Canada achieved the target for new permanent residents in 2022, welcoming the largest number of immigrants in Canada in a span of a year. Immigrants not only contribute to the Canadian economy through their skills and resources but also help to diversify the community. To acknowledge their role in Canada’s recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, IRCC declared their immigration plan to welcome 431,645 new permanent residents by 2022.
Recently, Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, announced that Canada has been able to reach that goal that goes over the record for 2021. The number of new permanent residents in a year only came near this year’s record in 1913. To reach this target, IRCC processed nearly 5.2 million applications for permanent residence, temporary residence, and citizenship in 2022, which is double the number of applicants processed in the previous year.
Currently, immigration holds 100% of the growth in the Canadian labor force, while around 75% of the growth in the Canadian population is accounted for by immigration in the economic class. With the Government of Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan for 2023-2025, which was declared in November 2022, Canada looks forward to welcoming 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023.