Immigration to Canada from Asia Pacific (1961 - 2006)

Immigration to Canada from the Asia Pacific region has been a relatively recent phenomenon. Prior to the 1960s, China and India were the only countries in the region which represented a significant source of immigrants. With the liberalization of Canadian immigration policy, the 1970s saw the first significant waves of immigration from Asia from such sources as Hong Kong, South Korea, Philippines and Taiwan. Regional unrest also brought immigrants from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam - many coming to Canada as refugee claimants. Immigration from Asia Pacific continued to rise during the 1980s, with expanding numbers from other countries in the region, including Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The largest source of immigrants from the region in the 2000s so far has been China, followed by India, the traditional sources in the Asia Pacific. Has immigration steadily declined from any source countries during the past 45 years? Only Australia stands out.