Largest proportion of recent immigrants in Alberta are from Philippines, India: StatCan

The latest release of the 2021 census data by Statistics Canada shows immigrants make up nearly a quarter of all people in Canada.

Fourteen-and-a-half per cent of people who immigrated to Canada from 2016 to 2021 went to Alberta.

Data shows 193,175 people immigrated to Alberta from 2016 to 2021.

Of that, about 47,600 people came to the province from the Philippines since 2016, making up nearly one quarter of recent immigrants. One in four Filipinos in Canada live in one of the Prairie cities of Calgary (9.3 per cent), Winnipeg (8.8 per cent), and Edmonton (8.4 per cent).

About 16 per cent of immigrants since 2016 in Alberta came from India.

Lucenia Ortiz immigrated to Alberta from the Philippines about 20 years ago with her family, in search for better opportunities. She says the rapidly growing Filipino community in Alberta really makes it feel like home.

“As a newcomer, what you are looking for is someone to bond with, which we call bonding capital, which is someone from your own community,” said Ortiz. “For me, as an immigrant, I’m pleased we are truly becoming a part of the Canadian population.

“It really does feel like home. And when I say home, I mean you can go eat Filipino food at restaurants across the city, there is so much of it, there are grocery stores that sell Filipino food.”

The Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers provides services to newcomers in the province, helping them settle into their new home. They say it changes over time, but currently they are helping newcomers from Syria and India most frequently.

“They all have a similar journey of learning a new place, and a new culture, and trying to find a way to bring the best of what they know and who they are to build our great and wonderful diverse city even more,” said Meghan Klein, the centre’s executive director.

Klein says finding a community is the most important anchor to feel safe and welcome.

“In a time of great divisiveness, having a sense of community, and having people that are your people is the most important feeling anyone can have,” she said.