2020-03-12 – Canada could welcome up to 390,000 new immigrants per year by 2022 according to the new multi-year immigration levels plan released by the federal government on Thursday.
Ottawa’s plan includes mid-range targets of 341,000 new immigrants in 2020, 351,000 in 2021 and 361,000 in 2022.
However, the plan also projected high-range immigration levels of 370,000, 380,000 and 390,000 in each of the next three years, which would see Canada welcome 1.14 million new permanent residents between now and 2022.
The levels plan is a continuation of the managed immigration increases seen under the Liberal federal government since it came to power in 2015.
Canada 2020-2022 Immigration Level: Targets
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | ||
| Economic | Federal High Skilled | 91,800 | 91,150 | 91,550 |
| Federal Business | 750 | 750 | 750 | |
| Economic Pilots: Caregivers; Agri-Food Immigration Pilot; Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot | 5,200 | 7,150 | 9,500 | |
| Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | |
| Provincial/Territorial Nominee Program | 67,800 | 71,300 | 73,000 | |
| Quebec Skilled Workers and Business | 25,250 | TBD | TBD | |
| Total Economic | 195,800 | 203,050 | 212,050 | |
| Family | Spouses, Partners and Children | 70,000 | 70,000 | 70,000 |
| Parents and Grandparents | 21,000 | 21,000 | 21,000 | |
| Total Family | 91,000 | 91,000 | 91,000 | |
| Refugees and Protected Persons | Protected Persons in Canada and Dependents Abroad | 18,000 | 20,000 | 20,500 |
| Resettled Refugees – Government-Assisted | 10,700 | 10,950 | 11,450 | |
| Resettled Refugees – Privately Sponsored | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | |
| Resettled Refugees – Blended Visa Office-Referred | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | |
| Total Refugees and Protected Persons | 49,700 | 51,950 | 52,950 | |
| Humanitarian and Other | Total Humanitarian & Compassionate and Other | 4,500 | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| Overall Planned Permanent Resident Admissions | 341,000 | 351,000 | 361,000 |
Canada’s Economic Immigration Levels Plan
Once again, the vast majority of the projected increased in the plan are in the Economic Class.
Under the mid-range targets, Canada is projected to receive 195,800 economic immigrants in 2020, 203,050 in 2021 and 212,050 in 2022.
Meanwhile, the high-range level would see Canada welcome up to 229,000 Economic Class immigrants by 2022.
The increases are largely accounted for in Canada’s new pilot programs, as well as under the Provincial/Territorial Nominee Program.
Under pilots including Caregivers, the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot and the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, Canada is projected to welcome 5,200 immigrants in 2020, rising to 9,500 in 2022.
For the Provincial/Territorial Nominee Program, the mid-range level is 67,800 for 2020, rising to 73,000 by 2022.
The level plan does not mention the Municipal Nominee Program currently being developed by the federal government.
Meanwhile, the Federal High Skilled category, by far the largest of the Economic Class, is projected to see zero growth over the next three years. These are the newcomer welcomed via the Express Entry system.
The plan also accounts for the relative uncertainty surrounding Quebec immigration levels by leaving 2021 and 2022 as ‘to be determined’.
Quebec has the power to set its own immigration levels, and the governing Coalition Avenir Quebec reduced the level by 20 percent in 2019.
Quebec’s 2020 target for skilled worker and business immigration is 25,600 newcomers, with the remainder falling in the Family and Refugee classes, which are covered under the federal targets.
Canada 2020-2022 Immigration Level: High-Range Targets
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | ||
| Economic | Federal High Skilled | 100,000 | 100,000 | 100,600 |
| Federal Business | 1,400 | 1,500 | 1,500 | |
| Economic Pilots: Caregivers; Agri-Food Immigration Pilot; Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot | 6,500 | 9,200 | 11,300 | |
| Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program | 5,500 | 6,000 | 6,500 | |
| Provincial/Territorial Nominee Program | 74,000 | 74,800 | 76,000 | |
| Quebec Skilled Workers and Business | 25,600 | TBD | TBD | |
| Total Economic | 213,000 | 220,000 | 229,000 | |
| Family | Spouses, Partners and Children | 72,000 | 74,000 | 74,000 |
| Parents and Grandparents | 24,000 | 24,000 | 24,000 | |
| Total Family | 96,000 | 98,000 | 98,000 | |
| Refugees and Protected Persons | Protected Persons in Canada and Dependents Abroad | 23,000 | 23,500 | 24,000 |
| Resettled Refugees – Government-Assisted | 11,500 | 11,500 | 12,000 | |
| Resettled Refugees – Privately Sponsored | 20,500 | 20,500 | 20,500 | |
| Resettled Refugees – Blended Visa Office-Referred | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | |
| Total Refugees and Protected Persons | 56,000 | 56,500 | 57,500 | |
| Humanitarian and Other | Total Humanitarian & Compassionate and Other | 5,000 | 5,500 | 5,500 |
| Overall Planned Permanent Resident Admissions | 370,000 | 380,000 | 390,000 |
Canada’s Family Class Immigration Levels Plan
Canada’s Family Class immigration intake is also set to see little growth over the next three years.
Under the mid-range targets, the Family Class is projected to maintain an intake level of 91,000 per year in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
A small increase is included under the high-range projection, from 96,000 in 2020, to 98,000 in the next two years.
What seems apparent is that the federal government is happy with the current level of Family Class immigration.
Canada 2020-2022 Immigration Level: Low-Range Targets
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | ||
| Economic | Federal High Skilled | 88,500 | 89,300 | 88,800 |
| Federal Business | 500 | 500 | 500 | |
| Economic Pilots: Caregivers; Agri-Food Immigration Pilot; Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot | 4,100 | 5,100 | 6,300 | |
| Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program | 3,000 | 3,500 | 4,000 | |
| Provincial/Territorial Nominee Program | 65,500 | 67,200 | 70,000 | |
| Quebec Skilled Workers and Business | 24,900 | TBD | TBD | |
| Total Economic | 186,500 | 192,500 | 201,000 | |
| Family | Spouses, Partners and Children | 65,500 | 68,000 | 68,000 |
| Parents and Grandparents | 19,000 | 19,000 | 19,000 | |
| Total Family | 84,500 | 87,000 | 87,000 | |
| Refugees and Protected Persons | Protected Persons in Canada and Dependents Abroad | 17,500 | 18,500 | 19,500 |
| Resettled Refugees – Government-Assisted | 10,500 | 10,500 | 11,000 | |
| Resettled Refugees – Privately Sponsored | 16,700 | 16,700 | 16,700 | |
| Resettled Refugees – Blended Visa Office-Referred | 300 | 300 | 300 | |
| Total Refugees and Protected Persons | 45,000 | 46,000 | 47,500 | |
| Humanitarian and Other | Total Humanitarian & Compassionate and Other | 4,000 | 4,500 | 4,500 |
| Overall Planned Permanent Resident Admissions | 320,000 | 330,000 | 340,000 |
Canada’s Refugee and Protected Persons Class Immigration Levels Plan
For the Refugees and Protected Persons Class, Canada is projecting small increases over the next three years.
The mid-range plan allows for 49,700 refugees in 2020, rising to 52,950 by 2022.
These numbers firmly establish Canada as one of the leading countries in the world for intake of Refugees and Protected Persons.
Canada’s 2019 Immigration Intake
The 2020-2022 Immigration Levels Plan is the first to be released by new Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino.
It comes after Canada admitted a new modern-era record of more than 341,000 new permanent residents in 2019.
The 341,180 immigrants welcomed last year was the second consecutive year Canada has admitted more than 300,000 immigrants. Before 2018, the last time Canada welcomed more than 300,000 immigrants was 1912.
The 2019 figure exceeds by 10,000 the targeted number of permanent residents laid out in the previous immigration levels plan, submitted in October 2018.
It means 2020 could see Canada exceed the milestone of 350,000 new immigrants in a calendar year.
