A 2018 federal report has revealed that the Canadian government plans to welcome approximately 1,021,800 new immigrants to the country by the end of 2021.
According to the report, international migration accounted for 80% of the country’s population growth in 2017, and includes skilled workers, refugees and protected persons, as well as families that are reunited by members moving to Canada.
“Today, Canada faces new challenges such as an ageing population and declining birth rate, and immigrants have helped address these by contributing to Canada’s labour force growth,” stated Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
“With this in mind, Canada welcomed more than 286,000 permanent residents in 2017. Over half were admitted under Economic Class programs. The number also included over 44,000 resettled refugees, protected persons and people admitted under humanitarian, compassionate and public policy considerations.”
The report also outlines ways in which immigrants contribute to the labour market and economy, drawing a correlation between higher immigration levels and GDP per capita, productivity, and the labour force increasing by around 1.25% per year.
The new three-year immigration plan expects to admit 330,800 new immigrants in 2019, 341,000 in 2020, and 350,000 in 2021.
In 2017, a total of 286,479 people received Permanent Resident status in Canada, the majority of whom settled in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.
A total of 44,747 of these residents were admitted as resettled refugees, permanent residents in the Protected Persons in Canada category, or for humanitarian and compassionate considerations.
The report also notes that Canada issued 317,328 study permits to international students, in 2017, and between 2016-17, these students contributed $31 billion to the economy.
The country’s immigrant population in 2017 hailed from 185 different countries of origin, the top 10 of which are shown in the graph below:
Canada made international headlines last week for its willingness to accept refugees after granting asylum to 18-year-old Saudi teenager Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun who was fleeing from her abusive family in Kuwait.
