According to the 2021 Canadian census, immigrants in Canada number 8.3 million persons and make up approximately 23Â percent of Canada's total population. This represents the eighth-largest immigrant population in the world, while the proportion represents one of the highest ratios for industrialized Western countries.
Following Canada's confederation in 1867, immigration played an integral role in helping develop vast tracts of land. During this era, the Canadian Government would sponsor information campaigns and recruiters to encourage settlement in rural areas; however, this would primarily be only towards those of European and religious Christian backgrounds, while others – "Buddhist, Shinto, Sikh, Muslim, and Jewish immigrants in particular" as well as the poor, ill, and disabled – would be less than welcome. Examples of this exclusion include the 1885 Chinese Immigration Act, the 1908 continuous journey regulation and ensuing 1914 Komagata Maru incident, and the 1940s internment of Japanese Canadians. Following 1947, in the post–World War II period, Canadian domestic immigration law and policy went through significant changes, most notably with the Immigration Act, 1976, and the current Immigration and Refugee Protection Act from 2002.