One-Fifth of Canada's Population Is Foreign-Born:

First off, it's important to know you're not alone as a new immigrant in Canada! Canada is a country of immigrants. 21.9% of people who live and work in Canada were not born in the country, and 22.3% of the population identifies as a visible minority. Those numbers are even higher in urban centres.

Overall, Canada is a very open culture that welcomes new immigrants and celebrates multiculturalism. Canada's major cities are especially multicultural and attract a very high number of immigrants. Over 50% of the residents of Toronto and Vancouver, for instance, identify as visible minorities. Toronto has been called 'the most multicultural city in the world' and over 200 unique cultural groups reside in the city.

If You're a Skilled Worker, You Can Fast Track Immigration:

Express Entry is Canada's immigration program for skilled workers.

The program aims to process new immigrants in 6 months or less.

Determine you'd eligible under one of the federal programs for skilled workers, before you plan to apply.

If you qualify, go ahead and complete your profile and pay the relevant fees.

You need to take a language test, and have your education credentials and experience assessed.

The higher your Express Entry score, the better your chances of gaining an invite. This is the point at which it's recommended that you start looking for jobs through Job Bank, Canada's official job matching platform.

After you've completed these steps, your profile will be evaluated and you'll be placed into the Express Entry pool of candidates. Being in the pool doesn't necessarily mean you'll be invited to become a permanent resident.

You Don't Need a Job to Immigrate To Canada

You don't necessarily need to have a job lined up to come to Canada, but it does make it a lot easier. Canada's Express Entry immigration system is points- based, and having a job offer waiting for you will award you a good number of points. The more points you're awarded, the more likely you'll be invited to immigrate to Canada.

You get points for:

1. Age

2. Education

3. Work Experience

4. Knowledge of English or French

57% of all Canadian immigrants gain entry as skilled workers or business-class immigrants under this points system. The vast majority of remaining immigrants arrive in Canada as refugees or join family already living in Canada. Altogether Canada welcomes more immigrants per capita (tied with Australia) than any other developed country, for a total of about 300,000 per year.