Russian Immigrants to Canada
In 2025, 1,110 Russians were admitted to Canada as permanent residents.
In 2025, 393,530 new immigrants were admitted to Canada, and Russian immigrants accounted for 0.3% of the annual immigration intake.
From 2020 to 2025, 9,705 Russian citizens were admitted to Canada as permanent residents.
Russian Immigration to Canada in Recent Years
Russian immigration to Canada since 2020 has remained relatively modest compared to inflows from leading source countries such as India and China. In the early years of the period, annual permanent resident admissions from Russia hovered in the low hundreds amid COVID-19 travel restrictions, before rising modestly to around 1,615 in 2022 as global mobility recovered and some Russians sought opportunities abroad following geopolitical tensions.
Many arrivals have come through economic pathways, including skilled worker programs, drawn by Canada’s stable environment, job prospects in sectors like technology and healthcare, and established Russian-speaking communities in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver. While the overall numbers form a small fraction of Canada’s total immigration intake, this flow contributes to the country’s diverse ethnocultural fabric, with over 548,000 Canadians reporting Russian ancestry as of the 2021 census.
Russians in Canada – 2026 Census
In 2016, 78,685 Russian immigrants resided in Canada.
Ontario was home to most Russian immigrants in 2016.
