Canada's Immigration

Disclaimer: all information in the report below has been collected from the 2018 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration.

Due to the challenges Canada faces with an aging population and declining birth rate, immigrants have helped this country grow and thrive by contributing to its labour force growth, as well as introducing an increasing amount of diversity to its society. 

Over the year of 2017, Canada welcomed more than 286,000 permanent residents into the country, which included over 44,000 refugees, protected persons, and people admitted under humanitarian, compassionate and public policy considerations (H&C individuals.) 

In 2017, the Government of Canada implemented a new plan to hopefully grow the annual immigration levels to 340,000 by 2020, with 60% of the growth in the Economic Class. This action will in turn assist and support the growing need for labour workers, as well as keep up with economic growth and constant influx of innovation. 

Canada is widely regarded as a “melting pot,” thanks to its global reputation of welcoming newcomers from all different nationalities, religions, and economic status. Canada’s immigration program centers around non-discriminatory principles, allowing people to immigrate without fear of their race, nationality, ethnic origin, colour, religion, or gender keeping them from safety or new opportunities. 

Because of this policy, immigrants currently represent one in five people in Canada. Since 1990, more than six million have arrived in Canada through a variety of ways, whether that be economic immigration, family reunification, or a refugee/vulnerable persons program. 

Immigration is exceptionally important to the well-being of Canada’s economy and society. This is why it sets an annual target for immigration and purposely selects new-comers who will make a substantial contribution to this well-being. Due to the aging population and low fertility rates, it is important that Canada has a consistent flow of young people who can join and carry the labour force, as well as help to lessen the decline of Canada’s worker-to-retiree ratio. 

Immigration of young and experienced workers helps to satisfy labour market needs, as well as encourages economic growth and stability. Additionally, the taxes, housing, transportation, and consumer goods that immigrants pay for helps to increase the GDP of the country by around 1.25% per year. 

Societally, immigration has a large impact on the enhancement of Canada’s communities and organizations. Newcomers often have outstanding contribution and participation in charitable organizations and activities, as well as expanding the diversity (racially, linguistically, perceptively, etc.) of these communities and organizations.

Overall, immigration is vital for the growth and success of Canada’s economy and society. 

Following the previous 3 year plan, a new plan is being implemented for the time period of 2019-2021. This plan includes:

• The welcoming of more talented workers with the skills and expertise in our economy needs
• The reunification of more family members
• The accommodation of more refugees who are looking to start new lives

The projected admissions targets for 2019-2021 range from approximately 330’000 – 350’000 immigrants per year.

The permanent resident admissions (specifically from the year of 2017) are categorized by gender and the various immigration groups; Economic Class, Family Class and Protected Persons, Refugees, and the Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C). Statistics for the 2017 permanent resident admissions display how provinces and territories such as Yukon, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island primarily attract Economic immigrants, while Nunavut and Ontario mostly house Refugees, Protected Persons, H&C, and Family-seeking immigrants.  

Economic Class  

The Economic Class permanent resident admissions are separated by gender, as well as categorized federally and provincially by the following statuses: federal skilled, caregivers, federal business, provincial nominee, Atlantic Immigration Pilot, Quebec skilled workers, and Quebec business immigrants. In 2017 alone, Canada admitted 159,262 permanent residents in Economic Class programs, with a fairly even split between the male and female residents accepted. However, throughout the different categories, women and men are not equally represented. For example, 94% of caregivers are women while only the remaining 6% are males, meanwhile in the business category, fewer than 16% Canadian business are majority-owned by women. 

Family Class

Similar to Economic immigrants, Family Class immigrants are also broken down by gender. In 2017, Canada admitted 82,470 permanent Family Class residents into the country from a variety of relations (e.g. spouses, partners and children, parents and grandparents, and orphans.) The increased immigration levels in this Class have continued to allow more families to reunite in a safe and secure country. The fact that Family Class immigrants require a sponsor enables families with lower incomes to immigrate and re-establish in a new country, which has a significant impact on Canadian Immigration as a whole.  

Refugees/Protected Persons and H&C Class

Same as the other 2 Classes, the Refugees/Protected Persons and H&C admissions are organized by gender. The Class is made up by the following groups: protected persons in-Canada and dependants abroad, government-assisted refugees, blended visa office-referred refugees, privately sponsored refugees, and humanitarians. In 2017, 44,747 immigrants under this Class were welcomed into Canada, as well as greeted with improved healthcare coverage implemented by the IRCC that year.  

The majority of accepted immigrants self-identify as English speaking. This is possibly because in 2017, IRCC made changes to the Express Entry application management system so that pending immigrants who have strong language skills in English or French would receive extra points under the Comprehensive Ranking System, increasing their chances of acceptance to the country. 

Hussen, A. (2018). 2018 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration. Retrieved October 2019, from https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/pdf/pub/annual-report-2018.pdf.

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When we share, everyone wins. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://creativecommons.org/.