In the first quarter, the flow of foreign workers changed little compared to the same period of 2003, dropping 1% to 18,034 people. While some changes in rank occurred, the top ten source countries for foreign workers were the same as in the first quarter of 2003.

The United States continued to rank as the leading source country, with 3,140 entrants in the first quarter. This represented a decline of 15% compared to the same quarter of 2003, and 17% of all foreign worker entrants. Mexico ranked second with 2,562 workers, a 4% increase.

Australia was the third largest source of foreign workers for the quarter. Canada took in 1,590 workers from Australia, a figure virtually unchanged from the same period in 2003. France ranked fourth overall, sending 1,450 workers, which represented a 23% increase over 2003. The Philippines continued a trend toward increasing prominence in foreign worker numbers, rising from seventh source country last year to fifth in the current quarter.

Quebec was the only province to increase its intake of foreign workers. The province took in 10% more workers, for a total of 2,978 in the first quarter. The city of Montréal was the destination of the greatest number of these entrants (2,120 people, or 71% of the provincial flow).