In August 2021, Canada received about 38,000 new immigrants

According to recent IRCC data, Canada had another excellent month for new permanent residence landings

According to new statistics received by CIC Times from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Canada welcomed 37,780 new permanent residents in August. This is the third month in a row that Canada's immigration numbers have exceeded expectations.

In July, Canada welcomed over 40,000 new permanent residents, up from roughly 36,000 in June. Before the epidemic, Canada accepted between 25,000 and 35,000 new immigrants each month. However, after adopting the COVID-19 public health measures in Canada in April 2020, immigration volumes decreased substantially.

Until June of this year, Canada's new permanent resident arrivals fell short of the rate required to meet the country's 2021 immigration objective. Canada plans to accept at least 401,000 new immigrants each year beginning this year, according to the Immigration Levels Plan 2021-2023.

Between January and August, Canada received around 222,000 immigrants. This implies that it will need to accept 179,000 new immigrants, or 45,000 per month for the remainder of 2021, to meet its level's target for this year. The objective remains ambitious, yet it is attainable for the reasons listed below.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) made substantial efforts to boost Canada's capacity to meet the target in the first half of the year. On February 13, 2021, it held by far the largest Express Entry draw in history, inviting 27,332 applicants to apply for permanent residence. According to IRCC, about 90% of these applicants reside in Canada due to the epidemic. Express Entry is the primary method through which Canada accepts skilled worker immigrants. This draw had approximately six times the number of Express Entry invitations as the previous record.

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Express Entry draws remained strong during the first half of the year, with IRCC focusing on Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program candidates, who are primarily in Canada right now and hence less likely to have their immigration process disrupted due to the epidemic. Furthermore, in May, the IRCC created six temporary immigration streams that allow about 90,000 applicants presently residing in Canada to convert to permanent residency.

According to an internal IRCC letter obtained by CIC Times through an access to information request to the Canadian government, such significant measures by IRCC are, predictably, part of a concerted attempt to land 401,000 immigrants this year. According to the Canadian government, significant levels of immigration are critical to the country's post-pandemic economic recovery. There are also more compelling reasons to assume that Canada will at least come close to meeting its policy target for 2021.

In addition to the efforts mentioned above, the recent relaxation of travel restrictions will allow more new immigrants from other countries to immigrate to Canada. Canada relaxed its travel restrictions in June for all authorized permanent residents who have the appropriate documents. In addition, in late September, Canada removed its flying restriction on India, the nation with the highest number of new immigrants.

Even if Canada falls short of its target, the Immigration Levels Plan allows it to boost its immigrant intake in 2022 and 2023 to compensate. In addition, the levels plan includes a range that enables IRCC to decrease or raise its objectives based on policy and operational factors.