Iranian Immigrants to Canada
In 2025, 7,435 Iranians admitted to Canada as permanent residents.
From 2020 to 2025, 55,495 Iranian citizens were admitted to Canada as permanent residents.
In 2025, a total of 7,435 Iranian citizens were admitted to Canada as landed immigrants; accounting for 1.9% of total admissions in that year.
In the past five years, an average of 11K Iranian immigrants arrived annually; however in 2025, the total decreased by 33.3%.
Iranian Immigration to Canada in Recent Years
Since 2020, Iranian immigration to Canada has continued steadily, though with some fluctuations amid global events and policy changes. By the 2021 census, Canada was home to about 182,940 Iranian-born residents, reflecting prior waves, with tens of thousands more arriving in subsequent years through economic, family, and humanitarian pathways. In the early 2020s, Canada admitted over 10,000 Iranian permanent residents annually in several years, often ranking Iran among the top 10-15 source countries. Special temporary measures for Iranian nationals in Canada, extended into 2026, facilitated work and study permit extensions for those already present, amid political tensions in Iran. Recent data from early 2025 shows around 10,690 new permanent residents from Iran in one reported period, maintaining a consistent flow despite overall reductions in immigration targets and shifts in refugee source countries.
2016 Census
More than 150K Iranians in Canada
According to the 2016 Census, there were 154,425 Iranian immigrants in Canada.
Most Iranian immigrants resided in Ontario.
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)
