Average annual immigration was 617.8 thousand from 2000 to 2015 compared to 1.4 million from 2016 to 2024
"Over the past decade, Canada's immigration numbers have skyrocketed, most starkly since 2021," said Jock Finlayson, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Canada's Changing Immigration Patterns, 2000–2024.
Put differently, from 2000 to 2015, immigration (including temporary foreign workers and international students) grew on average by 3.5 per cent per year. However, from 2016 to 2024 (excluding 2020) immigration grew annually at 21.3 per cent – more than six times the 2000-2015 pace.
The sharp rise in recent years reflected both planned increases in permanent immigrant inflows as well as unprecedented and largely unplanned growth in the numbers of temporary foreign workers, international students, and asylum seekers. For example, in 2024 alone, 485.6 thousand permanent immigrants entered Canada, along with 518.2 thousand international students and 912.9 thousand temporary foreign workers.
However, due to concerns about the impact of unprecedented in-migration on housing affordability, employment opportunities (or lack thereof), access to health care and other issues, late last year the federal government unveiled plans to substantially reduce immigration levels over the 2025-27 period, affecting permanent immigrants, international students, and other temporary visa holders.
The composition of immigration also changed dramatically during this period. From 2000 to 2015, the average share of total immigrants in the permanent category was 42.1 per cent while non-permanent share (mainly international students and temporary workers) was 57.9 per cent. From 2016 to 2024 (excluding Covid 2020), permanent immigrants averaged 27.7 per cent of total in-migration versus 72.3 per cent for non-permanent.
"We're in the midst of a housing crisis in Canada, and the unfortunate truth is we lack the necessary infrastructure to accommodate immigration at the 2022-24 rate," said Steven Globerman, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and study co-author.
"While the changes announced late last year have been confirmed by the new government, the levels of immigration over 2025-27 will still be well above historic benchmarks."
The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Halifax and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute's independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org
SOURCE The Fraser Institute
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