Last year, Toronto became the fastest growing town in Canada and the U.S. because of Immigration.
A new study by Ryerson University found that Toronto experienced the highest development in terms of community and metropolitan area, including Greater Toronto Area (GTA) municipalities.
Throughout the 12 months leading up to July 1 , 2019, Metropolitan Toronto expanded by nearly 130,000 residents. Many of those gains have been driven by immigration. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington came second, as nearly 120,000 residents grew.
Although coronavirus has seen Canada's immigration numbers drop in recent months, Toronto is still expected to see immigration-driven growth once the levels of newcomers in Canada recover.
Why are so many immigrants opting for Toronto?
Immigrants are attracted to Toronto based on many factors including employment, community, support for settlements, and infrastructure such as transportation, housing access, and education.
According to the Conference Board of Canada, jobs, community, and family ties are the most significant drivers.
Jobs
Toronto has a thriving technology sector that continues to develop in industries that have adapted to the growing demands that coronavirus has spurred.
Canadian permanent residency for professional international tech employees who want to immigrate to Canada has several pathways. The most prominent way to do so is to submit a profile under Express Entry.
Toronto is Ontario's capital city, so foreigners working in tech can qualify for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Tech Draws if they have an Express Entry profile.
Canada also provides the Global Talent , which has a two-week period for qualifying employers that recruit foreign tech employees.
Last year Toronto was named the top city in the 2019 Scoring Tech Talent survey in terms of “brain gain.” This means that more tech jobs were created than university graduates from tech programs.
Toronto has a highly diversified service oriented economy, also for non-tech jobs. Many sectors such as banking, Health and real estate offer opportunities.
Communities
With more than 100,000 immigrants coming to Toronto each year, the town has a reputation as one of the most multicultural centers in the world.
Toronto is Canada's most populous city, and almost half of its residents are foreign-born. Last year the GTA alone took in 118,000 refugees, a third of Canada’s total number of immigrants.
In 2019, there were more immigrants landed in Toronto than the combined four Atlantic provinces, the three territories, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Settlement supports
Toronto has around 200 settlement support locations available for Immigrants. Such organisations, amongst others, provide housing assistance, language training, and wellness. Women, as well as specific nationalities and religions, receive tailored supports.
Infrastructure; housing, transport, studies
Considering all other factors, Toronto's high cost of living isn't a dissuasive to new immigrants.
There are many public transit modes, such as buses, subways, streetcars, and regional trains. This is also home to Pearson International Airport (YYZ) in Toronto and Toronto City Airport (YTZ) in Billy Bishop. There are many universities and colleges in Toronto.
The University of Toronto regularly ranks as one of the world's top universities. Recently, University of Toronto improved to the number 25 spot in the 2021 QS World University Rankings.
