Immigration rates accelerate from Oshawa to Pickering but remain lower than Ontario average

A newly published report has found immigration to Durham Region has greatly accelerated in recent years, though it still lags behind Ontario as a whole and neighbouring regions.

The Region released the report through the Durham Local Immigration Partnership, one of 87 such partnerships across the country to study how well the immigrant population is settling into locally.

As it stands Durham Region is home to roughly 700,000 people across Ajax, Brock, Clarington, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge and Whitby. Of that total, about 28 per cent of all Durham residents immigrated to Canada directly. Only about a quarter of this group arrived prior to 1980.

“Immigration has and continues to enrich Durham’s social and economic prosperity, bringing cultural and linguistic richness, an educated and skilled
workforce, and a wealth of global talent,” the report reads.

However, it also noted, “Although Durham has a long history of welcoming immigrants, the community is also facing new trends in immigration and settlement. Not only is the pace of Durham’s population growth increasing, but the demographic profile of newcomers, the immigration pathways through which immigrants are arriving, and their integration experiences are also changing.”

The report found the immigrant population in Durham has grown substantially in recent years. In 2001, immigrants represented about 19 per cent of the Durham population. Over the next 20 years, the population swelled to 28 per cent of the Region.

This may sound like a lot, but it’s the second-lowest rate in the GTA. For comparison:

1. Peel Region (Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon) is at nearly 52 per cent
2. York Region (Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan etc.) is at nearly 48 per cent
3. Toronto is at nearly 47 per cent
4. Halton Region (Burlington, Halton Hills, Oakville etc.) sits at just over 34 per cent
5. Durham Region at 28 per cent, and finally
6. Hamilton at only about 9 per cent

Nearly half of all Durham Region’s immigrant residents came to Canada through the “economic admission category” which “admits candidates for their potential to meet Canada’s labour market needs, or create economic opportunities by owning, operating or investing in a business for their potential to meet Canada’s labour market needs,” the report describes.

In total, the admission programs break down as:

• 47 per cent through economic admission
• 35 per cent through family reunification
• 16 per cent through refugee status, and
• 1.5 per cent through other programs

Though they represent a minority of immigration cases, refugees and asylum seekers require more resources to get settled on arrival. A lack of federal and provincial support led to a crisis for newly arrived refugees in Durham just last summer.

In July 2023, Durham Chair John Henry and Ajax Mayor Shaun Collier declared an emergency situation after an influx of refugees. “We cannot keep up with this demand. We have exhausted the capacity in our system and any funding we had available to support newcomers,” Henry said at the time.

This created a risk of newcomers becoming homeless as soon as they arrived in Durham. After repeated calls for aid, the provincial and federal governments eventually gave municipalities a cash infusion to fund these programs.

However, problems still persist leading Whitby to request more aid just last week as “the supports provided to municipalities to receive asylum claimants are often short-term and focused on emergency response and shelter, but do not ensure permanent settlement and housing options for asylum claimants, including a focus on homeless prevention and long-term stability.”

Collier is closest to the ground on this topic since Ajax has the highest immigrant population in the Region. Each municipality’s share of the total population breaks down as:

1. Ajax – 28 per cent
2. Oshawa – 21.3 per cent
3. Whitby – 20.2 per cent
4. Pickering – 19.1 per cent
5. Clarington – 8.2 per cent
6. Uxbridge – 1.5 per cent
7. Scugog – 1.2 per cent
8. Brock – 0.5 per cent

The countries of origin fo immigrants have also changed in recent years. The most common countries of origin for recent immigrants are:

1. India – 33.9 per cent
2. Pakistan – 6.6 per cent
3. Philippines –  6 per cent
4. China – 5.4 per cent
5. Nigeria – 4.8 per cent

The largest groups of visible minorities include South Asian at 13.4 per cent, Black at 9.6 per cent, Filipino at 2.9 per cent and Chinese 2.4 cent. More than 97 per cent of Durham residents regardless of immigration status cite English as a first language.

Finally, most Durham residents (about 53 per cent) identify as Christian, 32 per cent as irreligious, 7.6 per cent Muslim, 5.6 per cent Hindu, 0.6 per cent Sikh, 0.5 Buddhist, and 0.3 Jewish.