Immigrant Origins
Countries where immigrants living in Canada were born in 2024, ranked by number of people.
Immigrants arrive in Canada seeking economic opportunity, often drawn by shared languages and strong historical ties. For decades, colonial connections and post-war rebuilding brought hundreds of thousands of people from the United Kingdom and Italy. Today, robust job markets and established communities attract over a million newcomers from India and nearly a million from the Philippines.
The primary sources of immigration shifted dramatically from Europe to Asia as European economies stabilized over the decades. Global conflicts and political crises also reshaped these patterns, prompting large waves of resettlement from places like Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. Meanwhile, geographic proximity and deeply integrated markets ensure a steady flow of several hundred thousand people from the United States.
Emigrant Destinations
Countries where people born in Canada were living in 2024, ranked by number of people.
Emigrants from Canada often prioritize destinations that offer familiar cultures, shared languages, and expansive career opportunities. Deeply integrated economies and geographic proximity draw nearly a million Canadians to the United States for work and lifestyle advantages. Meanwhile, strong Commonwealth ties and reciprocal mobility agreements encourage tens of thousands of people to build lives in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Over the past three decades, global economic transformations expanded the footprint of Canadian expatriates beyond traditional Western nations. As Asian markets surged, new business opportunities and return migration prompted more Canadians to relocate to places like China and Hong Kong. More recently, the rise of remote work and a desire for warmer climates drove a steady increase in resettlement to countries like Mexico.