Iranian Immigrants to Canada
10,680 Iranians admitted to Canada in 2023
From 2010 to 2023, 121,863 Iranian citizens were admitted to Canada as permanent residents.
In recent years, Canada has been a significant destination for Iranian immigrants, driven by political instability, economic challenges, and human rights concerns in Iran, particularly following the 1979 Iranian Revolution and subsequent events like the 2022 protests after Mahsa Amini’s death. Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) indicates that in 2021, over 11,000 Iranians became permanent residents, making Iran the eighth leading source country for new immigrants that year. The Canadian government has introduced special measures to support Iranian temporary residents, including fee waivers and open work permits valid until February 28, 2026, for those in Canada before February 28, 2025. These policies have facilitated extensions of temporary status for study, work, or family visits. According to the 2021 Census, there were 213,160 individuals born in Iran living in Canada, with major communities in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, contributing significantly to Canada’s economy and cultural diversity through entrepreneurship and professional skills.
2016 Census
More than 150K Iranians in Canada
In 2016, there were 154,425 Iranian immigrants in Canada.
Iranian immigrants in Canada 2001 and 2011
The most recent data (2011) shows that immigrants comprised 20.6% of Canada’s population; in other words, one in five people were immigrants.
The number of immigrants from Iran increased 168% from 71,990 in 2001 to 120,685 in 2011.
In 2011, 58% of Iranian immigrants resided in Ontario. In fact, the Greater Toronto Area was home to 59,750 Iranians.
In 2011, 25% of Iranians resided in British Columbia and 10% in Quebec.
Note:
We would like to point out that we used data from the National Household Survey (NHS) knowing that its quality is still under criticism because this survey was conducted on a voluntary basis, so its validity, reliability and comparability with other instruments, such as population censuses have become an issue. In fact, before the first release of the NHS results, Statistics Canada issued warnings and cautions when using the NHS data, so use this data prudently.
IRANIANS IN CANADA (2016)
