The Toronto region has experienced substantial growth in its immigrant population over the last five years, according to new census data released Tuesday.

Statistics Canada released information from the 2006 census that gives a snapshot of people who came from other countries to live here. It reveals that most people moving to Canada are flocking to large urban centres, especially Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Demographic experts have predicted that Canada's population growth will be almost entirely dependent on immigration by 2030 and communities that don't attract new Canadians may see steady declines in population.

A shrinking population can have a host of economic and social consequences, including a fragile local economy starved for workers that, in turn, discourages much-needed investment. Business and school closures can result, and as the declining population ages the delivery of social services such as health care becomes strained.

Some communities find it difficult to attract immigrants because new Canadians tend to choose large cities where their families have already settled and where they can obtain the services they will need.

The latest census statistics show that immigrants make up 45.7 per cent of the Toronto area population. Five years earlier, immigrants represented 43.7 per cent of the population. In terms of recent immigration, the number of immigrants who lived in the region increased to 2,320,160 from 2,032,960 between 2001 and 2006.

During the same five-year period since the 2001 census, the overall population of Toronto region increased by 9.2 per cent — compared to a provincial gain of 6.6 per cent and a national growth rate of 5.4 per cent.

The immigration figures shows that about one out of every five Canadians was born in another country. In the Toronto region the ratio is almost one out of every two, while for Ontario, it's more than one out of every four.

The national figures are skewed by the concentration of immigrants in the metropolitan regions of Toronto, Vancouver (39.6 per cent) and Montreal (20.6).

In terms of the country of origin for foreign-born people in the Toronto area, the highest proportion came from India, followed by China and then Italy.

Statistics Canada also released data Tuesday on languages spoken by Canadians, including those born here and those who came from other countries.

English remains the dominant language in Toronto region. It is the mother tongue — the first language learned — for 54.1 per cent of the population. Canada's other official language, French, is the mother tongue of 1.2 per cent of people in the community.

In terms of what Statistics Canada refers to as "non-official" languages, Chinese (all dialects) was the first language of 8.1 per cent, followed by Italian (3.7) and Panjabi (Punjabi) (2.6).

The census is conducted every five years by Statistics Canada and is based on information filled out by Canadians on May 16, 2006. The data released Tuesday on immigration and language follows information released earlier this year on overall population growth, families, as well as the age and sex breakdowns of the population.

Future census information to be released over the coming months will give demographic breakdowns of a variety of topics, including the aboriginal population, visible minorities, labour force activity and education.