New to Canada

Tuesday December 18th is International Migrants Day. Throughout human history, people have migrated to new places to overcome adversity and live a better life. Advances in communication and transportation have greatly increased the number of people who have a desire to move to other places.

The Toronto Public Library would like to recognize the courage of migrants by sharing ways you can learn more about the experience of migrants all over the world.

Library staff have curated a booklist of memoirs about migration. Here are six books that reveal, from different angles, what happens when people can no longer stay at home.

We also have titles for children on the topic of migration. Here are some titles to explore the topic with preschool and school-age children. 

In reading these titles, children can begin to understand who refugees and migrants are, why they've left their homes, where they live and what readers can do to help those in need.

For adults, there are some interesting resources available to learn more about global migration history and patterns. The World Migration Report from the International Organization for Migration produces an annual document with key information on migration and migration issues. 

There is also a fascinating tool called the Global Migration Stock, an interactive app that tracks migrants around the world. It is an interactive world map that shows global migration patterns. 

For example, Canada consists of 7.8 million people who are migrants. And in 2017, the immigrant population of Canada was 21.44% of the total resident population. Canada's percentage of immigrants is higher than the US, whose immigrant population is at 15.34% of the resident population. There is lots of fascinating data to explore here!

Have you read any of the books on our list of stories about migration? Do you have any stories about migration you would like to share? Please share in the comments below!