Canada has made a record by inviting nearly 400,000 new permanent residents in the country in the year 2021. Breaking its all-time record, this is the second time that the country has been able to achieve this figure since its foundation in 1867.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) confirmed the news in a press release.
“To support Canada’s post-pandemic recovery and chart a more prosperous future, the Government of Canada set a target of welcoming 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021, as part of the 2021–2023 Immigration Levels Plan,” the release stated. “The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, today announced that Canada has reached its target and welcomed more than 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021. Surpassing the previous record from 1913, this is the most newcomers in a year in Canadian history.”
The goal was set by the authorities a little before the coronavirus pandemic began. The original goal was to welcome nearly 341,000 new residents in the year 2020 but Canada was only able to achieve 184,000 due to the onset of the pandemic-cause lockdown.
However, the authorities doubled their efforts to reach the target and help people come to Canada. This brought in the new target figure of 401,000 new immigrants.
“This historic achievement is particularly significant in the face of the pandemic’s many challenges. From closed borders to domestic lockdowns, global migration has been upended by COVID-19,” the release read. “But the employees of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) rose to the occasion and processed a record half a million applications in 2021. To achieve this, IRCC added resources, embraced new technology and brought more processes online. These changes are all permanent improvements to Canada’s immigration system.”
However, given the pandemic, Canadian authorities played smart and focused majorly on immigrants who were already residing in the country on study, business, work or tourist visas. They started helping make those immigrants have a swift transition in addition to helping those coming from abroad.
According per the technicality, a landing can be considered if a personal comes to Canada from abroad or is currently in the country on temporary visas and gains the resident status from within the borders. Officials used this technicality and considering that people residing in Canada are less affected by Covid disruptions and travel restrictions, the officials were able to hand out more number of permanent visas.
“As we continue to struggle with the pandemic, we made the most of the talent already within our borders. The majority of these new permanent residents were already in Canada on temporary status,” the release explained. “Most notably, we launched new programs to engage essential workers, health care professionals, international graduates and French-speaking newcomers. Family reunification is another pillar of our system, and we reunited spouses and children while enabling more families to sponsor parents and grandparents. Finally, with many countries closing their doors to refugees, we continued to offer the world’s most vulnerable shelter in Canada.”
