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Immigration in Canada: A Portrait of the Foreign-born Population, 2006 Census: Portraits of major metropolitan centres
Calgary: Foreign-born population growing faster than the Canadian-born population
Calgary has experienced high population growth in the last several years, and the foreign-born population has added to this increase. In 2006, there were an estimated 252,800 foreign-born residents in Calgary, up from 197,400 in 2001.
The census metropolitan area's (CMA) foreign-born population increased by 28% between 2001 and 2006, compared with 9.1% for its Canadian-born population. Growth in Calgary's foreign-born population was one of the fastest in the country. While some other smaller CMAs also had an increase, Calgary's growth surpassed that of comparably-sized cities such as Edmonton, where the foreign-born population rose 14.9%, and Ottawa - Gatineau (+9.5%).
The foreign-born population made up almost one-quarter (23.6%) of Calgary's population in 2006, up from 20.9% in 2001. The proportion of foreign-born was the fifth-highest in Canada, after Toronto, Vancouver, Hamilton and Abbottsford.
An estimated 57,900 recent immigrants settled in Calgary. These newcomers made up 5.4% of the city's total population in 2006
Newcomers to Calgary had an impact on the local workforce. The working-aged population (25 to 54 years old) increased 10.9% between 2001 and 2006. Recent immigrants in this age group accounted for nearly two-thirds of that growth. An estimated 34,100, or 58.8% of all recent immigrants in Calgary were aged 25 to 54.
An estimated 11,700 immigrant children aged 5 to 16 arrived in Canada between 2001 and 2006. Recent immigrant children made up 7.2% of all school-aged children in the CMA.
In fact, in 2006, Calgary was the census metropolitan area with the fourth-largest share of newcomers, after Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver. Calgary was home to 5.2% of the estimated 1.1 million recent immigrants who came to Canada, an increase from 3.8% of recent immigrants in 2001.
Recent immigrants living in Calgary came from all around the world, but the People's Republic of China, India and the Philippines were the top three source countries of recent immigrants. About two-thirds (63.5%) of newcomers to Calgary spoke a non-official language most often at home.
Calgary CMA. Recent immigrants as a percentage of total population by 2006 Census Tracts (CTs)
