ARCHIVED – Socioeconomic Profiles of Immigrants in the Four Atlantic Provinces — Phase II: Focus on Vibrant Communities

Some general trends of immigrant inflows and of international students in Atlantic Canada

In this section, immigrant inflow data are analyzed for Atlantic Canada in general and for three Atlantic cities (Halifax, Saint John’s and Charlottetown) in particular. Data on the inflow of international students and on their resident population (stock) are also analyzed for the three cities.

Immigrant inflows in Atlantic Canada (2001-2006)

Phase I of this project analyzed data on immigrant inflows from 1981 until 2001. It was found that immigrant inflows into the region had declined in the late 1990s.  More recent data, as shown in Chart 1 for the period 2001-2006, indicate that more immigrants now come to Atlantic Canada. Between 2001 and 2006, the annual immigrant inflow into the region increased by about 75 percent. The largest increase was in Prince Edward Island, where the annual inflow increased by more than four times (from 134 to 565), followed by New Brunswick, where the annual inflow of immigrants more than doubled (from 798 to 1,646), Nova Scotia, where the inflow rose by about 1.52 times (from 1700 to 2,585), and Newfoundland and Labrador, where the inflow rose by about 1.3 times (from 393 to 511). Given that the annual national inflows remained at about 250,000 during this period, larger immigrant inflows in Atlantic Canada reflect greater participation of the four provinces in the national immigration program, as was discussed in the introductory section above.

Chart 1: Immigrant inflows in Atlantic Canada by province, 2001-2006

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Facts and Figures 2006 database, special tabulations.

Immigrants’ contribution to population growth in Atlantic Canada

Immigrant inflows in Atlantic Canada have helped slow population decline, and this contribution has increased in recent years. As shown in Table 1, had there been no immigration during 1996-2001, the region’s population decline would have been 16.5 percent higher than the actual decline. During 2001-2006, this decline would have been 93.4 percent higher without immigration.

Table 1: Atlantic population net growth rate and contribution of recent immigrants to the growth of the provincial population, 1996-2006

*Based on revised census 2001 data published by Statistics Canada.

General immigration trends: Halifax, Saint John’s and Charlottetown

Chart 2 shows that most immigrants destined to the three selected Atlantic cities go to Halifax.  Halifax experienced a sudden rise in its immigrant inflows in the mid-1990s in the aftermath of the first Gulf War and also due to aggressive immigrant consultants’ activities aimed at recruiting immigrants from the Middle East [ Note 1 ]  However, by 1999, immigrant inflows fell back to their traditional level of about 1,200-1,500 per year. The inflows have picked up since 2003 due to deliberate attempts by provincial and city governments, community organizations and immigrant settlement agencies to attract immigrants to the province of Nova Scotia.

In Charlottetown, which received the fewest immigrants among all three cities during most of the period, inflows have risen since 2003, and in 2006, this city received more immigrants than did Saint John’s. The relatively stagnant immigrant inflow in Saint John’s during the last three years, despite its expanding economic activity, could be explained in part by two reasons: First, the city launched its immigration strategy only in 2006, so the effect of this strategy is not reflected in our data. Second, the city has a small population of immigrants, which is also less diverse than is found in other major cities of Canada. One would expect that the recent rise in immigrant inflows from non-European countries will have a long-term effect of further increasing inflows from those countries.

Chart 2: Immigrants (principal applicants and dependents) destined to Atlantic Canada: Halifax, Saint John's and Charlottetown, 1991-2006

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Facts and Figures 2006 database, special tabulations.

Immigrants destined to the labour force: Halifax, Saint John’s and Charlottetown

Chart 3 shows that immigrants destined to the labour force follow the same trend as do all immigrants (whose trend was shown in Chart 1).  This result indicates that immigration can be used as a major source of labour force growth, which has been adversely affected due to the decline in population growth in Atlantic Canada. A comparative analysis of labour force participation of immigrants and the total resident population will be provided in a later section of this report.

Chart 3: Immigrants destined to the labour force: Halifax, Saint John’s and Charlottetown, 1991-2006

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Facts and Figures 2006 database, special tabulations.

International Students: Halifax, Saint John’s and Charlottetown

International students form a potential pool of highly skilled immigrants. Attracting international students and retaining them upon graduation is one of the goals of immigration strategies adopted by provincial governments in Atlantic Canada. For example, in 2007, the province of Nova Scotia added the  component of “International Graduate Stream” to its Provincial Nominee Program that fast tracks the landing process for those international students who wish to stay in the province after finishing their studies. The immigration strategy launched by the province of Newfoundland and Labrador supports the efforts of post-secondary institutions and K-12 schools in attracting an increasing number of international students. Memorial University of Newfoundland is a key partner in that strategy. The province of New Brunswick has also signed an agreement with the federal government that makes it easier for foreign graduates in New Brunswick to gain an additional year of work experience in their field of study. This change is expected to help graduates who wish to apply for permanent residence status as skilled workers by providing them with additional points on the selection grid in their area of expertise. Most international students are university students.

Chart 4 shows that Halifax experienced a significant growth in its annual inflow of international students during 1991-2006, while Saint John’s and Charlottetown maintained their inflows at below 200 over the same period. The resident student population (stock as shown in Chart 5) has followed the same trend. One reason for the larger population of international students in Halifax is that three universities in the city actively recruit international students.

Chart 4: Annual inflow of international students: Halifax, Saint John’s and Charlottetown, 1991-2006

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Facts and Figures 2006 database, special tabulations.

Chart 5: Stock of international students (as of 01 December): Halifax, Saint John’s and Charlottetown, 1991-2006

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Facts and Figures 2006 database, special tabulations.

As shown in Table 2, Chinese students comprise the bulk of international student inflows in the three cities, although in more recent years, the inflow of students from India and Bangladesh has increased, mostly in Saint John’s. The United States has been among the top five source countries of international students in all three cities. As shown in Table 3, the international student population in Halifax, which receives the most, is also the most diverse of all three cities.

Table 2: Top five source countries of international student inflows in three Atlantic Canadian cities, 1991-2006

*Data suppressed due to privacy considerations.

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Facts and Figures 2006 database, special tabulations.

¹ A detailed discussion can be found in Akbari, A., S. Lynch, T. McDonald and W. Rankaduwa. 2007. Socioeconomic and Demographic Profiles of Immigrants in Atlantic Canada (available on www.atlantic.metropolis.net).

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