Many families around the world are opting to migrate to Canada, particularly in Toronto because it is one of the most racially diverse. With the existing communities around, people find it easier to adjust to the new environment and can find support at different times. Toronto has a population of about 2.8 million without thousands of immigrants each year.
From 2001 to 2006, Canada had over 1.1 million immigrants coming from different counties. Toronto particularly added 267,855 immigrants, averaging 55,000 each year. Half of the total population of Toronto or over 1.2 million people are actually born outside of Canada. In 2006, half of all immigrants in Toronto have lived in the country for less than 15 years. In that year, Toronto consisted 45% of the GTA population. 52.4% of all GTA immigrants lived in Toronto. 36% of all immigrants living in Ontario and
20% of all immigrants residing in Canada are based in Toronto. Toronto was also the base of 22.9% of all visible Canadian minorities and 42.4% of all visible minorities in Ontario.
The Visible Minority Groups
Visible minority is described as persons who are non-Caucasian or non-white, aside from aboriginal people. The growth of visible minorities has grown from 1.1 million to 5 million within 15 years. 96% of them live in metropolitan areas. The most visible minority groups located in Toronto include:
1. South Asian at 12% of the total population or 298,372
2. Chinese at 11.4% of the total population or 283,075
3. Black at 8.4% of the total population in Canada or 208,555
4. Filipino at 4.1% or 102,555
5. Latin American at 2.6% or 64,860
In terms of ethnic origin, more people are reporting more than one, thereby increasing cultural diversity. The following comprise the majority groups:
1. 28% of ethnic origin responses were European
2. 19% of ethnic origin responses in Toronto include Ireland, England and Scotland
3. 16% are Southeast or East Asian
4. 10% are South Asian
Because of the diversity, Toronto residents also speak different languages. 47% of the people in Toronto spoke a mother tongue other than French or English. 5% of the population actually does not know how to speak the official language. The top mother tongue languages are:
1. Chinese with 420,000 people speaking the language. About one-third spoke Mandarin while two-thirds spoke Cantonese.
2. Italian with 195,000 people.
3. Punjabi or Indian with 138,000 people.
4. Tagalog or Filipino with 114,000 people.
5. Portuguese with 113,000 people.
Aboriginal Groups
Aboriginal people originate from groups such as Metis, North American Indian, Inuit or those categorized as a Registered Indian.
There are about 70,000 aboriginal people located in Toronto. In Canada, there are over 1.1 million aboriginals in Canada. North American Indians comprise the majority at 59.5%, the Metis consists 33.2%, the Inuit consists of 4.3%, 2.3% consisted of other aboriginal origins while 0.7% consists of multiple aboriginal identities. Most of the aboriginal groups reside in Nunavut, Yukon Territory, Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Sasketchewan.
Individuals and families looking to migrate to Toronto, Canada will find the shift easier because of the available community groups that have similar interests, backgrounds and practices.