.9%
12 Korea , South 4,573 1.8%
13 Colombia 4,317 1.7%
14 Morocco 4,155 1.7%
15 Algeria 3,800 1.5%
16 Mexico 3,642 1.5%
17 Egypt 3,403 1.4%
18 Sri Lanka 3,104 1.2%
19 Nigeria 2,768 1.1%
20 Ukraine 2,455 1%
Sources of immigration -- 2011
Immigration to Canada is the process by which people migrate to Canada to reside there. The majority of these people become Canadian citizens. After 1947, domestic immigration law and policy went through major changes, most notably with the Immigration Act, 1976, and the current Immigration and Refugee Protection Act from 2002. In Canada there are four categories of immigrants: family-class (closely related persons of Canadian residents living in Canada), economic immigrants (skilled workers and business people), refugees (people who are escaping persecution, torture or cruel and unusual punishment), and the humanitarian and other category (people accepted as immigrants for humanitarian or compassionate reasons). In 2016, Canada admitted 296,346 permanent residents, compared to 271,845 the previous year - the highest admissions levels since 2010. Of those admitted, 53% were economic immigrants and their accompanying immediate families; 26% were family class; 20% were either resettled refugees or protected persons; and 1% were in the humanitarian and other category. According to data from the 2016 census by Statistics Canada, 21.9% of the Canadian population reported they were or had ever been a landed immigrant or permanent resident in Canada - nearly the 22.3% recorded during the 1921 Census, which was the highest level since the 1867 Confederation of Canada. More than one in five Canadians were born abroad, and 22.3% of the population belonged to visible minorities, of whom 3 in 10 were born in Canada. In 2013-2014, most of the Canadian public, as well as the major political parties, supported either sustaining or increasing the current level of immigration. A 2014 sociological study concluded that Australia and Canada are the most receptive to immigration among western nations. In 2017, an Angus Reid poll indicated a majority of respondents believed that Canada should accept fewer immigrants and refugees. Canadian immigration policies are still evolving.