Canada to Target Over 400,000 Immigrants per Year
Kareem El-Assal and Shelby Thevenot, CIC News, October 30, 2020
Today, Canada announced its 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan. Canada will target the highest level of immigration in its history.
Over the coming three years, Canada will aim to welcome the following level of new permanent residents:
- 2021: 401,000 immigrants
- 2022: 411,000 immigrants
- 2023: 421,000 immigrants
The only time Canada welcomed over 400,000 immigrants in a year was in 1913, when it admitted 401,000 newcomers. It has never come close to this figure again.
The 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan aims to welcome about 60 per cent of all immigrants under economic class programs, including through Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program.
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Earlier this year, on March 12, the federal government announced Canada would aim to welcome over one million new permanent residents between 2020 and 2022. Days later, Canada had to shut its borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, Canada will likely fall well short of the 341,000 immigration target it set for this year, however it has been holding Express Entry draws throughout the pandemic that will result in Canada breaking its Express Entry record this year. In addition, Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draws remain ongoing.
To compensate for the fall of immigration this year, Canada has set the most ambitious immigration levels plan in its history.
Why Canada is maintaining high immigration
Canada is maintaining high levels of immigration to offset the negative economic and fiscal impacts of its aging population and low birth rate.
Canada has one of the world’s oldest populations, with nearly 18 per cent of its population being age 65 and over. It also has one of the world’s lowest birth rates at 1.47 births per woman. {snip}
Since its founding in 1867, Canada has welcomed at least 300,000 immigrants in a year just five times. It is currently welcoming 0.9 per cent of its population in immigrants, which is three times higher than the per capita newcomer intake in the United States.
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