Who moves there?
A real land of opportunity, especially for young professionals, Canada has a long
tradition of atracting immigrants
Every year more than 90,000
foreign workers enter Canada temporarily
to help Canadian employers address skill
shortages. Currently, 650,000 British people
are living in Canada and only one per cent are
unemployed.
Who moves there?
Canada has a long history of attracting immigrants,
and as a result is a thriving multicultural society. The
largest proportion - 2.3 million - are from Europe.
Asia is the next biggest contributor with just under
2 million.The number of people immigrating to
Canada from the UK has been falling steadily over
the years - from 160,000 in the 1960s down to just
42,500 in the 1990s. On the other hand, the number
of immigrants from Asia has been steadily rising, and
in the 1990s accounted for more than half of total
immigrants. People come to Canada in one of three
ways - as economic immigrants, family immigrants
or refugees. Most are of working age, and a high
proportion have university degrees. Immigrants
have tended to settle in large urban areas.Toronto,
Vancouver and Montreal account for 73 per cent of
new arrivals.The location of family and friends is an
important factor. However, job prospects infl uence
just under 20 per cent of immigrants, with lifestyle,
education prospects and housing prices holding very
little sway. The largest number of jobs are in the
services sector, followed by the goods producing
sector. The largest number of foreign workers in
Canada are employed in health and retail, with just
over 24 per cent each, and three million of the 5.5
million settle and work in Ontario.
Why move there?
It has been said that Canada represents the best of
the USA and the UK, bringing together vast areas of
outstanding natural beauty and varying terrain
and climate with a stable political framework, health
and education systems. Nature-lovers will love the
prairie lands and the mountains, the ocean and the
lakes.There is a huge range of outdoor activities to
pursue, including skiing, hiking, kayaking and even
dogsledding. But Canada is not just about the great
outdoors. From historic sites to performing arts,
there is plenty to keep culture vultures busy. The
slower pace of life makes Canada an ideal place to
which to retire, with an excellent public health system
and low crime rates to boot.The tax position is also
favourable, because assets outside Canada can remain
tax-free for the fi rst fi ve years, and there is no death
or inheritance tax. Although Canada has the most
educated workforce in the world, many of its own
workers are emigrating to the USA, leaving countless
opportunities for young professionals to fi ll the gap.
With an ageing workforce and a skills shortage
among Canadians there is likely to be a continued
demand for foreign workers.With unemployment
rates at 7 per cent and GDP 0.2 per cent, Canada is
in a healthy economic state and predictions are for
growth to continue.
