Data tables, 2016 Census

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not available for a specific reference period

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not applicable

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too unreliable to be published

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Footnote(s)

Footnote 1

Period of immigration refers to the period in which the immigrant first obtained landed immigrant or permanent resident status.

'Immigrant' refers to a person who is, or who has ever been, a landed immigrant or permanent resident. Such a person has been granted the right to live in Canada permanently by immigration authorities. Immigrants who have obtained Canadian citizenship by naturalization are included in this group.

For more information on immigration variables, including information on their classifications, the questions from which they are derived, data quality and their comparability with other sources of data, please refer to the Place of Birth, Generation Status, Citizenship and Immigration Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2016.

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Footnote 2

Includes immigrants who landed in Canada on or prior to May 10, 2016.

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Footnote 3

'Admission category' refers to the name of the immigration program or group of programs under which an immigrant has been granted for the first time the right to live in Canada permanently by immigration authorities.

'Applicant type' refers to whether an immigrant was identified as the 'principal applicant' or 'secondary applicant' on the application for permanent residence.'Secondary applicant' includes immigrants who were identified as the married spouse, the common-law or conjugal partner or the dependant of the principal applicant on the application for permanent residence.

'Immigrant' refers to a person who is, or who has ever been, a landed immigrant or permanent resident. Such a person has been granted the right to live in Canada permanently by immigration authorities. Immigrants who have obtained Canadian citizenship by naturalization are included in this group.

In the 2016 Census of Population, data on admission category and applicant type are available for immigrants who landed in Canada between January 1, 1980, and May 10, 2016.

For more information on immigration variables, including information on their classifications, data quality and their comparability with other sources of data, please refer to the Place of Birth, Generation Status, Citizenship and Immigration Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2016.

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Footnote 4

'Economic immigrants' includes immigrants who have been selected for their ability to contribute to Canada's economy through their ability to meet labour market needs, to own and manage or to build a business, to make a substantial investment, to create their own employment, or to meet specific provincial or territorial labour market needs.

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Footnote 5

'Worker programs' includes immigrants who have been selected for their ability to meet labour market needs. They were assessed on the basis of their skills and work experience, either as skilled workers, skilled trades workers or based on their Canadian work experience, including skilled work experience and work experience as caregivers.

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Footnote 6

'Skilled workers' includes immigrants who have been selected for their ability to meet specific labour needs as skilled workers. They were assessed on the basis of selection criteria such as their education, language abilities, and work experience in management, professional or technical jobs.

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Footnote 7

'Skilled trades workers' includes immigrants who have been selected by the federal government for their ability to meet labour needs in specific trades. They were assessed on the basis of selection criteria such as their education, language abilities and work experience in qualifying skilled trades jobs. They must have had a valid offer of employment in a skilled trades occupation by a Canadian employer or a certificate of qualification in a skilled trades occupation issued by a provincial or territorial authority. They must have had the intention to reside in a province or territory other than Quebec. The first immigrants admitted under a program classified in this category landed in 2013.

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Footnote 8

'Canadian experience class' includes immigrants who have been selected by the federal government and were granted permanent resident status on the basis of their Canadian work experience. They were assessed on the basis of selection criteria such as their Canadian education, language abilities, and Canadian work experience in management, professional or technical jobs. They must have had the intention to reside in a province or territory other than Quebec. The first immigrants admitted under a program classified in this category landed in 2009.

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Footnote 9

'Caregivers' includes immigrants who were granted permanent resident status 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 disease. Most immigrants classified under this category must have worked as a live-in employee in a private residence in Canada during their qualifying period of temporary work. Immigrants admitted under the Foreign Domestic program (replaced by the live-in caregiver program in 1992) are included in this category. The first immigrants admitted under a program classified in this category landed in 1982.

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Footnote 10

'Business programs' includes immigrants who have been selected for their skills and potential to own and manage or to build a business, to make a substantial investment, or to create their own employment.

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Footnote 11

'Entrepreneurs' includes immigrants who have been selected for their skills and potential to own and manage or to build a qualifying business in Canada. They must have had a minimum net worth and were admitted on the condition that they own and manage a qualifying business in Canada for a determinate period of time. This category also includes a small number of immigrants who have been selected by the federal government for their skills and potential to build an innovative business in Canada that can create jobs for Canadians and compete on a global scale. They must have obtained support for their business idea from a designated Canadian business incubator, venture capital fund or angel investor group.

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Footnote 12

'Investors' includes immigrants who were granted permanent resident status on the condition that they make a substantial investment in Canada. They must have had a minimum net worth and their investment was used in Canada for economic development and job creation. The first immigrants admitted under a program classified in this category landed in 1986.

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Footnote 13

'Self-employed' includes immigrants who were granted permanent resident status on the condition that they can, and intend to, create their own employment in Canada and contribute significantly to the Canadian economy or to the country's cultural or athletic life.

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Footnote 14

'Provincial and territorial nominees' includes immigrants who have been nominated by a province or territory for their ability to contribute to the local economy and meet specific labour market and economic development needs. They were assessed on the basis of selection criteria such as their education, work experience and specific skills, and must have had the ability to economically establish. The federal government makes the final selection decision, but each participating province and territory determines its own criteria to nominate people who meet their labour market and economic development needs such as students, business people, skilled workers or semi-skilled workers. They must have had the intention to reside in the province or territory that nominated them. The province of Quebec and the territory of Nunavut don't have a provincial or territorial nominee program. The programs for each participating province and territory were put in place in different years. The first immigrants admitted under a program classified in this category landed in 1996, nominated by the province of Manitoba.

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Footnote 15

'Immigrants sponsored by family' includes immigrants who were sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and were granted permanent resident status on the basis of their relationship either as the spouse, partner, parent, grand-parent, child or other relative of this sponsor. The terms 'family class' or 'family reunification' are sometime used to refer to this category.

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Footnote 16

'Sponsored spouses or partners' includes immigrants who were sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and who have been granted permanent resident status on the basis of their relationship as the spouse, fiancé, common-law or conjugal partner of this sponsor. Since 2002, fiancés are no longer eligible for sponsorship under this category.

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Footnote 17

'Sponsored parents or grandparents' includes immigrants who were sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and who have been granted permanent resident status on the basis of their relationship as the mother, father, grandmother or grandfather of this sponsor.

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Footnote 18

'Sponsored children' includes immigrants who were sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and who have been granted permanent resident status on the basis of their relationship as the dependent child of this sponsor.

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Footnote 19

'Sponsored intercountry adopted children' includes immigrants who were sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada and who have been granted permanent resident status on the basis of an intercountry adoption by this sponsor or this sponsor's intention to adopt them in Canada. Not all intercountry adoptions are included in this category. Some intercountry adopted children are granted permanent resident status while others are granted Canadian citizenship without first becoming permanent residents. The latter group is not included in this category.

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Footnote 20

'Public policy or humanitarian and compassionate cases sponsored by family' includes immigrants who were sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada, who may not have qualified in any program, but have been granted, on an exceptional basis, permanent resident status based on humanitarian and compassionate considerations. Data for this category are available only for immigrants who landed between 2002 and 2014.

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Footnote 21

'Immigrants sponsored by family, n.i.e.' includes immigrants who were sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada and who have been granted permanent resident status on the basis of their family relationship with this sponsor. Family relationships eligible for sponsorship under this category include young brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces and grandchildren who are orphans, or any other relative if the sponsor has no spouse, partner, parent, grandparent, children, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew who they could sponsor or who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

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Footnote 22

'Refugees' includes immigrants who were granted permanent resident status on the basis of a well-founded fear of returning to their home country. This category includes persons who had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in particular social group or for political opinion (Geneva Convention refugees) as well as persons who had been seriously and personally affected by civil war or armed conflict, or have suffered a massive violation of human rights. Some refugees were in Canada when they applied for refugee protection for themselves and their family members (either with them in Canada or abroad). Others were abroad and were referred for resettlement to Canada by the United Nations Refugee Agency, another designated referral organization or private sponsors.

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Footnote 23

'Protected persons in Canada or dependants abroad' includes immigrants who applied for refugee protection status while in Canada and who were granted permanent resident status on the basis of a well-founded fear of returning to their country of origin, as well as immigrants who were granted permanent resident status as their family members abroad. The first group includes persons who had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion (Geneva Convention refugees). The term 'refugees landed in Canada' was formerly used to refer to the protected persons in Canada. Data for this category are only available for immigrants who have landed since 1990.

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Footnote 24

'Protected persons in Canada' includes immigrants who applied for refugee protection status while in Canada and who were granted permanent resident status on the basis of a well-founded fear of returning to their country of origin. This category includes persons who had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in particular social group or political opinion (Geneva Convention refugees). The term 'refugees landed in Canada' was formerly used to refer to the protected persons in Canada. Data for this category are only available for immigrants who have landed since 1990.

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Footnote 25

'Dependants abroad of a protected person in Canada' includes immigrants who have been granted permanent resident status as family members of a protected person in Canada, who were living abroad at the time of application and whose application for permanent residence was considered concurrently with that of the protected person in Canada. Data for this category are only available for immigrants who have landed since 1990.

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Footnote 26

'Resettled refugees' includes immigrants who have been selected abroad while outside of their home country or country where they normally lived and who were granted permanent resident status on the basis of a well-founded fear of returning to that country. The United Nations Refugee Agency, another designated referral organization or a private sponsor referred them for resettlement to Canada. This category includes persons who had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in particular social group or political opinion (Geneva Convention refugees) as well as persons who had been seriously and personally affected by civil war or armed conflict, or have suffered a massive violation of human rights.

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Footnote 27

'Government-assisted refugees' includes immigrants who have been selected abroad while outside of their home country or country where they normally lived, who were granted permanent resident status on the basis of a well-founded fear of returning to that country and who have received resettlement assistance from the federal government. The United Nations Refugee Agency or another designated referral organization referred them for resettlement to Canada. This category includes persons who had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in particular social group or political opinion (Geneva Convention refugees).

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Footnote 28

'Privately sponsored refugees' includes immigrants who have been selected abroad while outside of their home country or country where they normally lived, who were granted permanent resident status on the basis of a well-founded fear of returning to that country and who were privately sponsored by organizations, groups of Canadian citizens and/or permanent residents, or had the funds to support themselves and any dependants after they arrived in Canada. Private sponsors in Canada referred them for resettlement to Canada. This category includes persons who had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in particular social group or political opinion (Geneva Convention refugees) as well as persons who had been seriously and personally affected by civil war or armed conflict, or have suffered a massive violation of human rights.

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Footnote 29

'Blended visa office-referred refugees' includes immigrants who have been selected abroad while outside of their home country or country where they normally lived, who were granted permanent resident status on the basis of a well-founded fear of returning to that country and who have received resettlement assistance from both the federal government and private sponsors. The United Nations Refugee Agency or another designated referral organization referred them for resettlement to Canada. This category includes persons who had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in particular social group or political opinion (Geneva Convention refugees). The first immigrants admitted under a program classified in this category landed in 2013.

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Footnote 30

'Other immigrants' includes immigrants who were granted permanent resident status under a program that does not fall in the economic immigrants, the immigrants sponsored by family or the refugee categories.

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Footnote 31

'Public policy or humanitarian and compassionate cases' includes immigrants who may not have qualified in any program but have been granted, on an exceptional basis, permanent resident status based on humanitarian and compassionate considerations or for public policy reasons. Data for this category are only available for immigrants who have landed since 2002.

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Footnote 32

'Other immigrants, n.i.e.' includes immigrants who have been granted permanent resident status under a program not classified in any other category.

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