Being one of the top overseas destinations, Canada has become the most favored nation for aspiring immigrants. It seems as if the Canadian government has planned something big to convert the probable losses into an economic opportunity. In recent times, with the help of several draws the IRCC is allowing a big number of talented, skilled, and semi-skilled workers, investors, entrepreneurs, IT experts, and many more, to boost their economic growth and to bring it further at the pre-COVID levels.
Further, to give aid to their aging population, Canada is eyeing to allow young and enthusiastic aspiring immigrants and international students. In turn, they will boost the demographic dividend along with the economic and provincial growth. Each Canadian province is working towards its individual growth which will collectively result in economic prosperity at the national level.
Canada is aggressively working to achieve its target of 401,000 new immigrants this year and to date, it has allowed almost 184,000 new permanent residents in Canada with the help of several government schemes and programs such as Express entry, FSWP, FSTP, and so on. Seeing the results, it can be easily observed that it is benefitting a lot to the beautiful maple leaf country.
Recently in an interview, the Canadian immigration minister Marco Mendicino said that Canada is on track to welcome 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021. Well, it’s good news for aspiring Canadian immigrants. Also, in an interview with Reuters, a statement has been released by the federal government wherein they disclosed that Canada has accepted around 39,500 new immigrants in July that is over and above the 35,700 immigrants admitted in June.
As stated earlier by the Canadian government, Canada intends to accept 401,000 new immigrants every year between 2021 and 2023. Before the pandemic, this target was fixed at 341,000 immigrants every year but it has been revised to new levels, seeing the increasing federal and provincial demands after the recovery of the Canadian economy from COVID-19. If everything goes according to the plan, it will prove to be the most ambitious immigration strategy by IRCC in the history of Canada. So far, IRCC has welcomed nearly 184,000 new immigrants to provide the required boost for the Canadian economy post-COVID recovery. It has resulted in a rapid increase of visitors for June and July that was greater than normal, thus ranking among the greatest monthly totals in Canadian history. It reflects Canada's desperate need to intensify Canada’s immigration process so that it could meet its objective this year.
Further, to meet the current objectives, IRCC will require to bring in an extra 217,000 immigrants in the last five months of 2021, which works out to nearly 43,400 new immigrants each month. Although allowing newcomers at this rapid pace and that too in every month will prove to be a tough and challenging task, it is achievable with the sheer determination of the Canadian immigration authorities and government policies. As a matter of fact, before the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, Canada has allowed an entry of nearly 25,000 to 35,000 new immigrants each month.
On a positive note, several factors are working in the favour of the IRCC thus allowing it to meet or come close to meeting its objective by the end of this year. Some of these positive factors include almost 23,000 additional immigrants with Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR). As a consequence of the easing of travel restrictions on June 21st, they will now be able to relocate to Canada. Furthermore, everyone who has just been given permanent status is now eligible to migrate to Canada.
In May, the Canadian government announced six new permanent paths for roughly 90,000 overseas graduates and key categories of employment. IRCC hopes to process 40,000 of these applications by the end of the year. Further, IRCC has been running big Express Entry draws throughout 2020 and this year, prioritizing Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates as 90% of them already live in Canada. If the Canadian government continues to allow immigrants at this pace, it is estimated that, by the end of 2021, IRCC will complete the PR process for a large proportion of such candidates. However, the unpredictable nature of the pandemic may derail IRCC's plans and preparations.
Nonetheless, Canada's growing permanent resident population will contribute favorably to the country's 401,000 immigration objective. Even if IRCC achieves 40,000 monthly landings by the end of the year, it will fall just short of its target of 385,000 immigrants, the second-highest number in Canadian history. The previous record was achieved in 1913, when over 401,000 immigrants were accepted, setting a new high.
From the above-mentioned facts, it can be easily observed that this decision of the Canadian government will surely show some positive impacts in the near future. Though it is not guaranteed, still the achievements and records can’t be ignored completely.