Record breaking admission in all classes in 2021
The Immigration Levels Plan 2022-2024 had targets of over 451,000 new permanent residents by the end of 2024 and nearly 432,000 for 2022.
Throughout 2021, IRCC shifted focus to granting permanent residence to candidates who already lived in Canada due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data shows that of the 405,000 people who became new permanent resident in 2021, 62%, or 252,971 including spouses and dependents of the principal applicants, were economic class immigrants.
- Family class immigration also saw elevated levels of immigration in 2021 with 81,423 newcomers being admitted through family class sponsorship. Of these, over 69,000 arrived through spouse or partner sponsorship.
- Canada committed to admitting 40,000 refugees fleeing Afghanistan by the end of 2024. To date, 22,915 Afghans have arrived in Canada. The majority came from government-assisted refugee and privately sponsored refugee programs.
- In 2021, IRCC also introduced a one-time pathway from temporary to permanent residence. Under this pathway, 191,338 temporary residents were able to obtain permanent residency.
The backlog
In the report, IRCC acknowledges that there has been a backlog in applications across all lines of business. It currently stands at 2.6 million applications in inventory.
To get back on track IRCC says they are working towards becoming 100% digital, with accommodations made for those who are unable to apply online.
The department has invested $85 million in hiring and training over 1,200 new staff to deal with processing backlogs. The 2022 budget also provides IRCC with $187.3 million over the next five years in addition to $37.2 million to increase capacity within the Client Support Centre and invest in the technology and tools required to better support people using its services.
