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RACHELLE YOUNGLAI
PUBLISHED 5 HOURS AGO
UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
Canada took in a record number of immigrants last year, as the country races to bring in newcomers to help fill labour shortages in sectors such as health care and construction.
There were 431,645 new permanent residents added last year, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). That topped a high in 2021 of 405,000.
The boom is part of the Trudeau government’s plan to compensate for the immigration shortfall in the first year of the pandemic, as well as deal with the country’s aging population and labour shortages.
Immigration now accounts for three-quarters of Canada’s population growth. And over the next three years, the federal government plans to admit 1.45 million new permanent residents. That is equivalent to 3.8 per cent of the country’s population.
The majority of the permanent-residency spots have been set aside for economic immigrants, or foreigners who either have money to invest, can fill a job, or open a business.
It is unclear whether Ottawa’s plan will help fill some of the vacancies in low-paid work such as accommodation, food services, retail and health care assistance.
Meanwhile, the flood of new permanent residents is expected to bring in another group of homebuyers and renters across the country. That could increase activity in the residential real estate market, which has slowed since borrowing costs have jumped with the rise in interest rates.
It could also increase competition for rental units and further push up the cost of rents, which have been rising sharply over the past year.
The largest share of immigrants usually end up in the major cities in Ontario, followed by those in British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta. Ottawa has said its immigration plan will include placing new permanent residents in small towns and rural communities.
IRCC could have difficulty handling the flood of new applicants. It has been dealing with a backlog of applications since 2021 when Ottawa bumped up its immigration targets.
IRCC said in a statement that it has doubled the number of applicants it processed from 2021 to 2022.
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Can't post new archive links because Kiwifarms thinks it's Israel or something, remove space: https://archive. is/DKLTP
RACHELLE YOUNGLAI
PUBLISHED 5 HOURS AGO
UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
Canada took in a record number of immigrants last year, as the country races to bring in newcomers to help fill labour shortages in sectors such as health care and construction.
There were 431,645 new permanent residents added last year, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). That topped a high in 2021 of 405,000.
The boom is part of the Trudeau government’s plan to compensate for the immigration shortfall in the first year of the pandemic, as well as deal with the country’s aging population and labour shortages.
Immigration now accounts for three-quarters of Canada’s population growth. And over the next three years, the federal government plans to admit 1.45 million new permanent residents. That is equivalent to 3.8 per cent of the country’s population.
The majority of the permanent-residency spots have been set aside for economic immigrants, or foreigners who either have money to invest, can fill a job, or open a business.
It is unclear whether Ottawa’s plan will help fill some of the vacancies in low-paid work such as accommodation, food services, retail and health care assistance.
Meanwhile, the flood of new permanent residents is expected to bring in another group of homebuyers and renters across the country. That could increase activity in the residential real estate market, which has slowed since borrowing costs have jumped with the rise in interest rates.
It could also increase competition for rental units and further push up the cost of rents, which have been rising sharply over the past year.
The largest share of immigrants usually end up in the major cities in Ontario, followed by those in British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta. Ottawa has said its immigration plan will include placing new permanent residents in small towns and rural communities.
IRCC could have difficulty handling the flood of new applicants. It has been dealing with a backlog of applications since 2021 when Ottawa bumped up its immigration targets.
IRCC said in a statement that it has doubled the number of applicants it processed from 2021 to 2022.
***
Can't post new archive links because Kiwifarms thinks it's Israel or something, remove space: https://archive. is/DKLTP
