As well as many other countries, the number of new immigrants in Canada nosedived during COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, experiencing its lowest level in the past 23 years. Only about 184,000 new immigrants landed in Canada, which is way less than was expected. While resulting in a huge decrease in the number of immigrants and travelers in every province in early March, travel restrictions did not influence the immigrant settlement patterns.
Although immigration to Ontario and British Columbia fell in 2020, the two provinces still kept their share of 45 and 15 per cent of all immigrants to Canada, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Apart from Quebec, welcoming a bigger share of immigrants compared to 2019, Alberta and the Atlantic Provinces were dealing with a decrease in their overall immigration level.
