Will the immigration system be able to keep up?
A strategic projection of the number of permanent residents to be admitted to Canada, the Immigration Levels Plan set targets and ranges for the overall admissions categories. These plans are expected to be announced each year under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Immigration minister Sean Fraser presented the Canada Immigration Levels Plan for 2022-2024 on February 14th, 2022. These immigration plans open many doors for the lives of millions of immigrants over the duration of the next 3 years. Considered one of the most ambitious plans so far, Canada will now be opening borders to welcome 431,645 permanent residents in 2022, 447,055 in 2023, and 451,000 in the year 2024. Attracting skilled workers, tackling labor shortages, and fulfilling the country’s international obligations are the main goals of the Levels Plan.
As 5 million Canadians are set to retire by the end of the decade, there is an expected 3:1 drop in the worker-to-retiree ratio, further leading to a dire need for increased immigration. To prevent this considerable labour market gap, immigration workers will play a key role in helping the Canadian economy recover, now more than ever.
Although seen as quite a considerable undertaking, efficient strategies need to be put forth to equip these bold moves. With that being said, modernizing Canada’s Immigration System is the currently available solution. Plans include reducing applicant wait times, hiring 500 new processing employees, digitizing applications, and reallocating employees worldwide. With a backlog of more than 1.8 million applicants caused during the pandemic surge, advanced data analytics systems will prove to be a saviour in these tough times.
In 2022, about 56 percent of new immigrants will arrive under economic class pathways like Express Entry, the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and the Temporary to Permanent Residence (TR2PR) stream which was announced and available in 2021. For all these years, Express Entry has been known as one of the most well-known and well-suited options for new immigrants, although the three levels plan suggests that the IRCC has now temporarily reduced the Express Entry admissions to accommodate the TR2PR pathway. Temporary resident to Permanent resident is a limited time pathway that will see an intake of 40,000 immigrants in 2022 and 32,000 by 2023. Currently, the Express Entry draws are conducted biweekly.
Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is a pathway for immigrants to gain permanent residence in the country. This program is apt for workers who have the skills, education, and work experience to contribute to the Canadian economy. Each province and territory have its own specific economic and demographic needs, so the PNP requirements can vary in nature.
A slight increase is noticeable in the ratio of refugee entries from 14% to 20%. With plans to resettle at least 40,000 Afghan nationals over the next 2 years, Canada remains true and firm to its global humanitarian commitments. This is the best way to extend a helping hand by securing safe passage for those in Afghanistan.
The Immigration Levels Plans announced yesterday were the first Immigration Levels Plan since October 2020 and according to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the government announces new plans each year on November 1st. Since no plans were announced in 2021 due to the September federal elections, the second Immigration Levels Plan is due on November 1st, 2022, barring the unlikely Scenario of Canadian elections yet again.
These Immigration Levels Plans play a crucial role as they are a projection of the number of permanent citizens admitted to Canada. They provide an overview of the number of immigrants welcomed via the different streams, through the various federal, provincial, and territorial programs present and help the country set targets for overall admissions.
Until 2015, Canada welcomed around 250,000 immigrants per year, and it was increased to 300,000 in 2016. This trend was changed in 2020 post-pandemic to support the post-Covid recovery and the government increased the target to 400,000 immigrants. Last year, 2021 saw the highest record so far as 405,000 new permanent residents were granted permits.
We at Ovation Immigration and Recruitment Services are a team of highly regulated Immigration Consultants with proficiency in Canadian Immigration Law. Our clients are our topmost priority, and we believe in handling every single person individually with utmost ethic, honesty, and transparency. We assist individuals and families around the world and cater to all their immigration process and visa application needs.
Reach out to us today for professional advice and let us be with you on this beautiful and enthralling journey ahead!