Foreword

A key mandate of the Research and Evaluation Branch, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is the dissemination of immigration data. With its annual publication, "Facts and Figures: Immigration Overview – Permanent Residents", IRCC provides a broad range of statistical information on admissions to Canada.

"Facts and Figures 2016: Immigration Overview – Permanent Residents" presents the annual intake of permanent residents by category of immigration from 2007 to 2016. The report depicts selected characteristics for permanent residents.

All statistical information provided in this publication is derived from IRCC’s administrative data files where transactions with the department are recorded. 

The statistics for admission of permanent residents are provided for the three main categories of immigration—sponsored family class, economic immigrants and refugees, as well as for other immigrants who do not qualify in any of these categories. 

For information on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, its priorities and activities, publications and reports, as well as application guides and forms, visit the IRCC Web site at www.cic.gc.ca.

The numbers appearing in this report for the period prior to 2016 may differ from those reported in earlier publications. These differences reflect adjustments to IRCC’s administrative data files that normally occur over time.



Permanent residents

Since 2002, Canada’s immigration program has been based on the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and its regulations. IRPA replaces the Immigration Act of 1976 and defines three basic categories of permanent residents which correspond to major program objectives: reuniting families, contributing to economic development and protecting refugees. Accordingly, statistical information in this section is presented for the main categories of permanent residents and refers to principal applicants and accompanying spouses and dependants (unless otherwise noted).

Economic immigrants are people selected for their skills and ability to contribute to Canada’s economy, including skilled workers, business immigrants, provincial and territorial nominees, and caregivers. The skilled worker component includes immigrants who are able to demonstrate their ability to enter the labour market and successfully establish in Canada by meeting selection criteria that assess factors such as English or French language abilities, and work experience. The business immigrant component includes those who invest their money in an approved venture, those who intend to run their own business, or those who intend to be self-employed. The provincial and territorial nominees are permanent residents designated by a province or territory that have entered into agreements with the Government of Canada to select immigrants who will meet their local economic needs. While these nominees must meet federal health and security admission criteria, they are not subject to the skilled worker selection grid for determining eligibility. Caregivers are individuals who are granted permanent residence after providing, in Canada and for a determinate period of time, home child care or care for people with care needs such as the elderly, people with disabilities or people with chronic diseases. 

The sponsored family class is comprised of foreign nationals sponsored by close relatives or family members in Canada and includes spouses and partners, dependent children, parents and grandparents.

Refugees include government-assisted refugees, privately sponsored refugees, blended sponsorship refugees, and protected persons in Canada.

On an exceptional basis, IRPA gives Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada the authority to grant permanent resident status to individuals and families who would not otherwise qualify in any category, for example, in cases where there are strong humanitarian and compassionate considerations or for public policy reasons. These discretionary provisions provide the flexibility to approve deserving cases not anticipated in the legislation.

Selected landing and socio-demographic characteristics are presented for all permanent residents for the 2007 to 2016 calendar years. Statistical tables provide gender-based information on immigrant category, source areas, intended destination in Canada, age at landing, marital status, language ability, occupational skill level and intention to work. Information pertaining to marital status, occupational skill level, and intention to work is presented only for the permanent resident population 15 years of age or older. This age group corresponds to the age requirements for the labour force population as defined in the Census of Population. Supplementary tables for the permanent resident population include statistical information showing the major source countries, occupation, and skill level.


Note: numbers appearing in the “not stated” and “other” categories reflect operational adjustments to IRCC’s administrative data files and are currently under review.