The number of new immigrants dipped in April as Canada continues to lose momentum. However, we can expect a stronger finish to 2021.
In April 2021, Canada welcomed about 21,000 new immigrants, the lowest monthly count since the start of the year.
In January 2021, Canada welcomed 24,680 new immigrants followed by 23,395 in February. Levels fell further to 21,105 in March and went even lower in April. It is unknown why Canada’s permanent residence intake has declined following a strong start to the year.
Under the 3 years immigration plan, the country is seeking to welcome at least 401,000 new immigrants annually beginning this year. These are the highest immigration targets in Canadian history, and are due to the federal government’s goal of supporting Canada’s post-pandemic economic recovery.
Canada sought to welcome 341,000 new immigrants in 2020 but only managed to admit 184,000 due to corona virus-related disruptions.
The country only managed to welcome just over 4,000 new immigrants in April 2020, potentially the weakest month for Canadian immigration since the Second World War.
Canada is no longer on pace to achieve its 401,000 target for this year. However, a number of factors still remain in play that could see the country gain momentum and come closer to achieving the target.
• First, the summer months usually see higher immigration numbers due to the warmer weather and newcomers arriving before the resumption of the academic and business calendar in September.
• Second, the Canadian government is beginning to openly discuss easing its travel restrictions. Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has said the international border would open up, starting with fully vaccinated travelers.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu also said Canada could start scaling back quarantine requirements for exempt travelers as early as the first week of July. This would allow thousands of Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) holders to finally complete their landing in Canada.
• Third, IRCC is currently prioritizing transitioning those in Canada to permanent residence through different pathways.
IRCC notes that permanent residence applicants from within Canada are less likely to face corona virus-related challenges. Hence, the focus on domestic immigration applicants should translate in a significant increase in the number of individuals who obtain permanent residence in the second half of this year. Nonetheless, if IRCC is able to land achieve its goal of landing many of these applicants by the end of the year; it will at the very least exceed the 300,000 newcomer threshold in 2021.
