Canada – Permanent residents, 1860 to 2009
Historical highlights
1896 to 1905: the settlement of the West with an offer of free land results in large numbers of immigrants
from the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States
1906: Immigration Act
1910: Immigration Act
1913: 400,000 immigrants arrive in Canada
1914 to 1918: immigration slump during World War I
1928: opening of Halifax’s Pier 21, the Atlantic gateway to Canada
1930s: extremely low levels of immigration during the Depression years
1940s: during and after World War II, approximately 48,000 war brides and their 22,000 children arrive in
Canada
1950s: Canada receives about one and a half million immigrants from Europe
1952: Immigration Act
1956 and 1957: Canada accepts 37,500 Hungarian refugees
1962: new immigration regulations are tabled to eliminate all discrimination based on race, religion and
national origin
1967: the government amends Canada’s immigration policy and introduces the point system for the
selection of skilled workers and business immigrants
1968 and 1969: Canada takes in 11,000 Czechoslovakian refugees
1972: Canada resettles more than 6,175 Ugandan Asians
1973: Canada accepts more than 6,000 Chileans
1975 to 1978: Canada resettles almost 9,000 Indochinese
1978: Immigration Act (1976) came into effect April 10, 1978
1979 and 1980: 60,000 Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian “boat people” arrive in Canada
1999: Canada accepts more than 7,000 Kosovars
2002: Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) came into force June 28, 2002
Canada – Permanent residents as a percentage of Canada’s population, 1860 to 2009
Year 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869
Number 6,276 13,589 18,294 21,000 24,779 18,958 11,427 10,666 12,765 18,630
% of
Population 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.5
Year 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879
Number 24,706 27,773 36,578 50,050 39,373 27,382 25,633 27,082 29,807 40,492
% of
Population 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.3 1.0 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.7 1.0
Year 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
Number 38,505 47,991 112,458 133,624 103,824 76,169 69,152 84,526 88,766 91,600
% of
Population 0.9 1.1 2.6 3.0 2.3 1.7 1.5 1.8 1.9 1.9
Year 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
Number 75,067 82,165 30,996 29,633 20,829 18,790 16,835 21,716 31,900 44,543
% of
Population 1.6 1.7 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.9
Year 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
Number 41,681 55,747 89,102 138,660 131,252 141,465 211,653 272,409 143,326 173,694
% of
Population 0.8 1.0 1.6 2.5 2.3 2.4 3.5 4.2 2.2 2.6
Year 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
Number 286,839 331,288 375,756 400,870 150,484 33,665 55,914 72,910 41,845 107,698
% of
Population 4.1 4.6 5.1 5.3 1.9 0.4 0.7 0.9 0.5 1.3
Year 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
Number 138,824 91,728 64,224 133,729 124,164 84,907 135,982 158,886 166,783 164,993
% of
Population 1.6 1.0 0.7 1.5 1.4 0.9 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.6
Year 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
Number 104,806 27,530 20,591 14,382 12,476 11,277 11,643 15,101 17,244 16,994
% of
Population 1.0 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2
Year 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
Number 11,324 9,329 7,576 8,504 12,801 22,722 71,719 64,127 125,414 95,217
% of
Population 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.6 0.5 1.0 0.7
Year 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Number 73,912 194,391 164,498 168,868 154,227 109,946 164,857 282,164 124,851 106,928
% of
Population 0.5 1.4 1.1 1.1 1.0 0.7 1.0 1.7 0.7 0.6
Year 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Number 104,111 71,698 74,856 93,151 112,606 146,758 194,743 222,876 183,974 164,531
% of
Population 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 1.0 1.1 0.9 0.8
Year 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Number 147,713 121,900 122,006 184,200 218,465 187,881 149,429 114,914 86,313 112,093
% of
Population 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.5
Year 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Number 143,140 128,642 121,179 89,192 88,276 84,345 99,355 152,083 161,583 191,553
% of
Population 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.7
Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Number 216,454 232,815 254,809 256,678 224,394 212,869 226,073 216,038 174,198 189,952
% of
Population 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.6
Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Number 227,455 250,640 229,049 221,348 235,825 262,241 251,642 236,754 247,247 252,179
% of
Population 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7
