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Thursday, December 12, 2002

Immigrants in rural Canada

1961 to 1996

According to a new study, Canada's rural regions have yet to benefit fully from the country's influx of immigrants, which has been Canada's main source of population growth for a number of years.

For rural communities that are watching young people leave for the cities in growing numbers, attracting immigrants is seen as an important strategy for development.

However, the study, which analysed data from the 1996 Census of Population, showed that rural regions have been attracting a smaller share of immigrants at a time when they increasingly require people to sustain their population growth.

In 1996, immigrants represented only 6% of the population in predominantly rural regions, compared with 27% in predominantly urban regions.

The pattern is more stark among immigrants who arrived since 1981. In 1996, they made up less than 2% of the predominantly rural population, but more than 12% of the predominantly urban population.

The challenge for rural communities is, first, to attract immigrants, and second to keep them there, according to the study, titled "Immigrants in rural Canada," part of the Rural and small town Canada analysis bulletin series.

New data from the 2001 Census of Population will be released on January 10, 2003. Older census data show that the trend toward immigrant settlement in Canada's three largest urban centres has been increasing over time.

Of all immigrants who arrived during the 1980s, 66% lived in Toronto, Vancouver or Montréal in 1991. In contrast, 58% of immigrants who arrived in the 1970s were residing in these three centres in 1981.

Recent immigrants residing in rural regions - that is, those who arrived since 1981 - have a different socio-economic profile than immigrants who arrived before 1981.

In predominantly rural regions, immigrants who arrived before 1981 had a higher employment rate than the Canadian-born population, were more likely to work in professional service occupations and had higher employment incomes.

In contrast, immigrants who arrived after 1981 had a lower employment rate, were more likely to work in sales occupations and had lower employment incomes.

The socio-economic differences between immigrants who were visible minorities - the majority of new immigrants - and other population groups were even more pronounced in the predominantly rural regions.

Among visible minority immigrants, a higher proportion lacked a high school diploma, a higher proportion had a university degree, the employment rate and incomes were lower, and there was a higher likelihood of having occupations in sales and services.

The Rural and small town Canada analysis bulletin, Vol. 4, no. 2, titled "Immigrants in rural Canada," 1961-1996 (21-006-XIE, free) is now available on Statistics Canada's website (). From the Products and services page, under Browse our Internet publications, choose Free, then Agriculture.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Roland Beshiri (613-951-6506, roland.beshiri@statcan.gc.ca) or Ray D. Bollman (306-379-4431, ray.bollman@statcan.gc.ca), Agriculture Division.



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Date Modified: 2002-12-12 Important Notices