Central Okanagan immigration numbers lag behind the rest of Canada

The proportion of Kelowna, B.C., residents who are from abroad has grown, though at a far lesser rate than the country as a whole.

According to the latest round of Census information released by Statistics Canada, 14.4 per cent of people in the Greater Kelowna area are immigrants.

Stats Canada defines that as someone who is either a landed immigrant or permanent resident.

1:00 Immigration makes up largest portion of population since Confederation: Statistics Canada

Of those, 12.5 per cent made their way to the Central Okanagan before 2016 and two per cent arrived in the following five years.

Meanwhile, throughout the rest of the country, immigration numbers are booming.

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The 2021 census report says immigrants made up 23 per cent of Canada’s population last year — the largest ratio in more than 150 years.

And that number is expected to go higher still, with one-third of the population estimated to be made up of immigrants as of 2041.

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Communities with the highest total immigrant populations include Toronto at 46.6 per cent, Vancouver at 41.8 per cent and Calgary at 31.5 per cent.