Canada has always depended on immigrants for economic stimulus, from the Chinese laborers that completed the trans-Canada railway, to the Ukrainian farmers that fed a wartime Canada with their crops and kept some shred of the business world afloat, to the influx of skilled workers that are now running this country. It’s reached a point where a newcomer to Canada is actually more likely to have a degree than a native. Those who come here are the cream of the crop, the intelligent dreamers looking for better lives.

Below are some facts about immigration and its impact on Toronto:

•    65% of ALL Toronto residents are Immigrants (number includes foreign-born parents offspring).
•    The median age is 38 years.
•    Foreign-born people made up 49.9% of the population in 2006
•    As of 2006, 46.9% of the residents of the city belong to a visible minority group.
•     Visible minorities are projected to comprise a majority in Toronto by 2017.
•    According to the United Nations Development Programme, Toronto has the second-highest percentage of constant foreign-born population among world cities, after Miami, Florida.
•    While Miami's foreign-born population consists mostly of Cubans and other Latin Americans, NO single nationality or culture dominates Toronto's immigrant population, placing it among the most diverse cities in the world, ALSO known as a Global City.

Toronto by race:
•    European ethnicities formed the largest cluster of ethnic groups in Toronto -52.6% mostly of British, Irish, Italian, and French origins.
•    5 largest visible minority groups in Toronto:
•    South Asian (12.0%)
•    Chinese (11.4%)
•    Black (8.4%)
•    Filipino (4.1%)
•     Latin American (2.6%).
•    Aboriginal peoples, who are (not considered visible minorities) – (0.5%)