Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas
<<2021 Census of Population in Canada>>
Roland is an achieved merchant from Gabon. However, he recently decided to immigrate to Canada. According to his immigration consultant, he could immigrate to Ontario as an entrepreneur. Nonetheless, Roland has heard you could lose points if you pick a populated Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in Ontario. Consequently, he wonders what CMA is and how he could locate different CMAs in Ontario.
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Table of contents
- A little bit about Ontario
- Immigration to Canada as an Entrepreneur
- What is an Ontario Census Metropolitan Area?
- Census Metropolitan Area EOI points for immigration.
- Toronto Census Metropolitan Area
- Category A – Highly populated Census Metropolitan Areas
- Category B – Moderately populated Census Metropolitan Areas
- Category C – Non-CMA destinations
- OINP Entrepreneur points calculator
- Let us help!
A little bit about Ontario
Ontario is the most populated province in Canada. About 38% of Canadians live in Ontario. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is an Ontarian city. However, the capital of Ontario, Toronto, is significantly larger than Ottawa. About one-sixth of Canadians live in the Greater Toronto Area. Also, you may like to know Ontario generates about 40% of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product. No wonder many people want to immigrate to this province.
Immigration to Canada as an Entrepreneur
If you are a business person or a successful senior manager, you could immigrate to Ontario as an entrepreneur. Of course, you need to meet the criteria. To begin with, you need to express your interest in doing business and living in Ontario. Thus, you enter your information via an online application. You receive some points upon submitting the Expression of Interest (EOI). The higher your score, the higher your chances of immigrating to the province! You must choose your intended business’s location as part of the EOI application.
What is an Ontario Census Metropolitan Area?
Statistics Canada identifies a Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as a location with more than 100,000 people. Of course, this area has a core and may consist of one or more municipalities. Here are some examples from Ontario:
- Chatham-Kent in southwestern Ontario has a population of 102,000 or so. The core city of this area is Chatham. However, many significant surrounding areas exist, such as Wallaceburg, Blenheim, and Tilbury. Since the total population is more than 100,000, then Chatham-Kent is a CMA.
- Northumberland County, in the south of Ontario, consists of seven municipalities. However, their population is less than 90,000 collectively. Consequently, Northumberland County is not a CMA.
Census Metropolitan Area EOI points for immigration.
If you are applying for OINP-EN or the Ontario Entrepreneur Stream, consider the points you could gain or lose because of your target area. The following table shows the points based on your future business location in Ontario.
| Business Location | Category | EOI Points |
| Toronto CMA, with a population of 6,000,000 | A | 0 |
| CMA, with more than 175,000 population | A | 0 |
| CMA between 100,000 and 175,000 in population | B | 5 |
| Non-CMA location or rather an area that has a population of less than 100,000 | C | 10 |
The total EOI points are 200. Thus, the difference in choosing a non-CMA location compared to a large urban area could account for 5% of the total potential points.
Toronto Census Metropolitan Area
Toronto CMA, or the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), has a population of about 6,000,000. If you target this area, losing the CMA points is the least of your problems. You will lose EOI points on many fronts. The following table shows Toronto CMA cities.
| Toronto | Mississauga | Halton Hills |
| Brampton | Aurora | Markham |
| Georgina | Vaughan | Whitchurch-Stouffville |
| Richmond Hill | New Tecumseth | Oakville |
| Bradford West Gwillimbury | Ajax | Orangeville |
Source: OINP-EN application guide.
Category A – Highly populated Census Metropolitan Areas
The following areas fall under Category A. Of course, you won’t receive any points if your intended business is in these areas.
| CMA Category A | Population** |
| Toronto (GTA) | 5,928,040 |
| Ottawa-Gatineau* | 1,323,783 |
| Hamilton | 747,545 |
| Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo | 523,894 |
| London | 494,069 |
| St. Catherines – Niagara | 406,074 |
| Oshawa | 379,848 |
| Windsor | 329,144 |
| Barrie | 197,059 |
Source: OINP-EN application guide.
* You may only choose Ottawa as your destination, as Gatineau is in Quebec.
** The population is based on the 2016 Census and could change anytime.
Category B – Moderately populated Census Metropolitan Areas
If your intended business operates in any of the following CMAs, you could receive 5 EOI points.
| CMA Category B | Population* |
| Greater Sudbury | 164,689 |
| Kingston | 161,175 |
| Guelph | 151,984 |
| Brantford | 134,203 |
| Peterborough | 121,721 |
| Thunder Bay | 121,621 |
| Belleville | 103,472 |
| Chatham-Kent | 102,042 |
Source: OINP-EN application guide.
* The population is based on the 2016 Census and could change anytime.
Category C – Non-CMA destinations
If you choose a non-CMA destination, such as Northumberland County, you may receive 10 EOI points.
OINP Entrepreneur points calculator
We have designed a proprietary calculator that helps you estimate your EOI score. The following image takes you to the calculator page.
Of course, the destination city is just one criterion among many that will affect your EOI points.
Let us help!
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Al Parsai, LLM, MA, RCIC-IRB
Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant
Adjunct Professor, Queen’s University Faculty of Law
Instructor, Ashton College, Immigration Consulting Program
Author of 88 Tips on Immigration to Canada and Inadmissibility to Canada for Human Rights Violations
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