Ottawa, Ontario
Over 431,000 target for new permanent residents met
By Charmaine Y. Rodriguez
The Government of Canada believes it made one of the fastest recoveries from the pandemic due to its approach to immigration.
Newcomers enrich our communities, and contribute to our economy by working, creating jobs and supporting local businesses, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in a news release.
For 2022, it met its target of welcoming 431,645 new permanent residents in the country.
“Today marks an important milestone for Canada, setting a new record for newcomers welcomed in a single year. It is a testament to the strength and resilience of our country and its people. Newcomers play an essential role in filling labour shortages, bringing new perspectives and talents to our communities, and enriching our society as a whole. I am excited to see what the future holds and look forward to another historic year in 2023 as we continue to welcome newcomers,” said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser.
The number surpassed the record from 2021 and represents the largest number of people ever welcomed in the year in Canadian history.
Prior to setting a new record for admissions in 2021, the last time Canada welcomed such a large numbers of newcomers was in 1913, IRCC said.
The IRCC processed approximately 5.2 million applications for permanent residence, temporary residence and citizenship. This is double the number of applications processed in 2021.
With its plan to continue to welcome historic numbers of newcomers, IRCC has added resources, embraced new technology, streamlined processing, and brought more processes online.
The government is doing these in line with addressing the acute labour market shortages.
Immigration accounts for almost 100% of Canada’s labour force growth. Roughly 75% of Canada’s population growth comes from immigration, mostly in the economic category. By 2036, immigrants will represent up to 30% of Canada’s population, compared with 20.7% in 2011.
Earlier, IRCC also reported that just over 1.3 million new immigrants settled permanently in Canada from 2016 to 2021, the highest number of recent immigrants recorded in a Canadian census.
Immigrants account for 36% of Canada’s physicians, 33% business owners with paid staff, and 41% of engineers.