(Oct. 27, 2011) Canada's international adoption statistics for 2010 have just been released by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
The numbers are slightly down from the year before: 1,946 children from abroad found adoptive homes in Canada, compared to 2,122 in 2009.
The 8% drop still leaves the numbers near the long-term average of 2,000 a year which was typical of the 1990s and early 2000s. A low of 1,535 was reached in 2006.
Here are the Canadian statistics for the last 16 years:
1995: 2,010 2003: 2,180
1996: 2,061 2004: 1,955
1997: 1,800 2005: 1,871
1998: 2,222 2006: 1,535
1999: 2,019 2007: 1,713
2000: 1,866 2008: 1,915
2001: 1,874 2009: 2,122
2002: 1,926 2010: 1,946
China preserved its place as the country sending the most children by far to Canada, with a small increase to 472, up from 451 in 2009.
Haiti made a strong showing in second place—Canadians adopted 172 Haitian children, up from 141 in 2009, an expected increase resulting from the influx after the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake. (See "179 Haitian adoptees reach Canada".)
But modest increases in some countries were more than matched by decreases elsewhere, such as the U.S., Vietnam, Russia and Ukraine.
Ethiopia showed a big drop, down to 112, compared to 170 in 2009, reflecting the bankruptcy of Ontario agency Imagine Adoption.
The following table shows the top 29 countries which were sources of children adopted to Canada in 2010. CIC reported on 82 countries in all.
International Adoptions to Canada
Top 29 source countries in 2010
| 2010 | |
| China | 472 |
| Haiti | 172 |
| U.S. | 148 |
| Vietnam | 139 |
| Ethiopia | 112 |
| Russia | 102 |
| South Korea | 98 |
| Philippines | 88 |
| Colombia | 62 |
| India | 55 |
| Kazakhstan | 48 |
| Ukraine | 46 |
| Pakistan | 27 |
| Thailand | 23 |
| Jamaica | 18 |
| U.K. | 18 |
| Taiwan | 16 |
| South Africa | 13 |
| Lesotho | 12 |
| Mexico | 12 |
| Uganda | 10 |
| Mali | 7 |
| D.R. Congo | 6 |
| Bulgaria | 5 |
| Ghana | 5 |
| Iran | 5 |
| Kenya | 5 |
| Peru | 5 |
| Swaziland | 5 |
| All countries | 1,946 |
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada, RDM at March 2011, and GCMS on May 31, 2011. Transmitted Oct. 26, 2011. Summations by Robin Hilborn, Family Helper, www.familyhelper.net.
The following table compares the top ten source countries in 2010 with the same countries in 2008 and 2009.
International Adoptions to Canada
Top 10 source countries, 2008–2010
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | |
| China | 431 | 451 | 472 |
| Haiti | 147 | 141 | 172 |
| U.S. | 182 | 253 | 148 |
| Vietnam | 111 | 159 | 139 |
| Ethiopia | 187 | 170 | 112 |
| Russia | 91 | 121 | 102 |
| South Korea | 98 | 93 | 98 |
| Philippines | 118 | 86 | 88 |
| Colombia | 53 | 41 | 62 |
| India | 54 | 59 | 55 |
| All countries | 1,915 | 2,122 | 1,946 |
CIC did not release a breakdown of the 2010 statistics by province. Family Helper has reports for previous years.
Two channels to enter Canada
A child adopted from a foreign country enters Canada through one of two channels: the citizenship process (which makes the child a Canadian citizen) or the immigration process (which makes the child a permanent resident). CIC has an explanation of the two processes.
CIC tracks international adoption numbers separately, reporting them as "New Citizens under Section 5.1 of the Citizenship Act" ("CIT") or as "Permanent Residents" ("PR"). In 2010, 1,133 intercountry adoptions took the citizenship route, while 813 adoptions took the permanent resident route, for a total of 1,946.
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Correction: Updated Jan. 26, 2012 to reflect the Ethiopia number of 112, not 63.
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