Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021
Year of arrival

Definition

Year of arrival refers to the year in which the person first arrived in Canada to live.

In the 2021 Census of Population, data on the year of arrival are available for immigrants who were admitted to Canada between January 1, 1980, and May 11, 2021.

Statistical unit(s)

• Immigrant

Classification(s)

• Not applicable

Reported in

2021 (25% sample)

Reported for

Persons in private households who are, or who have ever been, landed immigrants or permanent residents or who are non‑permanent residents since 1980.

Question number(s)

Data on year of arrival were obtained from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's (IRCC) administrative records.

Responses

Single years, from the earliest year on the file to the reference year.

Remarks

New for 2021, information on the year of arrival was integrated into the census for immigrants who have been admitted since 1980.

For persons who entered Canada more than once, their year of arrival is their first year they arrived in the country to live.

Year of arrival can be different from the Year of immigration. For persons who first arrived as a non‑permanent resident in Canada and later obtained their permanent resident or landed immigrant status, their year of arrival is different from their year of immigration. For persons who first arrived as a permanent resident or landed immigrant in Canada, their year of arrival is the same as their year of immigration.

To better understand the relationship between the concepts of immigration and place of birth, please refer to Figure 2.5.

To better understand the relationship between the concepts of immigration and citizenship, please refer to Figure 2.6.

For more information on immigration variables, including information on their data quality and their comparability with other sources of data, please refer to the Place of Birth, Generation Status, Citizenship and Immigration Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.