India remains the main source country of newcomers to Canada as newly released figures show that the nation welcomed 341,000 immigrants last year.

This is only the fifth time in its history that the number exceeded the federal government immigration target by 10,000 additional newcomers.

The country also stuck to its plan by welcoming 58 percent of its newcomers under the economic class, while 27 percent arrived through family sponsorship, and the remaining 15 percent were welcomed under the refugee class.

India remains the main source country of newcomers to Canada, CIC news reported.

The approximately 86,000 Indians who became permanent residents in 2019 accounted for 25 percent of all newcomers to Canada.

China was a distant second accounting for 9 percent of newcomers, followed by the Philippines which accounted for 8 percent of new immigrants. Nigeria, the United States of America, Pakistan, Syria, Eritrea, South Korea and Iran rounded out the top 10 source countries.

Ontario continues to be by far the top destination for newcomers, welcoming 45 percent of the national share in 2019. Its share increased by two percentage points from 2018. This may be explained by the Quebec government’s decision to reduce its immigrant intake by 20 percent in 2019. As a result, Quebec fell two spots in 2019 to the fourth leading destination of newcomers to Canada. British Columbia moved into second place as it welcomed 50,000 immigrants, with Alberta in third place.

Manitoba enjoyed a very strong immigrant intake as it welcomed nearly 19,000 immigrants last year, a 24 percent increase compared with its 2018 intake. Saskatchewan’s immigration levels were nearly identical as in 2018, with the province welcoming nearly 16,000 newcomers.

Immigration to Atlantic Canada continued to increase, with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick experiencing the largest gains. Nova Scotia saw its intake rise by 27 percent to over 7,500 immigrants while New Brunswick enjoyed a 30 percent gain as it welcomed 6,000 newcomers.

Yukon also experienced a healthy gain as its intake grew by 24 percent to 400 immigrants.

and Labrador.

More than one in three newcomers chose to settle in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The GTA welcomed more immigrants (118,000 newcomers) than the four Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Canada’s three territories combined.

Vancouver was the second leading city as it welcomed 40,000 immigrants, followed by Montreal (35,000) and Calgary (nearly 20,000).

Canada’s four largest cities (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary) together welcomed 62 percent of all newcomers to the country, down slightly from their 64 percent share in 2018.

According to its 2019-2021 Immigration Levels Plan, the federal government is targeting an additional 341,000 newcomer arrivals in 2020.

Since this target was met last year, Canada may exceed it again this year. In fact, the plan gives Canada the flexibility to welcome up to 360,000 newcomers in 2020, said CIC News.