Lloydminster’s immigrant population is more than six times what it was ten years ago. According to the 2016 census, an estimated 4,450 residents had immigrant status, making up almost 14.2% of the community.
In 2006, there were 725 immigrants in the city, which was nearly 2.3%. Only 25% of households received the long-form census, so the totals have been estimated by Statistics Canada.
The majority of Lloydminster’s immigrant residents arrived in Canada since 2006, with 2,365 arriving between 2011 and 2016. From 2006 to 2010 1,060 people came, 150 from 2001 to 2005, 215 from 1991 to 2000, and 370 before then.
A similar spike is being seen across Alberta, where the percentage of new immigrants living in the province rose from 6.9% in 2001 to 17.1 per cent in 2016. Saskatchewan’s share also grew from just under 1% in 2001 to 4% in 2016. At the same time, B.C. was at 14.5%. Ontario still saw the highest share at 39%, followed by Quebec at 17.8%.
Just under three quarters of the immigrant population in Lloydminster was from Asian countries in 2016, with about a half of all local immigrants coming from the Philippines. Of all foreign-born residents, 3,250 were economic immigrants like skilled workers, 580 were sponsored by their family, and 255 were refugees.
Wednesday’s census release also included information on the city’s ethnic diversity. It showed nearly 16% of the population is considered to be of a visible minority, with 49% Filipino, 10% black, and nearly 23% South Asian.
Story contributed to by Erica Fisher.Â