Will Canada accept more immigrants in 2023?

What we’ve learned from IRCC’s latest News Release?

On January 3, 2023, in its News Release Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that once again Canada has not only met its immigration targets for the year but surpassed 2022 immigration targets. It is noted that Canada is leading the game in its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. By large, this speedy recovery became possible thanks to Canada’s approach to immigration.

It is well known that Canada is among the most welcoming and pro-immigration countries in the world and the number of admitted newcomers to Canada grows every year. In fact, immigration accounts for almost 100% of Canada’s labor force growth. Thus, in 2022 IRCC has processed approximately 5.2 million PR, citizenship, and temporary residence applications. That is double the number of applications processed by IRCC in 2021, and it’s also the largest number of people Canada ever welcomes in a year.

Just for you to compare, in 2021 Canada welcomed 401,000 new permanent residents, surpassing Canada’s record number of admissions set back in 1913. This year, however, Canada went even further and welcomed 431,645 new permanent residents. That is an increase of more than 30 thousand applications approved.

Will Canada keep its pace in bringing in new Permanent Residents in 2023?

You bet, the number of new immigrants will keep on climbing this year. In its Immigration Levels Plan for 2023-2025 released on November 1, 2022, IRCC indicated that Canada plans to admit 465,000 new Permanent Residents in 2023 (an increase of 34,000 compared to 2022). It also comes from the Plan that Canada is seeking to welcome 485,000 new PRs in 2024, and 500,000 in 2025. To achieve its historic goals IRCC has added more resources and involves new technologies (such as the new AI Chinook system) for faster and more streamlined application processing.

Why Canada is so interested in welcoming new immigrants?

Historically, with the significant exception of Indigenous people, all Canadians originally come from somewhere else. Today, roughly 75% of Canada’s population growth comes from immigration, and it is expected that by 2023 newcomers will represent approximately 30% of Canada’s population. During the 2021 Census, nearly 1 in 4 people counted were or had been a landed immigrant or permanent resident in Canada – this is the largest proportion among G7 countries.

Moreover, the majority of newcomers immigrate to Canada through one of the economic immigration programs. These are highly skilled, entrepreneurial, and educated individuals with advanced proficiency in English, French, or both languages. In fact, today as much as 36% of physicians, 33% business owners with paid staff, and 41% of engineers in Canada are immigrants. Newcomers play an important role in Canada’s economy by launching businesses, driving competition in the market, and creating new jobs. Thanks to immigration and newcomers, the worker-to-retiree ratio in Canada is expected to shift from 7 to 1 (50 years ago) to 2 to 1 by year 2035.

Let’s sum it up…

So, if you’re still wondering whether Canada will stick to its pro-immigration trend – here you have the answer. Canada is indeed one of the most attractive destinations for skilled immigrants and if you’re one of them, feel free to reach out to one of our Canadian Immigration Lawyers for a consultation. We will be happy to get in touch with you and assess whether you qualify for one of the immigration programs to Canada.