Newcomers continue to flock to Canada, and the Canadian population is growing increasingly diverse.

That’s according to a new report from Statistics Canada, which projects that by 2031, at least 25% of Canada’s population will be foreign born.

Where are all these newcomers coming from?

Statistics Canada forecasts that in 2031, 55% of the foreign-born population would come from Asia, about 20% from Europe, just under 14% from the Americas, and roughly 9% from Africa.

The report also projects that by 2031, approximately 30% of Canada’s population could belong to a visible minority group, nearly double the proportion reported in the nation’s 2006 census.

More than 71% of visible minority people would live in Canada’s three largest metropolitan areas: Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. According to this study:

In Toronto, 24% of the population, or 2.1 million, would be South Asians, which would continue to be its largest visible minority group, up from 13% in 2006.

In Vancouver, Chinese would be the largest visible minority group, with a population of around 809,000. They would account for about 23% of Vancouver’s population, up from 18% in 2006.

In Montreal, visible minority groups would represent 31% of the population, nearly double the 16% in 2006. By 2031, its Arab population would almost reach the Black population.

So if you’re thinking about immigrating to Canada, you’re in good company.

To read more, here’s a summary and the full details of the Statistics Canada report. The study is also getting lots of ink in the Canadian media, including the Globe & Mail and the Canwest News Service.

Photo ©Carolyn B. Heller