In 2023, 13.5% of immigrants admitted 1 year earlier settled in another province or territory, up from 10.1% in 2022
Released: 2025-12-19
Immigrant settlement patterns in Canada are dynamic, often involving residential changes within the country, especially during the first few years after admission.
According to the 2021 Census, recent immigrants admitted since 2016 were about four times more likely to have moved to another province or territory in the previous year than established immigrants (before 2016) and about three times more likely than the Canadian-born population.
The retention rate, which is the share of immigrants who reside in their intended destination one or five years after their admission in Canada, provides a picture of their residential choices. Net internal migration of immigrants is the difference between the number of in-migrants and out-migrants for a given geographical area. These measures can help in planning infrastructures and services for a geographical area in various fields such as housing, labour market, education and access to social and public services.
Using data from the Longitudinal Immigration Database, this release presents the most recent insights in the retention rates and net internal migration of immigrants.
Increasing proportion of immigrants change province or territory during their first year in Canada, reflecting higher interprovincial migration in 2023, after the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted daily life, in many ways, including interprovincial migration. The numbers of Canadians who moved to another province or territory significantly increased in the years following the start of the pandemic in 2020, then began to decline once again in 2023, while remaining higher than the levels observed before the pandemic. The likelihood of immigrants residing in their intended province or territory one year after admission also fluctuated during this period. In 2023, 86.5% of immigrants admitted in 2022 were still living in their province or territory of admission, down from 89.9% among immigrants admitted in 2021 and lower than those admitted in 2020 (88.4%) and 2019 (88.1%).
Among immigrants admitted in 2022, those who planned to settle in Quebec (91.5%), Ontario (91.3%), British Columbia (88.5%) and Alberta (87.3%) were the most likely to live in the same province one year later. The one-year retention rates in these provinces were lower among immigrants admitted in 2022 than among those admitted in 2021, reversing the previous increase for immigrants admitted in 2021 compared with those admitted in 2020.
The one-year retention rates of immigrants admitted in 2022 were the lowest in the Atlantic provinces, ranging from 46.7% to 64.3%. However, these rates increased compared to those of immigrants admitted in the Atlantic provinces in 2021. The growth was most pronounced in Newfoundland and Labrador (+7.0 percentage points to 59.7%) and Prince Edward Island (+4.9 percentage points to 46.7%). Despite this rise, the share of immigrants admitted in 2022 who stayed in each of the four Atlantic provinces was lower compared to those admitted in 2020 and 2019.
A similar pattern was also observed in Manitoba, where 71.5% of immigrants admitted in 2022 stayed in the intended province one year later, a higher proportion than those admitted in 2021 (69.4%), but lower than those admitted in 2020 (75.0%) and 2019 (77.5%).
In the territories, the one-year retention rate among immigrants admitted in 2022 was 66.7%, higher than those admitted in 2021 (61.6%) but lower than those admitted in 2020 (75.5%).
Ontario is the most common destination for immigrants who are not residing in their intended province one year after their admission
Among immigrants admitted in 2022 who intended to reside in Ontario, 36.8% had settled in Quebec, 34.4% in Alberta, 20.3% in British Columbia and 8.4% in another province or the territories one year after their admission. In addition, Ontario was the province that received the largest share (38.4%) of immigrants admitted in 2022 who did not settle in their intended province or territories in the year following their admission. Ontario was the place of residence for more than half of the immigrants admitted in 2022 who initially intended to settle in the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia but who were not living there a year after admission.
As a result, Ontario (+4,470 immigrants), Quebec (+2,095), Alberta (+5,530) and British Columbia (+1,730) had a positive one-year net internal migration of immigrants admitted in 2022, as was previously the case for immigrants admitted in 2021, 2020 and 2019 (except Quebec, which had negative net internal migration for those admitted in 2019).
The one-year net internal migration of immigrants admitted in 2022 was negative in Saskatchewan (-3,760), Manitoba (-3,460), Nova Scotia (-2,715), New Brunswick (-1,975), Prince Edward Island (-995), Newfoundland and Labrador (-860) and the territories (-50). Over a year, each of these regions lost more immigrants admitted in 2022 than they received from other parts of the country. There was also a net loss in these areas for immigrants admitted in 2021, 2020 and 2019 (except the territories, which had positive net internal migration for those admitted in 2020).
Chart 1
One-year net internal migration of immigrants, by province and territories and admission year, 2019 to 2022
The share of immigrants living in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick five years after their admission is increasing
While some relocations occur in the first year, a longer period of five years following an immigrant's admission corresponds to a pivotal period during which various aspects of life—such as work, education, family structure, personal networks and preferences for a place to live—evolve, potentially influencing residential settlement and migration decisions. In 2023, 82.5% of immigrants admitted in 2018 were residing in their intended province or territories, while 17.5% had changed jurisdiction.
Ontario (90.8%), Alberta (86.0%), British Columbia (84.9%) and Quebec (79.6%) had the largest shares of immigrants residing there five years after their admission. In these provinces, the five-year retention rates among immigrants admitted in 2018 were lower than those admitted in 2013, with decreases ranging from -5.3 percentage points in British Columbia to -2.4 percentage points in Ontario.
New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island stand out from other provinces regarding the five-year retention rate. There was an upward trend in the five-year retention rate in New Brunswick between the immigrants admitted in 2013 (47.8%) and those admitted in 2018 (57.6%). Meanwhile, Prince Edward Island experienced a recent increase in the five-year retention rate, reaching 34.1% for immigrants admitted in 2018, the highest rate since those admitted in 2014 (28.1%) and approaching the rate for those admitted in 2013 (39.9%).
Saskatchewan and Manitoba experienced the largest declines in five-year retention rates between immigrants admitted in 2013 and 2018 (down from 66.5% to 47.5% in Saskatchewan, and from 75.1% to 60.9% in Manitoba).
Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia continue to have positive five-year net internal migrations
In Ontario (+8,080), Alberta (+5,500) and British Columbia (+3,030), there were more immigrants admitted in 2018 who moved in from another province or territory than immigrants who moved out within a period of five years after admission. A positive five-year net internal migration was also observed in these provinces for each group of immigrants admitted from 2013 to 2017.
Conversely, the five-year net internal migration of immigrants was negative among those admitted in 2018 in Saskatchewan (-5,215), Quebec (-4,290), Manitoba (-3,715), New Brunswick (-950), Prince Edward Island (-945), Nova Scotia (-930), Newfoundland and Labrador (-525) and the territories (-35). This was also true for immigrants admitted from 2013 to 2017 in these regions.
Chart 2
Five-year net internal migration of immigrants, by province and territories and admission year, 2013 to 2018
The five-year retention rate remains high and stable for family-sponsored immigrants and refugees, whereas it continues to decline for economic immigrants
Different contexts of immigration can correspond to different needs and can affect the decision to reside in the intended province or territory of destination.
Immigrants admitted in 2018 under family-sponsored programs—which aim to reunite families—were the most likely to reside in their intended province or territory five years later. Among the immigrants admitted in 2018 under this category, 91.4% resided in the province or the territory five years after admission. In comparison, this proportion was 93.6% for those admitted in 2013. The share of refugees who were residing in their intended province or territory five years after their admission in 2018 (86.7%) has remained stable since those admitted in 2013 (87.1%).
Economic immigrants admitted in 2018 had a five-year retention rate of 76.8%, down 5.9 percentage points from the five-year retention rate for those admitted in 2013. This decline was more pronounced among immigrants admitted under business programs (-31.0 percentage points to 28.5%), skilled worker and skilled trades (-8.9 percentage points to 76.0%), provincial/territorial nominees (-8.0 percentage points to 70.7%) and the Canadian experience class (-5.0 percentage points to 86.5%).
Five-year retention rates continue to decline in the major census metropolitan areas
Urban centres are home to most immigrants. From 2013 to 2023, around 90% of immigrants intended to settle in census metropolitan areas (CMAs), with nearly 75% choosing the largest CMAs of Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg or the Ontario part of Ottawa–Gatineau as their intended destination.
Immigrants who initially intend to settle in the largest CMAs s are increasingly likely to reside in other regions a few years later. The five-year retention rates for immigrants admitted in 2018 decreased in the larger CMAs s in comparison to those admitted earlier, in 2013, led by Winnipeg (-16.0 percentage points) and Toronto (-13.5 percentage points). For other major CMAs, the decreases ranged from -5.2 percentage points to -7.8 percentage points.
Among immigrants admitted in 2018, those who settled in the three largest western CMAs of Vancouver (79.8%), Calgary (79.4%), and Edmonton (78.1%) were more likely to reside in the same CMA five years later compared to those who initially chose the major eastern CMAs of Toronto (72.8%), Montréal (71.3%), and the Ontario part of Ottawa–Gatineau (69.9%) as intended destination.
For immigrants who intended to settle in Toronto in 2018, most of those who were not there five years later resided in nearby urban centres such as Oshawa, Hamilton, and Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo. Meanwhile, those who initially intended to reside in another major CMA were more likely to be established in Toronto. After Toronto, Vancouver was the most popular CMA for those who intended to settle in Montréal and Calgary. Meanwhile, Calgary was the top destination among the immigrants admitted in 2018 who initially chose Edmonton and the second most popular CMA for those who had Vancouver and Winnipeg as intended destination.
Immigrants admitted in 2018 who planned to settle in non-CMA areas were less likely to reside in the same intended area five years later than those who initially chose to settle in CMAs. In most cases, their most popular place of residence was CMAs within the same province.
Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton have more immigrants moving in than moving out five years after admission to Canada
These residential mobility patterns regarding the retention rate in the largest CMAs contributed to the five-year net internal migration of immigrants. Among immigrants admitted in 2018, Vancouver (+2,030), Calgary (+3,860) and Edmonton (+1,655) had more immigrants moving in than moving out over five years. A positive net balance was also observed for groups of immigrants admitted from 2013 to 2017. In contrast, Montréal (-5,725 for immigrants admitted in 2018) and Winnipeg (-3,035) saw more immigrants moving out than moving in over this period. Toronto had positive five-year net internal migration for those admitted in 2013 (+810) and 2016 (+510) but started seeing negative five-year net internal migration for those admitted in 2017 (-2,590) and 2018 (-8,350).
Chart 3
Five-year net internal migration of immigrants in selected census metropolitan areas, by admission year, 2013 to 2018
Note to readers
Definitions and concepts
The Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) is a comprehensive source of data that plays a key role in better understanding the economic behaviour of immigrants and non-permanent residents. It is the only annual Canadian dataset that allows users to study the characteristics of immigrants to Canada at time of admission and the economic outcomes and regional mobility of immigrants over a period of more than 40 years.
The IMDB is the result of a partnership between Statistics Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the provinces and territories. The IMDB combines administrative data files on immigrant admissions and non-permanent resident permits from IRCC with tax files from the Canada Revenue Agency. IRCC's administrative records contain extensive information on immigrants admitted to Canada since 1952. They also include information on non-permanent residents who have been granted temporary resident permits since 1980. Tax records for 1982 and subsequent years are available for immigrant taxfilers.
The IMDB links short-term and long-term outcomes to characteristics at admission, such as immigrant admission class, country of birth and knowledge of official languages. The IMDB also provides information on pre-admission experience in Canada and citizenship acquisition since 2004.
It is to be noted that the IMDB is updated annually. From year to year, there have been changes to data processing. Each yearly update is independent.
For additional information on the coverage and quality of the IMDB data, users can refer to the publication Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) Technical Report, 2024.
This article presents data for different admission years and tax years. One-year measures for immigrants admitted in 2022 are described (using data for 2023 tax year) and compared to those for immigrants admitted in 2021, 2020 and 2019 (using data for 2022, 2021 or 2020 tax year respectively). Five-year measures for immigrants admitted in 2018 are presented (using data for 2023 tax year), along with those for immigrants admitted between 2013 and 2017 (using data for tax years 2018 to 2022).
The retention rate represents the percentage of immigrant taxfilers continuing their residence in the geographical area (province or census metropolitan area (CMA), as designated) of their intended destination. It is calculated for tax-filer immigrants admitted to Canada in a reference admission year, and at a specific time after admission (one year or five years). The retention rate does not include immigrants who entered in a province or territory during the reference period.
Immigrant net internal migration is the difference between the number of in-migrants and the number of out-migrants for a given geographical area (province, territory or CMA). Net internal migration is calculated for tax-filer immigrants admitted to Canada in a reference year of admission, and at a specific time after admission (one year or five years).
In-migrants are immigrants taxfilers who entered in the geographical area (province, territory or CMA) during the reference period (one year or five years) after being admitted in Canada. Out-migrants are immigrant taxfilers who did not continue to live in their intended destination (province, territory or CMA) during the reference period after their admission in Canada. Out-migrants include immigrant taxfilers who still live in Canada and exclude those who have left Canada.
Economic immigrant admission categories include immigrants who were selected for their ability to contribute to Canada's economy through their ability to meet labour market needs, to own and manage or to build a business, to make a substantial investment, to create their own employment, or to meet specific provincial or territorial labour market needs.
Immigrant-sponsored family categories include immigrants who were sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and were granted permanent resident status based on their relationship either as the spouse, partner, parent, grandparent, child or other relative of this sponsor. The terms "family class" or "family reunification" are sometimes used to refer to this category.
The refugee categories include immigrants who were granted permanent resident status based on a well-founded fear of returning to their home country. This category includes persons who had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or for political opinion (Geneva Convention refugees), as well as persons who had been seriously and personally affected by civil war or armed conflict or had suffered a massive violation of human rights. Some refugees were in Canada when they applied for refugee protection for themselves and their family members (either with them in Canada or abroad), while others were abroad and were referred for resettlement to Canada by the United Nations Refugee Agency, another designated referral organization or private sponsors.
For a more detailed description of the immigrant admission categories, see the IRCC Glossary.
Immigrant refers to a person who is, or who has ever been, a landed immigrant or permanent resident. Such a person has been granted the right to live in Canada permanently by immigration authorities. Immigrants who have obtained Canadian citizenship by naturalization are included in this group.
Immigrant taxfilers are immigrants who have filed a tax return for a given taxation year.
The province or territory of admission is the province or territory of intended destination according to immigration applications.
A census metropolitan area (CMA) is formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centred on a population centre (known as the core). A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000, based on data from the 2021 Census, of which 50,000 or more must live in the core based on adjusted data from the 2016 Census. An illustrated explanation of the CMA concept is available online: Illustrated Glossary - Census metropolitan area (CMA) and census agglomeration (CA).
Products
The data visualization tool "Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) Interactive Application: Mobility" is now available as part of the series Statistics Canada - Data Visualization Products (71-607-X).
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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