By the end of 2021 Canada’s goal of admitting more than a million new permanent residents is gaining new attention internationally. Recent reports by the BBC, CNN and others have highlighted how the three-year target is setting Canada apart on the global stage. As CNN reported, “Canada’s friendly stance towards new residents comes as many other Western nations, including the United States, are adopting more restrictive immigration policies.”
Under Canada’s latest three-year immigration levels plan, total immigration is expected to reach 350,000 new permanent residents in the year 2021. This represents an immigration level of nearly one per cent of Canada’s population, which the Conference Board of Canada says must be reached by 2030 to ensure modest population and economic growth.
Nearly 60 per cent of all new permanent residents expected this year are slated to arrive through economic immigration programs. Of these, four programs — the three Federal High Skilled programs managed by Canada’s Express Entry system and the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) — are expected to account for nearly 75 per cent of all economic admissions. Among Canada’s economic immigration programs, the three Express Entry-managed programs — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and Canadian Experience Class — have the highest target of 2019 at 81,400 new admissions.
Introduced in 2015, Canada’s Express Entry system is tailored to favour immigration candidates who are young, highly educated, proficient in English or French and have skilled work experience. These are considered the ingredients for achieving success in Canada and maximizing a newcomer’s contribution to the Canadian economy.
Government figures for January to October 2018 show software engineers and designers, information systems analysts and consultants, and computer programmers and interactive media developers leading the list of professionals invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence through Express Entry in 2018.
Parents and Grandparents Program will reopen from January 28
Canada’s Parents and Grandparents Program will reopen to interested sponsors beginning on January 28, the federal government announced today. The program, known as the PGP, allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents over the age of 18 to sponsor their parents and/or grandparents for Canadian permanent residence.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says up to 20,000 new PGP applications will be processed in 2019.
Anyone hoping to sponsor their parents and/or grandparents through the PGP will have to first complete an online Interest to Sponsor form, which will be made available at noon Eastern Standard Time on January 28. IRCC will process Interest to Sponsor forms in the order they are received and invitations to apply to the PGP will be issued until the program’s cap of 20,000 complete applications is met.
This first-in, first-served approach to accepting applications replaces the controversial randomized lottery process that IRCC introduced last year and later scrapped. Many had criticized the randomized approach as unfair to those who had been waiting for years to sponsor their parents and/or grandparents.
