Brampton Ranked City with One of the Highest Immigrant Populations in Canada
Published February 1, 2019 at 2:44 pm
Brampton has one of the fastest growing populations in Canada, but you may or may not know that the majority of Brampton’s population was actually born outside of Canada!
Brampton has one of the fastest growing populations in Canada, but you may or may not know that the majority of Brampton’s population was actually born outside of Canada! Compared to other municipalities, our city has ranked among those with the highest immigrant populations nationally.
The most recent 2016 Census data revealed that immigration is skyrocketing in Brampton and beyond, so it’s no surprise that Brampton has ranked high on a national scale of cities whose growth is driven by immigrants.
Where does Brampton rank, you ask?
Well, according to the City, Brampton ranks fifth nationally for percentage of immigrants making up the total population, behind Richmond (British Columbia), Markham, Richmond Hill, and Mississauga.
In fact, over 52 per cent – 308,790 residents of 593,638 – of Brampton’s population was born outside of Canada, which is a two per cent increase from the 2011 Census.
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In terms of where immigrants in Brampton are coming from, census data indicates that 61,640 come from the Americas (north and south), 35,160 from Europe, and 16,065 from Africa. The most people come to Brampton from Asia, at 195,235 residents (with the most coming from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Philippines).
As for why people come to Brampton, 100,360 are economic immigrants, 130,455 are sponsored by family and 30,050 have come as refugees.
Here’s another fun fact – Brampton’s total visible minority population in the city sits at 433,230, mostly of South Asian descent.
Our city is also quite diverse, with people from 234 distinct ethnic backgrounds, up from 209 in 2011. Februrary 2016’s Census revealed that almost 40 people move to Brampton every single day – that’s a massive increase! As of August, Brampton’s diversity was highlighted. The number of languages spoken in Brampton was revealed to be 115, compared to just 89 in 2011.
“Brampton’s growth, youth and diversity is really remarkable – making our city truly unique in Canada. Brampton is an exciting and dynamic place to live and work,” said Mayor Linda Jeffrey. “People from around the world are choosing to live here. Business and all levels of government are recognizing that growth through targeted investment in our city.”
Our growth rate is in fact double the Region of Peel’s, three times greater than Ontario’s, and two-and-a-half times greater than Canada’s growth rate, according to the City.
We might be extremely diverse and rapidly growing, but the question remains…will we all still fit in Brampton a few years down the road?!
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