This article is about Canada’s immigration before, during and (soon to be) after the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, Canada welcomed between 25,000 and 35,000 new immigrants per month. In the month of January 2021, Canada welcomed approximately 25,000 new permanent residents. This is comparable to the monthly intake prior to the pandemic. Good news is that this was the strongest month for Canadian immigration since February 2020.
This goes to show that Canada’s immigration levels are, slowly but surely beginning to recover. With Canada’s commitment of welcoming more than 1.2 million new immigrants in the next three years, we hope to see monthly intake increase. With the recent draws, we have noticed that the provinces are increasing their numbers and inviting more applicants who will contribute to being committed to progressing in the province.
With travel restrictions in place since March 18, 2020, Canada is adamant to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Many applicants who have completed their PR process are still waiting in line to be able to travel to Canada. 2020 saw itself as the weakest year for Canadian immigration since 1998. To make up for the shortage, Canada’s immigration minister, Marco Mendicino, announced that Canada would welcome more than 400,000 new permanent residents in 2021 and we indeed have seen the first few months of 2021 boom with several ITAs.
In addition to public comments made by Mario Mendicino, a number of major actions by IRCC indicates the Canadian government’s commitment to inviting more permanent residents. On February 13, 2021, IRCC held its largest ever draw in the history of Express Entry when it invited more than 27,000 CEC candidates. This indicates that almost every candidate who applied under the CEC was invited to apply. Most of these candidates are currently living in Canada.
Canada has a large population of temporary foreign workers and international students. It has been observed and proved that those in Canada tend to be perfect candidates since they have Canadian work experience and education.
It will not be long before IRCC resumes welcoming individuals from outside of Canada. For now, many applicants who have received approval to immigrate to Canada are unable to board a flight due to travel restrictions. With daily case counts falling, stay-at-home orders being relaxed and an increase in vaccine rollouts and distribution, we hope to see positive trends soon.