Canada is increasing its immigration targets for 2019 and 2020 and will extend its multi-year immigration levels plan through 2021, setting the stage for the arrival of 1.3 million new permanent residents between 2018 and 2021.
The changes were announced as part of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)’s 2017 report to Parliament that was made public October 31, 2018. The report coincides with the first anniversary of IRCC’s original plan, which was introduced to guide Canada’s immigration planning from 2018 through 2020.
Increasing targets and extending the plan by another year positions Canada to now welcome more than 1.3 million newcomers through the country’s various economic, family and refugee and humanitarian immigration categories between 2018 and 2021, based on its annual targets.
“Under this plan, Canada will welcome more talented workers with the skills and expertise our economy needs, reunite more family members and accommodate more refugees looking to start new lives,” Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Ahmed Hussen, said in his introduction to the report.