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Canada Receives most Immigrants in 45 Years


Last Updated on August 26, 2016

Canada Receives most Immigrants in 45 YearsCanada received the highest number of immigrants for at least 45 years in the first three months of 2016, according to the latest figures.

A Statistics Canada report shows 86,216 new immigrants entered the country between January 1 and April 1, as the Liberal government made good on its election pledge to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees.

The figures are the highest since the current way of counting immigrants was introduced, back in 1971.

Immigration to Canada, Last Five Quarters

“Canada has never received this number of immigrants in a single quarter,” the StatsCan report points out. The previous record was set in the third quarter of 2010, when 84,292 new immigrants came into the country.

As a result, Canada’s population growth also spiked during the first quarter of 2016, rising by 106,966 people to 36,155,487.

This was the largest rise for a first quarter since 1989, when a population increase of 115,420 was recorded.

Canada's Population at Beginning of Each Quarter

These high levels of immigration should come as no surprise, as Immigration Minister John McCallum told parliament in March that he expected record numbers of newcomers in 2016.

McCallum’s report predicted up to 305,000 immigrants would be admitted, spearheaded by Syrian refugees.

If the first quarter numbers were repeated throughout the year, approaching 330,000 new immigrants will have been accepted come January 2017.

McCallum’s report predicted a slight drop in the number of economic class migrants in a shift towards a humanitarian and family reunification immigration policy.

Canada’s Immigration Plan in Numbers

Immigration Category Category Low High Target
Economic Federal Economic- High Skilled 54,000 59,000 58,400
Federal Economic- Caregivers 20,000 22,000 22,000
Federal Economic- Business 500 900 800
Provincial Nominee Program 46,000 48,000 47,800
Quebec Skilled Worker 25,500 27,000 26,200
Quebec Business 5,2000 5, 500 5,400
Economic Total 151,200 162,400 160,400
Family Spouses, Partners & Children 57,000 62,000 60,000
Parents & GrandParents 18,000 20,000 20,000
Family Total 75,000 82,000 80,000
Refugees & Protected Persons Protected Persons in Canada & dependants in abroad 10,000 11,000 10,000
Resettled Refugees 41,000 46,000 44,800
Government-Assisted Refugees 24,000 25,000 24,600
Blended Visa Office-Referred 2,000 3,000 2,400
Privately Sponsored Refugees 15,000 18,000 17,800
Refugees & Protected Persons Total 51,000 57,000 55,800
Humanitarian and Other Humanitarian and Other 2,800 3,600 3,600
Overall Total 280,000 305,000 300,000

Since coming to power in October 2015, the Liberal government has admitted 27,580 Syrian refugees into the country through both private and public sponsorship. The previous Conservative government’s plan was to admit 11,000 over three years.

The influx has not happened without teething problems, including some criticism of the process by one of the leading groups trying to facilitate private sponsorship.

But overall the program has boosted Canada’s reputation among the nations of the world, where negative attitudes towards immigrants makes the process of accepting more refugees difficult.

A recent report concluded Canada’s positive attitude towards immigration was born out of the country’s long history of welcoming new people, and its way of involving the whole society in immigration policy.

Several reviews are underway as part of a wide-ranging look at Canada’s immigration policy.

Some of the expected changes include a look at how skilled IT professionals can be brought in more quickly, how international students are scored under the Express Entry system, and how the Temporary Foreign Worker Program can be altered to avoid exploitation.

Interested employers: Kindly contact us here to receive further information.

Interested candidates: Find out whether you qualify to Canada by completing our free on-line evaluation. We will provide you with our evaluation within 1-2 business days.

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