For over a century, immigration has been a means to support the growth of Canada. Along with those who migrate to Canada permanently, many individuals come to Canada to stay temporarily (whether as visitors, international students, or temporary foreign workers). Regardless of their pathway to Canada, everyone contributes in a meaningful way to Canada’s economy and the growth of various industries, and contributes to Canada’s diversity and multiculturalism. Immigration has helped to build the country.
As a result, with immigration as a top priority, on February 14, 2022, the Immigration Department of the Government of Canada, i.e., Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), announced Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan for 2022–2024, following the Annual Report on Immigration for the year 2021.
According to the Immigration and Canada’s Economic Recovery report (by IRCC), more than 405,000 new permanent residents were welcomed to Canada in 2021, and Canada now aims to welcome
In this proposed Immigration Plan, the count of invitations under Federal High Skilled Workers (Express Entry) Program, has been reduced to 50% i.e. 55,900 invitations for year 2022, to tackle the backlog caused due to the significant growth in the number of applications for permanent residence visas via the Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident (TR2PR) stream and the resettlement of Afghan nationals to Canada.
Additionally, in order to support the Francophone community outside Quebec, the Government of Canada set an objective to increase to reach a target of 4.4% French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec by 2023.
Moreover as per IRCC, there are currently more than 960,000 unfilled positions across all sectors, and by 2030, more than 5 million Canadians are expected to retire, with the worker-to-retiree ratio dropping to only 3:1, indicating that Canada has a strong economic need for increased immigration.
Detailed information related to the minimum and maximum count of invitations under each pathway for the years 2022–2024 published by IRCC is as follows:.
| Years | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immigrant Category | Target | Low Range | High Range | Target | Low Range | High Range | Target | Low Range | High Range | |
| Overall Planned Permanent Resident Admissions | 431,645 | 360,000 | 445,000 | 447,055 | 380,000 | 465,000 | 451,000 | 390,000 | 475,000 | |
| Economic Immigration | ||||||||||
| Federal High Skilled | 55,900 | 52,000 | 64,000 | 75,750 | 63,000 | 84,000 | 111,500 | 91,000 | 118,000 | |
| Provincial Nominee Program | 83,500 | 80,000 | 95,000 | 86,000 | 82,000 | 95,000 | 93,000 | 88,000 | 98,000 | |
| Federal Business | 1,000 | 800 | 1,500 | 1,000 | 800 | 1,500 | 1,500 | 1,000 | 2,000 | |
| Economic Pilots: Caregivers OR Agri-Food Pilot Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot OR Economic Mobility Pathways Project | 10,250 | 4,000 | 10,500 | 11,250 | 7,000 | 18,000 | 12,750 | 8,000 | 20,000 | |
| Atlantic Immigration Program | 6,250 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 6,500 | 4,000 | 10,000 | 6,500 | 4,000 | 12,000 | |
| Federal Economic Public Policies | 40,000 | 30,000 | 48,000 | 32,000 | 25,000 | 42,000 | - | - | - | |
| Quebec Skilled Workers and Business | ||||||||||
| Quebec's Economic Immigration | 33,900 | 32,000 | 46,600 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Qualified Workers | 28,800 | 27,400 | 41,500 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Qualified Workers selected in the PEQ Diploma | 5,100 | 4,800 | 16,800 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Other Qualified Workers | 23,700 | 22,600 | 24,700 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Business people | 4,300 | 4,000 | 4,300 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Other Economics Categories | 800 | 600 | 800 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Other Immigrants | 500 | 400 | 3,300 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Total Economic | 241,850 | 210,000 | 248,000 | 253,000 | 222,000 | 259,000 | 267,750 | 235,000 | 273,000 | |
| Family | ||||||||||
| Spouses, Partners and Children | 80,000 | 68,000 | 81,000 | 81,000 | 70,000 | 84,000 | 81,000 | 70,000 | 84,000 | |
| Parents and Grandparents | 25,000 | 19,000 | 31,000 | 28,500 | 22,000 | 38,000 | 32,000 | 27,000 | 43,000 | |
| Quebec's Family Grouping | 10,600 | 10,200 | 11,600 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Total Family | 105,000 | 90,000 | 109,000 | 109,500 | 94,000 | 113,000 | 113,000 | 99,000 | 117,000 | |
| Refugees and Protected Persons | ||||||||||
| Protected Persons in Canada and Dependents Abroad | 24,500 | 20,000 | 27,500 | 25,000 | 20,500 | 28,000 | 25,500 | 21,000 | 28,500 | |
| Resettled Refugees - Government-Assisted | 19,790 | 15,500 | 24,000 | 17,260 | 13,500 | 26,000 | 13,000 | 10,000 | 19,500 | |
| Resettled Refugees - Privately Sponsored | 31,255 | 19,000 | 34,000 | 30,795 | 19,400 | 34,000 | 23,000 | 15,500 | 28,000 | |
| Resettled Refugees - Blended Visa Office-Referred | 1,000 | 100 | 1,100 | 1,000 | 100 | 1,100 | 1,000 | 100 | 1,100 | |
| Quebec's Refugees and People in a similar situation | ||||||||||
| Protected Persons in Canada and Dependents Abroad | 4,700 | 4,400 | 5,300 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Resettled Refugees - Government-Assisted | 1,700 | 1,650 | 1,900 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Sponsored Refugees | 3,000 | 2,750 | 3,400 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Recognized Refugees | 2,800 | 2,500 | 3,700 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Total Refugees and Protected Persons | 76,545 | 55,000 | 79,500 | 74,055 | 57,000 | 82,000 | 62,500 | 50,000 | 75,500 | |
| Humanitarian and Other | ||||||||||
| Total Humanitarian & Compassionate and Other | 8,250 | 5,000 | 8,500 | 10,500 | 7,000 | 11,000 | 7,750 | - | - | |