In the five years before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigerian immigration to Canada more than tripled, and new research shows this “Canada rush” was driven by a yearning for a more prosperous future.
The African Institute for Public Opinion Research (API), in its “Dismantling Canada’s Rush – A Study of the Motivations of Nigerians to Migrate to Canada,” said Nigeria’s economic downturn, worsening security and poor performance of the country’s government are driving Nigerians to emigrate.
“In recent years, the number of Nigerians wishing to immigrate to Canada has maintained an upward trend,” the report states.
“Canada’s immigration policy has also emerged in recent years as the country has emerged as an attractive destination for many Nigerians compared to the UK given the immediate pre- and post-Brexit impacts and the current US administration’s strict immigration policies.”
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) statistics support AFI’s conclusion that Nigerian immigration to Canada is on the rise.
In the five years from 2015 to the end of 2019, the number of new Nigerian permanent residents in Canada more than tripled, rising from 4,090 to a high of 12,600 in 2019, just before the coronavirus hit Canada.
This made Nigeria the fourth most important source of new permanent residents in the same year, after India, China and the Philippines.
IRCC numbers over the past five years also tend to support AFI’s contention that Nigerians are coming to Canada for economic opportunities.
Economic programs including atlantic immigrant pilot, canadian experiencecaregivers, technical interns, skilled workers, investor, federal self-employed class and startup visa Not only the program Local Candidate ProgramThey accounted for 76.1% of all new permanent residents in Canada in 2019.
Economic programs attract three-quarters of Nigerians
Even after the first wave of COVID-19 hit in early 2020 and immigration from Nigeria fell by 41.3 per cent, these economic programs continued to be the bulk of programs for Nigerians to become new permanent residents of Canada.
“For Nigerians seeking the opportunity to immigrate to Canada, the top five motivating ‘drivers’ are the pursuit of better career opportunities (75 per cent), insecurity and violence (60 per cent), the desire to provide a better future for their children (55 per cent), the desire to further education (40 per cent), and the perception of poor governance in Nigeria (35 per cent),” the AFI report states.
But while Nigerians may appreciate the economic opportunities Canada offers, many of them seem less enthused by the Great White North’s harsh, cold winters. In Nigeria, the mercury can soar as high as 40 degrees Celsius on a winter’s day, a far cry from winters in White River, Ontario, where it records 58 degrees below zero.
Unsurprisingly, only 1% of Nigerians cited Canada’s climate as a reason for wanting to come here.
Twelve percent of Nigerians were motivated to immigrate to Canada for better business prospects, and three percent chose to come to Canada to reunite with family.
Canada welcomes new immigrants
Canada’s immigration policy and Canadians’ acceptance and tolerance of people from other countries and cultures also encouraged many Nigerians to come to Canada.
“There is a general perception among actual immigrants and prospective immigrants that Canada offers a high quality of life and excellent health care services (78%), that Canada is a very safe country to live in (74%), that human rights and dignity are respected (73%), and that Canada is a place where Nigerians and other immigrants can easily integrate (71%),” the report’s authors write.
“To underline this point, nearly six in 10 (59 per cent) actual immigrants affirmed that, looking back, they think their decision to immigrate to Canada was a great one.”
To obtain the data for the report, the researchers posed as prospective migrants on two messaging platforms, WhatsApp and Telegram, accessing prospective migrant groups and post-survey links and encouraging others to complete the survey.
“Given the difficulty in identifying potential and actual migrants, convenience sampling techniques were adopted to identify and snowball personal contacts currently considering migration options and those who have already migrated,” the AFI report said.
Nigeria mourns the loss of its greatest nation
However, Canada’s acquisition of Nigeria’s best talent through immigration means a net loss of such talent to the African country. of Work permit after graduate school programs and international study abroad visa In particular, the program tends to attract Nigerians to Canada and induce them to stay in Canada and become permanent residents.
“Nigeria is losing generations of highly educated students and highly skilled workers at once,” the African Studies authors lament.
They conclude that Nigeria needs to do more to prevent brain drain to Canada.
“Current policies that stimulate economic growth and development in Nigeria need to be strengthened, which will make staying in Nigeria an attractive option,” the report said.
“At a minimum, the government needs to invest more in basic infrastructure and proactively tackle corruption. Moreover, the country can better leverage its youth bulge to position itself as a hub for technology, industry and talent development.”
