Above is a graphic displaying Canada’s foreign-born population by decade ranging from 1871 through 2011. The size of the bubbles below the graphic display the number of total migrants arriving in millions by decade. Broadly speaking, Canada’s immigration has occurred in three waves. First, a British Isles majority wave from 1871 till the mid-1900’s,  second, a European majority wave from the mid-1900’s through 1990, and third, an Asian majority wave from 1990 running through the present.