Canada's immigration policies have gone through major changes since the 1960s. Replacing race-based criteria with a skills-based points system fundamentally altered who came to Canada, where they came from, and what the country looked like demographically. These policy shifts, combined with an aging population and falling birth rates, made immigration central to Canada's strategy for population growth and economic stability.
Immigration Policies and Legislation
Points System and Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
Before 1967, Canada's immigration system openly favored applicants from Europe. The points system, introduced in 1967, replaced that approach by evaluating immigrants on factors like education, language ability, work experience, and age. Race and nationality were no longer criteria. This was a turning point: it opened the door to skilled immigrants from every part of the world.
The system worked alongside evolving legislation:
- The Immigration Act of 1976 was the first major overhaul, establishing categories for family, economic, and refugee immigration.
- The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), passed in 2001, replaced the 1976 Act. It laid out three core objectives: family reunification, economic development, and refugee protection.
- IRPA also created new pathways like the Canadian Experience Class, which allowed foreign students and temporary workers already in Canada to apply for permanent residency. This recognized that people with Canadian work or study experience were well-positioned to integrate.
Family Reunification and Refugee Policies
Family reunification has remained a consistent priority across decades of policy changes. Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor close family members, including spouses, partners, dependent children, parents, and grandparents.
Canada's refugee policies reflect a separate but equally significant commitment. The country has a long track record of accepting refugees, from Hungarian refugees in the 1950s to Vietnamese "boat people" in the late 1970s to Syrian refugees in the 2010s. The current system has three main streams:
- Government-assisted refugees, selected abroad and supported with federal funding
- Privately sponsored refugees, where groups of Canadian citizens or organizations take on financial and settlement support
- Asylum seekers, who make protection claims after arriving in Canada
Shifting Demographics
Source Countries and Urban Concentration
The points system had a dramatic effect on where immigrants came from. Through the mid-20th century, most immigrants arrived from Europe. By the 2000s and 2010s, the top source countries were India, China, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Syria. Immigration from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East now far outpaces European immigration.
These newcomers have overwhelmingly settled in cities. Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver receive the largest share of immigrants, which has shaped the character of those cities. This urban concentration often leads to the formation of ethnic enclaves, neighborhoods where specific cultural communities cluster together (Chinatowns, Little Italys, and newer South Asian and Middle Eastern neighborhoods). These enclaves can serve as landing pads for new arrivals, offering familiar languages, foods, and social networks, though they also raise questions about integration.
Visible Minorities
Under Canadian law, visible minorities are defined as persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour. This is a term used in official statistics and policy, particularly in the Employment Equity Act.
The visible minority population has grown rapidly:
- 1981: 4.7% of the total population
- 2016: 22.3% of the total population
The largest visible minority groups include South Asians, Chinese, Black Canadians, Filipinos, and Arabs. This growth is almost entirely driven by immigration patterns since the late 1960s. Visible minorities continue to face distinct challenges, including workplace discrimination, language barriers, and difficulties getting foreign credentials recognized.
Population Trends
Aging Population
Canada's population has been aging steadily, driven by two forces: people are living longer, and fewer children are being born.
The numbers tell a clear story:
- Median age rose from 26.2 years in 1971 to 40.8 years in 2016
- Seniors (65+) grew from 8% of the population in 1971 to 16.9% in 2016
An older population puts pressure on healthcare systems, pension programs like the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security, and the labour force. Fewer working-age people supporting more retirees is a structural challenge that doesn't resolve on its own.
Birth Rates
Canada's total fertility rate has dropped sharply over the past several decades, from 3.94 children per woman in 1959 (during the baby boom) to just 1.47 in 2020. That's well below the replacement rate of roughly 2.1 children per woman, the level needed for a population to sustain itself without immigration.
Several factors drive this decline:
- Women are having children later in life
- Higher rates of post-secondary education and workforce participation among women
- Shifting social norms around family size
With birth rates this low and the population aging, Canada's population would actually shrink without immigration. This is why immigration has become not just a social policy but an economic necessity: it supplies working-age people, supports tax revenues, and keeps the population growing.