Canadian Immigration in 2021
To support Canada’s post-pandemic recuperation, the Canadian Government welcomed more than 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021. It is a historic achievement, making this year the second one with most newcomers in Canadian history.
Closed borders and domestic lockdowns were some situations that most affected immigration during 2021. Then, to achieve the goal, IRCC added different resources and new technology to have more processes online and improve the immigration system.
To achieve the immigration goal, IRCC focused on inviting talented immigrants who were already in Canada with temporary status and met all the requirements to become permanent residents. Also, IRCC launched new programs to welcome international graduates, health care professionals, essential workers and french-speaking candidates.
Before the pandemic, about 30% of newcomers in the economic class were already in Canada when they received their permanent residency. While about 70% of newcomers moved from abroad. However, in 2021, it was the opposite.
As we mentioned before, during 2021 the programs that most moved temporary residents to permanent residents were:
- Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
- Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP)
- The new six streams for 90,000 health workers, international students and essential temporary workers.
To sum up, reaching the 401,000 newcomer target in 2021 was one of IRCC’s priorities. Now IRCC is working to welcome 411,000 new immigrants in 2022 and 421,000 in 2023. Furthermore, Immigration Minister, Fraser will announce the new Immigration Levels Plan by February 10, 2022.