Must Read: Canada increases immigration levels for the next three years

Canada has unveiled its Immigration Levels Plan for 2021-23. Canada will target to welcome a large number of immigrants in its immigration history. For the next three years, Canada will increase the intake of new permanent residents each year:

2021: 401,000 newcomers
2022: 411,000 newcomers
2023: 421,000 newcomers

It was only in 1913 that Canada admitted more than 400,000 newcomers in a year. In that year, it welcomed around 401,000 immigrants. The immigration levels have never touched this figure again in the past years. As per the 2021-2023 levels plan, Canada aims to admit around 60 percent of all new immigrants through the economic class programs of the Express Entry Immigration System and the Provincial Nominee Programs. This is a major step taken by the Canadian Government regarding the immigration targets despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Immigration Levels Plan: It is a crucial immigration update that is made by the federal government each year. Through the levels plan, Canada outlines the count of new permanent residents that it will admit under the various immigration categories. On March 12, 2020, the government declared that Canada aspires to welcome more than one million new immigrants during the years 2020 to 2022. However, a few days later, Canada had to close its borders and implement travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is highly likely that Canada won’t be able to meet the target of welcoming 341,000 permanent residents this year. Despite holding the regular Express Entry and Provincial Nominee Program draws, Canada might fall short of the immigration target.

Why does Canada need immigrants?

The travel restrictions have disrupted the Canadian immigration process this year. Therefore, the government has set higher immigration targets for the next three years. Canada has low birth rates and a rapidly increasing aging population. About 19 percent of Canada’s population is over age 65. Also, the birth rates are lowest in Canada with 1.47 births per woman. Thus, Canada needs immigrants to sustain its economic growth and fill labor gaps. The government believes that the country will be able to address these challenges if it admits a large number of skilled immigrants. Currently, Canada intakes new immigrants nearly 0.9 percent of its population. And this is a lot higher than the per capita new immigrant’s intake in the U.S. Canada is also one such country that is known to have had a higher per capita intake. In the past years, it welcomed newcomers about one percent of its population. In 1913, it admitted 401,000 new permanent residents and had set an immigration record. This figure was more than 5 percent of its total population.

Canadians in favor of increased immigration targets

As per the Environics Institute study, more Canadian citizens and permanent residents are coming in support of increased immigration levels. They also believe that immigration helps Canada in becoming a better country to live in. They consider immigration essential for long-term economic benefits. However, Canadians want Family class immigration to be prioritized as compared to other immigration programs.