Following a historic year in Canadian immigration history, in which the country welcomed 401 000 newcomers – the highest number of immigrants since 1913 – the international community looks to 2022 with great anticipation and excitement for what lies ahead, after the IRCC (Immigration Refugees Citizenship Canada) pulled out all the stops in 2021.
“Strike while the iron is hot,” as the adage goes, appears to be the thought process underlying the IRCC’s recent statement that this year’s Immigration Levels Plan 2022-2024 will be released as early as mid-February – an unusual but strategic move that generally occurs in October – November each year.
Despite the fact that it is an annual event, the last Immigration Plan was only unveiled in October 2020, skipping 2021 since the Canadian government dissolved Parliament to hold an election in September. The federal government is required by Canada’s principal immigration statute, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), to make the Immigration Level Plan known by November 1st of each year, while Parliament is in session. If Parliament is not in session, the notification must be made within 30 days after its resumption, which results in disclosing the Plan in February this year.
The Immigration Levels Plan 2021-2023 was the most ambitious endeavor in Canada’s history, which set the mammoth target of 411 000 newcomers in 2022 and 421 000 in 2023 as an aid to compensate for the deficit in newcomers caused by COVID-19 and to ensure Canada has the workers it needs to fill crucial labor market gaps and remain competitive.
This year’s Immigration Plan is expected to contain the country’s immigration targets for this year and the next two years, as well as the number of new immigrants the country plans to welcome through its different economic, family, and humanitarian programs.
According to the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association in an article, “Immigration Levels Plan 2022-2024: CILA calls on Canadian government to stabilize immigration system first before seeking more ambitious newcomer targets”, “Minister Sean Fraser’s announcement last week that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will look to get much of its service standards back on track by the end of this year is welcome.
“Canada needs to continue to welcome more immigrants but announcing more ambitious targets under the 2022-2024 levels plan may be ill-timed.
“The current goal of 411,000 new immigrants in 2022 is still very high and adequate enough to welcome a large share of the some 500,000 immigration applicants waiting in IRCC’s inventory
“IRCC could enable international students with a job offer upon graduation to be able to extend their Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP).
“IRCC could allow foreign workers on maintained status to keep their status even if they travel outside of Canada.
“The Canadian government can also help to alleviate labour shortages by adding more eligible occupations to the Global Talent Stream as well as eliminating Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) advertising requirements for occupations with acute labour shortages.”
What is expected from the new Immigration Levels Plan 2022-2024:
- The target to welcome a record-breaking 411.000 new permanent residents in 2022, per the 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan, is expected to remain the same.
- According to the current Immigration Level Plan (revealed in October 2020), through Express Entry, the Provincial Nominee Program, and Quebec’s programs, among other avenues, the current plan expects to welcome 241,500 economic immigrants to Canada this year. This represents 59% of Canada’s total immigration target. Through the Spouses, Partners, and Children Program and the Parents and Grandparents Program, IRCC hopes to welcome 103,500 family class immigrants. This represents 26% of the IRCC’s immigration target. The remaining 66,000 newcomers will be accepted to Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, accounting for 15% of the total newcomer objective.
- Further understanding of the measures IRCC is intend on taking to improve client experience and modernize the immigration system to decrease the backlog of 1.8 million applications. These measures are part of a broader process to address key challenges faced by applicants, and achieve the more predictable processing times.
- The total number of immigrants that Canada chooses to target in the coming years may alter – including to meet the government’s goal of resettling 40,000 Afghan refugees.