Adoption Council of Canada/ Conseil d'Adoption du Canada

CANADIANS ADOPT ALMOST 20,000 CHILDREN FROM ABROAD

New statistics released by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) show that over the last decade Canadians have adopted almost 20,000 children from abroad.

CIC published its latest breakdown of international adoption statistics in "The Monitor", Fall 2003, posted Oct. 14, 2003. "The Monitor" is a quarterly online newsletter featuring immigration statistics.

CIC used ten years of data to give a retrospective look at international adoptions to Canada, which have been stable at about 2,000 a year. International adoptions account for only a small part of overall immigration to Canada (roughly 1%).

Over the past decade Canadians adopted 19,576 children from abroad. As CIC's chart 4 shows, the annual rate is fairly stable, around 2,000 adoptions a year, with a low of 1,738 in 1993 and a high of 2,223 in 1998. The 2002 total was 1,925.

Chart 4 - International Adoptions by Class

Most international adoptions -- 90% -- fall in the immigration category called Family Class 9, which is for adoptions finalized abroad. 1,720 children were adopted in a foreign country in 2002. Only 10% of international adoptions were in Class 6 (adoption to be finalized in Canada): 205 in 2002.

CIC noted that a small number of children fall under Family Class 3 -- they were adopted by Canadians living abroad. Because the data doesn't distinguish these adoptions from other immigrants in Class 3, the number of children adopted by Canadians living abroad is unknown and they are not included in the totals.

The following tables slice the data four ways: by country, age/sex, census metropolitan area and province. For detailed 2002 data showing 25 source countries and ten receiving provinces, see the ACC article "International Adoptions Steady in Canada". (The provincial totals shown below are more recent than the totals shown in the ACC article.)

BY COUNTRY

In 2002, Canadians adopted 1,925 children from abroad. The greatest number of children (800, or 42%) came from China. Over the years China has been the top source of international adoptions, with 6,245 children adopted from 1993 to 2002. Other major source countries were India, Russia and Haiti.

The number of adoptions from countries can change significantly from year to year, because of changes in legislation or procedures, or temporary suspensions. For example, adoptions from Vietnam were suspended during 2002 and as a result adoptions from there fell substantially. Vietnam adoptions will resume when a bilateral agreement on international adoption is signed between Canada and Vietnam. The agreement is currently being negotiated

TABLE 1 International Adoptions by Country of Last Permanent Residence
	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	1993-2002
China, People's Republic of	320	466	665	682	519	901	687	603	602	800	6,245
India	255	366	203	180	232	179	136	79	112	126	1,868
Russia	105	128	73	125	164	160	208	147	142	146	1,398
Haiti	135	131	160	151	119	156	138	124	160	98	1,372
Philippines	224	206	116	64	30	80	75	81	65	43	984
United States	47	84	94	95	91	78	102	78	64	53	786
Jamaica	94	64	77	89	90	85	82	53	42	37	713
Vietnam, Socialist Republic of	16	39	64	71	50	79	87	76	131	84	697
Romania	32	55	95	147	104	91	70	59	25	15	693
Guatemala	83	88	75	68	78	70	74	68	22	14	640
Thailand	15	39	21	27	28	47	57	49	35	38	356
Korea, Republic of	1	2	1	9	15	8	15	64	90	98	303
Other Countries	411	377	377	356	279	289	289	385	385	373	3,521
Total	1,738	2,045	2,021	2,064	1,799	2,223	2,020	1,866	1,875	1,925	19,576

BY AGE AND SEX

Most children adopted abroad have been girls. About 68% (13,337) of all international adoptions from 1993 to 2002 period were girls, most aged 0 to 4 years (10,210). Boys accounted for 32% (6,215) of adoptions during the same period. Because 98% of children adopted from China are girls, the overall sex distribution is skewed. If we exclude China, the split would be 54% girls and 46% boys.

TABLE 2 International Adoptions by Age and Gender
	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	1993-2002
Males
0-4 years old	297	390	392	410	370	373	414	406	421	423	3,896
5-9 years old	94	97	81	86	64	60	62	41	59	35	679
Over 10 years old	261	293	144	131	168	147	152	129	125	90	1,640
All Ages	652	780	617	627	602	580	628	576	605	548	6,215
Females
0-4 years old	675	827	1,054	1,119	885	1,301	1,110	1,028	1,046	1,165	10,210
5-9 years old	103	98	111	105	85	107	86	66	57	56	874
Over 10 years old	308	339	234	211	224	233	194	192	164	154	2,253
All Ages	1,086	1,264	1,399	1,435	1,194	1,641	1,390	1,286	1,267	1,375	13,337
Total
0-4 years old	972	1,217	1,446	1,529	1,255	1,674	1,524	1,434	1,467	1,588	14,106
5-9 years old	197	195	192	191	149	167	148	107	116	91	1,553
Over 10 years old	569	632	378	342	392	380	346	321	289	244	3,893
All Ages	1,738	2,044	2,016	2,062	1,796	2,221	2,018	1,862	1,872	1,923	19,552

BY CMA

Over the past decade Toronto has been the most popular census metropolitan area (CMA) for international adoptions, followed closely by Montreal. However in 2002, for the first time, the Montreal area welcomed more internationally adopted children than Toronto. Other CMAs with significant numbers of international adoptions include Vancouver, Québec City and Ottawa-Hull (Gatineau).

TABLE 3 International Adoptions by Census Metropolitan Area
	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	1993-2002
Toronto	356	379	351	390	432	491	431	431	408	389	4,058
Montréal	336	353	444	396	314	414	392	370	400	413	3,832
Vancouver	179	221	159	172	153	179	144	107	138	151	1,603
Québec City	79	100	118	89	83	122	89	87	61	67	895
Ottawa-Hull (Gatineau)	46	69	90	76	84	105	96	108	93	96	863
Top Five CMAs	996	1,122	1,162	1,123	1,066	1,311	1,152	1,103	1,100	1,116	11,251
Other Areas	742	923	859	941	733	912	868	763	775	809	8,325
Total	1,738	2,045	2,021	2,064	1,799	2,223	2,020	1,866	1,875	1,925	19,576

BY PROVINCE

Quebec has consistently welcomed more international adoptees than any other province. From 1993 to 2002, residents of Quebec adopted 8,110 children, or 41%. Ontarians adopted 6,573 children (34%) and British Columbians, 2,806 (14%).

TABLE 4 International Adoptions by Province
	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	1993-2002
Newfoundland	5	n/a	6	5	6	4	13	8	11	6	64
Prince Edward Island	n/a	n/a	0	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0
Nova Scotia	9	11	11	19	14	22	35	34	47	40	242
New Brunswick	6	16	14	10	9	18	19	12	21	23	148
Quebec	694	831	977	954	700	918	809	722	714	791	8,110
Ontario	517	557	596	609	651	823	725	712	704	679	6,573
Manitoba	109	85	38	32	47	28	29	47	31	44	490
Saskatchewan	21	16	22	28	27	41	35	16	26	17	249
Alberta	62	117	72	94	65	89	80	96	95	85	855
British Columbia	313	402	279	310	278	278	273	215	220	238	2,806
Territories and Not Stated	n/a	7	6	3	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	28
Total	1,738	2,045	2,021	2,064	1,799	2,223	2,020	1,866	1,875	1,925	19,576

Source: Adoption Council of Canada, www.adoption.ca

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