Most immigrants that come to Canada come to the Toronto area. You might say it’s because it’s Canada’s largest city and metropolitan area, but it’s not the case in the USA, where most of the growth is in the smaller metropolitan areas:
"In the course of the next 40 years, the biggest gainers won’t be behemoths like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, but less populous, easier-to-manage cities"
http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/the-fastest-growing-cities-in-the-us.html
Why is Canada different? Is this a good or bad thing?
Toronto is the primary target for international migration simply because most immigrant groups have communities and existing support. (Also, what’s the first city you think of when you think of Canada? Exactly).
The next biggest city is Montreal. Due to Quebec’s picky language laws Montreal attracts primarily Francophone immigrants. Vancouver atttracts a fair number of immigrants but is a much smaller city. Calgary does as well but is even smaller.
It’s also got the most diverse economy, Toronto is one of the best places to look for work.
However, it does have its problems. Traffic is insane. Infrastructure inadequate. Out of control sprawl in the burbs while downtown is being developed and redeveloped so fast it makes one’s head spin. The recession has hurt manufacturing, which was already struggling.
Further, most years Ontario loses interprovincial migration, more people move away to other provinces than move here. Every year 100,000 immigrants move to Toronto and every year somewhere around 30,000 (net) Torontonians leave Ontario. The social problems brought about by bringing in many immigrants who struggle here initially at the same time the best and brightest move away are becoming problematic.
In relative terms, Calgary and Edmonton are growing three times and twice as fast respectively. Vancouver grows at about the same rate.