Express Entry Immigrants to Canada:
Who Are They, and Where Are They Going?
[CIC NEWS]
April 26, 2017
New data shows that Ontario, British
Columbia, and Alberta remain the most popular destinations for new immigrants
to Canada who arrive through the Express Entry selection system.
In addition, around one-in-three invited
candidates were citizens of India, reflecting that country’s increasingly
strong relationship with Canada. The other 67 percent of candidates were
citizens of many other countries around the world, as reflected in the table
below. It should be noted that around one-third of invited candidates in 2016
were from a country not listed in these tables.
Source: IRCC
These details were revealed by
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in a wide-ranging year-end
report covering 2016, which was published this week.
There may be some correlation between
the fact that India has a growing pool of skilled, mobile IT professionals, and
the fact that IT
workers were the most invited occupations in 2016. Information Systems Analysts and
Consultants, Software Engineers, and Computer Programmers and Interactive Media
Developers were three most popular occupations among invited candidates last
year.
As for destination provinces, the fact
that Ontario, BC, and Alberta have come out on top again is perhaps no
surprise. According to IRCC, ‘This aligns with destination provinces prior to
Express Entry and has been explained by a combination of community connections,
services, infrastructure, and jobs.’
*Quebec operates its own economic
immigration programs not connected with Express Entry.