According to a report titled “Non-permanent residents in Canada: a portrait of a growing population from the 2021 Census” conducted by Statistic Canada, it was revealed on June 20th, 2023, that the number of non-permanent residents in Canada is increasing significantly and is playing a significant role in the overall population growth.
New Study Highlights Canada’s Growing Temporary Inhabitant Population
The research examined the data gathered from the 2021 Census of Population and focused on analyzing the characteristics of individuals who were living in Canada temporarily. Specifically, the study explored their various motivations for residing in the country on a non-permanent basis.
Individuals in Canada who are not permanent residents encompass temporary foreign workers, international students, and asylum seekers. These groups have permission to reside in Canada temporarily.
According to the 2021 population census, nearly one million individuals categorized as non-permanent residents (NPRs) were recorded, amounting to roughly 2.5% of Canada’s total population.
Based on the 2021 census data, approximately 40% of non-permanent residents held solely a work permit, while 22% possessed only a study permit. A total of 14.2% of NPRs had both a work permit and a study permit simultaneously.
Approximately fifteen percent of the NPRs consisted of asylum seekers or individuals seeking refugee protection.
The rest of the non-permanent residents included a combination of temporary resident permit holders, family members of non-permanent residents, and individuals holding parent and grandparent super visas.
Younger individuals make up a higher proportion of non-permanent residents than other Canadian citizens.
Based on the 2021 population census, it was found that sixty percent of non-permanent residents residing in Canada fell within the age range of twenty to thirty-four. In contrast, individuals within this demographic accounted for only 37.3% of newly arrived Canadian immigrants and 18.4% of the overall Canadian population.
One of the main explanations for the prevalence of young individuals among non-permanent residents in Canada is most likely due to the large number of study and work permit holders, the majority of whom fall within the age range of 20 to 34 years old.
The majority of individuals who are not permanent residents were born in China and India.
Non-permanent residents in Canada originate from various locations, with a significant proportion hailing from China (28.5%) and India (10.5%).
In Canada, only Quebec has a higher number of non-permanent residents originating from France rather than China or India. Roughly one out of every fifth non-permanent resident in Quebec is French-born.
Nigeria was the country where most asylum seekers were born, followed by India in second place and Mexico in third place.
The country where asylum seekers mostly come from in Canada differed depending on the province. For instance, in Ontario, Nigeria was the most frequent country of origin. In Quebec, Haiti was the most typical place of origin, while in British Columbia, Iran topped the list.
