By Victoria Shelkovnikova, Citizenship and Immigration Convenor

This information about the population of Canada has details available at this link:

Canadian Provinces by Population 2023

 

Province	2022 Population	2016 Population	2011 Population	Growth Rate
Ontario	15,262,660	13,448,494	12,851,821	2.13%
Quebec	8,751,352	8,164,361	7,903,000	1.16%
British Columbia	5,368,266	4,648,055	4,400,057	2.43%
Alberta	4,601,314	4,067,175	3,645,257	2.08%
Manitoba	1,420,228	1,278,365	1,208,268	1.77%
Saskatchewan	1,205,119	1,098,352	1,053,960	1.56%
Nova Scotia	1,030,953	923,598	921,727	1.85%
New Brunswick	820,786	747,101	751,171	1.58%
Newfoundland	528,818	519,716	514,536	0.29%
Prince Edward Island	172,707	142,907	140,204	3.21%
Northwest Territory	45,602	41,786	41,462	1.47%
Yukon	43,964	35,874	33,897	3.45%
Nunavut	40,586	35,944	31,906	2.04%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Victoria Shelkovnikova, Citizenship and Immigration Convenor

Today I bring to your attention part of the 2022 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

 Gender-Based Violence Strategy

In June 2017, the Government of Canada announced It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence, the federal response to gender-based violence. The initiative focuses on three main areas of action: prevention, support for survivors and their families, and the promotion of responsive legal and justice systems. Under this federal strategy, IRCC received $1.5 million in funding over five years (2017–22) to further enhance the Settlement Program, which delivers pre- and post-arrival settlement services to newcomers to Canada. The funding is being used to develop and implement a settlement sector strategy on gender-based violence through a coordinated partnership of settlement and anti-violence sector organizations. In response to the increase in gender-based violence in the pandemic context, IRCC consulted with service provider organizations to better understand the situation for newcomers. As a result, IRCC issued guidance and information to organizations on the continuation of services considered essential, which included providing support to clients experiencing gender-based violence.

Canada’s Assistance to Women at Risk Program

The Canada’s Assistance to Women at Risk Program is designed to provide resettlement opportunities to women who are at increased risk of discrimination and violence, including those who are in precarious situations where local authorities cannot ensure their safety. Some women may need immediate protection in the short-term, while others are in permanently dangerous circumstances. Gender-based persecution is one of the grounds upon which Canada grants refugee protection. In 2021, Canada resettled 995 vulnerable refugee women and children through this program.

Measures to support newcomers to leave situations of family violence

 

Measures to support newcomers to leave situations of family violence were introduced in 2019 and continued throughout 2021 to help individuals escape abuse. These measures included:

• An expedited, fee-exempt, temporary resident permit for individuals who lack status, which also gives individuals a work permit and temporary healthcare coverage under the Interim Federal Health program. In 2021, 167 permits were issued under this initiative.
• An expedited process for victims of family violence or abuse to apply for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. In 2021, 84 applicants under this process were approved.

Racialized Newcomer Women Pilot

Programming under the Racialized Newcomer Women Pilot (formerly the Visible Minority Newcomer Women Pilot) is designed to support employment outcomes and career advancement for racialized newcomer women through the delivery of settlement services. Extensions were provided to 11 projects, originally anticipated to end in March 2021, that was best suited to continue direct service delivery to support racialized newcomer women as the economy recovers.

 Permanent Residents Admitted in 2021 by Top 10 Source Countries

Rank	Country	Total Number	Percentage (%)	Males	Females
1	India	127,933	32	73,075	54,858
2	China, People’s Republic of	31,001	8	13,418	17,583
3	Philippines	18,021	4	7,716	10,305
4	Nigeria	15,593	4	7,469	8,124
5	France	12,688	3	6,683	6,005
6	United States of America	11,951	3	5,990	5,956
7	Brazil	11,425	3	5,631	5,793
8	Iran	11,303	3	5,475	5,825
9	Afghanistan	8,569	2	4,274	4,295
10	Pakistan	8,476	2	4,274	4,202
Total Top 10		256,960	63	134,005	122,946
All Other Source Countries		149,039	37	73,506	75,530
Total		405,999	100	207,511	198,476

Source: IRCC, Chief Data Office (CDO), Permanent Residents Data as of March 31, 2022.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Victoria Shelkovnikova, Citizenship and Immigration Convenor

Immigration matters in sports

How we practice sports in Canada today is influenced by several factors, including our four seasons and geographic and social diversity. For example, lacrosse, our national summer sport, has been played by Indigenous peoples for nearly 1,000 years.

Hockey, our national winter sport, was invented in Canada in the 1800s. Basketball was invented by Canadian Dr. James Naismith in 1891 to condition young athletes during the winter. Our sports system allows people from all segments of Canadian society to get involved in sports activities at all levels and in all forms of participation.

Football – like citizenship – is the ultimate team game. It requires people of every size, strength, and skillset to work together as a team to achieve great things. [Canada’s] new citizens, and our players, are part of a proud history that has made our league and country stronger.

~ Randy Ambrosie, Commissioner of the Canadian Football League

Impact of immigration

• More than 2,800 immigrants work as athletes, coaches, officials, and referees across the country.
• Immigrants make up 20% of all people working in Canada as sports coaches.
• There are more than 16,000 immigrants who earn their living as program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness.

Number of immigrants in sports-related occupations

Immigration profile: Vancouver, British Columbia

Quick facts:

• Immigrants in the Vancouver area represent 41% of the population.
• More than 58% of immigrants who came to the Vancouver area between 1980 and 2016 were economic immigrants, while family sponsored nearly a third (31%), and 9% were refugees.

Did you know?

A total of 128 athletes were named to the Tokyo 2020 Canadian Paralympic Team, with 21 (16%) from British Columbia.

Famous Canadian immigrants

Geraldine Heaney

Geraldine Heaney immigrated to Canada from Northern Ireland and became a pioneer in women’s hockey. She was a Canadian national women’s hockey team member in the first seven Women’s World Championships, winning gold each time. She’s a two-time Canadian Olympian (silver in 1998, gold in 2012). She was also inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall.

Donovan Bailey

Donovan Bailey immigrated to Canada from Jamaica. He won two Olympic golds in sprinting for Canada in 1996, with one run recorded as the fastest time ever recorded by a human. He was also inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.

Wally Buono

Wally Buono immigrated from Italy to become one of the most legendary coaches in the Canadian Football League (CFL). After playing college football in the United States, he became a linebacker for the Montréal Alouettes. He was head coach and general manager of the Calgary Stampeders and then the BC Lions, where he retired at the end of the 2018 season. Wally’s impressive CFL career spanned a remarkable 46 years.

Bianca Andreescu

Born in Canada to Romanian parents, Bianca Andreescu became the first Canadian woman to win a tennis Grand Slam title at the 2019 US Open Final. She’s currently ranked fifth worldwide by the Women’s Tennis Association.

Denis Shapovalov

Israeli-born Denis Shapovalov is the top-ranking Canadian male tennis player and 15th in the world. In 2017, he was named the Association of Tennis Professionals’ Newcomer of the Year and the most improved player of the year.

Elvis Stojko

Elvis Stojko, of Hungarian/Slovenian descent, represented Canada at the World Figure Skating competitions. He won titles in 1994, 1995 and 1997. He’s also a two-time Olympic silver medallist at the 1994 and 1998 Olympic Winter Games. Elvis Stojko was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Canadian Olympic Hall in 2011.