Although famous cities such as Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver have always been popular destinations for immigrants, smaller cities have started a plan to attract more people.
The number of new immigrants starting a life in smaller Canadian cities saw an increase of 45 percent between 2013 and 2019, while this number was only 9 percent for major cities in Canada.
It is worth mentioning that immigration rate in Canada is defined by the number of immigrants per 10,000 citizens. This rate is lower in mid-sized and small cities since they are home to fewer people, generally.
Toronto and Vancouver, with a rate of 163 and 128, respectively, are among the most popular cities for newcomers but what about smaller urban areas?
The immigration rate for all 14 small urban cities together is 100 people per 1000. Regina and Saskatoon, with 193 and 178 immigrants per 1000, which is higher than that of Toronto. Other small urban areas with a high rate of immigration are as follows: Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Swift Current, Winkler, Steinbach, Brandon, Thompson, Brooks, High River, Wood Buffalo.
The mentioned cities, see immigration as a direct solution to the problem of an aging population and shortage of workforce. The population in most of these areas is declining, meaning that there are more deaths than births. Therefore, to maintain their economic standpoint among other provinces, they will heavily rely on their immigrants. But, the pandemic of Coronavirus had a significant role in decreasing the number of immigrants, which was worsened by travel restrictions as well. It is projected that in long term, not only the smaller areas but also the major ones will see immigration as the proper response to their economical needs.
