More new immigrants favor settling in areas outside the metropolitan regions, encouraging consistent economic development across Canada.
Traditionally, immigrants preferred settling in the three prominent Canadian cities: Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. The trend of immigrants settling in the three major Canadian cities is clear from historical data spanning several decades. Over 68 percent of immigrants settled in metropolitan areas in the past several decades.
Shifting trends
According to the latest census data by Statistics Canada, there is a steady drop in the number of immigrants heading to the leading Canadian urban centers. Montreal registered the highest decline of 14.8 percent between 2016 and 2021.
New immigrants to Canada are moving to Canadian provinces away from the major urban centers. The most notable rise in new immigrants to border settlements was in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick.
The provincial nominee programs help new immigrants work and settle in diverse territories and provinces of Canada, bridging labor market gaps across these areas. They contribute to the economic development of smaller regions by paying taxes. Immigration is the main driving force of the labor force, accounting for 80 percent of its growth.
Spreading out of new immigrants across border settlements results in even economic development across Canada.
