Current
immigration is, by and large, an urban phenomenon. The vast majority of new immigrants come
to Canada's urban centres. In total, 71 percent of Canada's new immigrants in 1999 were destined for
the three largest cities: Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Within the West, almost
80 percent of new
immigrants settled in urban areas larger
than 100,000 residents, the majority in Vancouver. The
small proportion of immigrants going to the smaller metropolitan areas-Saskatoon,
Regina and Victoria-both reflects and reinforces disparities among the economic opportunities
offered by western cities.
When the consideration of immigration patterns is expanded to include both new immigrants and
landed immigrants, it is clear that the western provinces and cities have relatively high
foreign-born populations. Both Toronto and Vancouver have larger immigrant populations than do
their provinces as a whole. However, it is interesting to note that three western cities-Calgary,
Victoria and Edmonton-have a greater percentage of foreign-born populations
than Montreal, Canada's third largest recipient of new immigrants.
Excerpts reprinted from Robert Roach and Loleen Berdahl, State
of the West: Western Canadian Demographic and Economic Trends(Calgary: Canada West Foundation: 2001), with permission
from the Canada West
Foundation.
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This digital collection was
produced with financial assistance from Canada's Digital
Collections initiative, Industry Canada.
Current
immigration is, by and large, an urban phenomenon. The vast majority of new immigrants come
to Canada's urban centres. In total, 71 percent of Canada's new immigrants in 1999 were destined for
the three largest cities: Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Within the West, almost
80 percent of new
immigrants settled in urban areas larger
than 100,000 residents, the majority in Vancouver. The
small proportion of immigrants going to the smaller metropolitan areas-Saskatoon,
Regina and Victoria-both reflects and reinforces disparities among the economic opportunities
offered by western cities.
