IRCC announced today that Canada exceeded its target for permanent resident admissions in 2022, breaking a record.
The IRCC stated in a Tweet that Canada welcomed 437,000 new immigrants last year. This is higher than the target they had set at 431,645 new immigrants and marks an all-time record for Canadian permanent residence admissions in one year. Canada landed over 405,000 new immigrants in 2021, setting a new record.
Introducing newcomers to Canada today marked an important milestone for the country, setting a new record for newcomers welcomed in one year, said immigration minister Sean Fraser. “Bringing new perspectives and talents to our communities as well as enriching our society as a whole is the job of immigrants in filling labour shortages, bringing new perspectives to our communities, and enriching our society. I am excited to see what the future holds and look forward to another historic year in 2023 as we continue to welcome newcomers.”
In 2022, the IRCC processed 5.2 million applications across all business lines, including permanent residences, temporary residences, and citizenship applications, which is double what it processed in 2021.
For the increased number of applications processed and admissions, IRCC credits new resources, new technology, streamlined processing, and bringing more processes online. As part of the Fall Economic Statement, the government also committed $50 million to IRCC for 2022-2023 to address the backlog of applications, which is currently 1.09 million across all lines of business as of November 30, 2022.
Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025
In February 2022, the Immigration Levels Plan for 2022 was released, with the highest admission targets ever until the 2023-2025 plan.
As a result of the aging workforce, there are nearly one million job openings in Canada and a shortage of skilled workers. Canadian immigration accounts for almost 100% of the growth in the labour force. By 2030, nine million Canadians are expected to retire, which means immigrants are vital to the economy. There will be a shift in the worker-to-retiree ratio from seven to one by 2035 because of Canada’s aging population.
As a result of Canada’s low birth rate of 1.4 children per woman, almost 75% of Canada’s population growth depends on immigration.
In recent years, Canada has been striving to welcome larger numbers of immigrants to increase its population. Between 2016 and 2021, 1.3 million permanent residents arrived in Canada, according to the 2021 census on immigration. In other words, one out of four respondents was a landed immigrant or a permanent resident in Canada, the highest percentage since Confederation and the highest percentage among G7 nations. By 2036, immigrants will make up 36% of Canada’s population.
A new immigration levels plan released in November has an even more ambitious target of 500,000 new permanent residents a year by 2025. The target for 2023 is 465,000.
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