Immigrants Flocking to Canada's Smaller Cities Where Job Growth is Strongest

[GDS]

New statistics from Citizenship and Immigration Canada suggests that mid-sized cities are beginning to attract an increasing number of immigrants due in large part to shifting economic and employment prospects.

 

Government initiatives such as the provincial nominee program that allows provinces to select immigrants to fill specific labour needs; and the development of tools that help smaller centres draw and retain immigrants are some of the reasons attributed to his recent shift.

 

In addition, a booming economy in Western Canada has lead to a surge of newcomers migrating to more rural areas thanks to the provincial nominee and family nominee programs enacted by the Government.

 

The figures show the number of immigrants taking up residence in Toronto dropped to 87,136 last year from 99,293 a year earlier, a decline of roughly 12 per cent, while the number coming to Vancouver slipped to 32,920 from 36,273, a drop of just over nine per cent. Montreal was up slightly to 38,710 from 38,391.

 

Meanwhile, Charlottetown was up 73 per cent to 801, Moncton 31 per cent to 343, Saskatoon 40 per cent to 1,618, Winnipeg 10 per cent to 8,472 and Red Deer 93 per cent to 567. It was a mixed picture in British Columbia's smaller centres, with gains in Kelowna, Chilliwack, Nanaimo and Victoria and declines in Kamloops, Abbotsford and Prince George.

 

Despite these facts the preferred destination for the vast majority of immigrants are the larger cities, with 67 per cent of newcomers calling them home.

 

The main reason for this is that larger cities tend to offer an established community of family and friends and a greater number of economic opportunities -- either low-skilled jobs that require few language skills or businesses that cater to particular ethnic groups.

 

Interestingly, studies have shown that immigrants who settle in larger cities experience labour market advantages over those who settle in smaller cities and they can earn substantially more.

 

Nevertheless, immigrants have begun to appreciate the advantages of living in a smaller city, away from the congestion, pollution, noise and stress of the big city. Many newcomers enjoy the smaller cities precisely because they are so different from the chaos, traffic and pollution of large cities.

 

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http://www.migrationexpert.com/Canada/visa/canadian_immigration_news/2008/Aug/0/538/Immigrants_Flocking_to_Canada's_Smaller_Cities_Where_Job_Growth_is_Strongest

[Gbx]

Intéressant. Je me demande pourquoi il n'y a pas plus d'immigrant à Québec vu le taux de chomage... j'imagine cependant aussi que les immigrants ont tendance à s'installer là où il y a déjà d'importantes communautés.

[Malek]

Je suis sur que le restant des 45000 imigrants sont éparpillés entre Gatineau, Sherbrooke et Québec.

[GDS]

http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/resources/statistics/facts2007/02.asp

[Malek]

La part du Québec est passée de 15.3% a 19.1%, augmentation de 25%.

 

Montréal de 12.8 a 16.4%, augmentation 28%, en nombre brute c'est 74% de plus qu'il y a 10 ans!