StatsCan Study: Portrait of the Arab populations in Canada

Another useful demographic portrait from StatsCan:

The Arab populations in Canada are growing

Arab populations in Canada more than tripled from 2001 to 2021 because of immigration and the growth of the Canadian-born Arab population. In 2021, Arab populations reached 795,665 people and made up 2.2% of the total population of Canada. According to the latest demographic projections, Arab populations in Canada could number 1.4 million to 1.9 million people by 2041, constituting 3.1% to 3.6% of the population of Canada.

Arabs in Canada have many different places of birth, with Canada being the most common

Based on 2021 data, about 3 in 10 Arabs were born in Canada (30.3%). The next most common places of birth included Lebanon (10.3%), Syria (10.0%), Iraq (7.0%) and the Arabian Peninsula (6.8%) in Southwest Asia and Morocco (9.4%), Egypt (7.4%) and Algeria (6.4%) in Northern Africa. The proportion of Arabs in Canada who were born in Lebanon declined from 1 in 5 in 2001 to 1 in 10 in 2021, as immigration from other places of birth increased. The peak of Arab immigration from Lebanon was in the late 1980s and early 1990s. 

Just over half of Arabs who immigrated to Canada from 1980 to 2021 are economic immigrants

In 2021, just over half (51.3%) of Arabs in Canada who had immigrated from 1980 to 2021 were economic immigrants (selected for their ability to contribute to Canada’s economy), while close to 2 in 10 (18.4%) were sponsored by family members and 3 in 10 (29.5%) were refugees. More than 70% of Arab immigrants born in Egypt, Algeria or Morocco were economic immigrants. Most Arab immigrants born in Lebanon were either economic immigrants (52.1%) or sponsored by family members (32.2%). Refugees made up the majority of Arab immigrants born in Syria (78.3%) or Iraq (67.6%)….

Source: Study: Portrait of the Arab populations in Canada