Canada unfurled the welcome mat to a record number of immigrants this year — the highest in its 154-year history.
Canadian authorities welcomed 401,000 permanent residents, the federal government announced Thursday, topping a record set in 1913 when 400,000 immigrants were granted the right to live in the country, according to a report. Permanent residents can apply for social benefits in the country but cannot vote in federal elections.
“Last year, we set an ambitious goal. Today, we achieved it,” Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser said in a statement. “This is a historic moment for our country, as we welcome the highest number of newcomers in one year in our history.”
Fraser noted that 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. 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.
Although the new figure was not broken down by specific countries, the new immigrants hailed from China, Nigeria, Iran, Turkey and the US, among others.
Immigrants who arrived during World War I were mainly from the United Kingdom and Europe.
Due to the pandemic, the majority of the more than 401,000 new permanent residents that were welcomed in 2021 were already in Canada on temporary status.
Back in 2020, the federal government set immigration targets for 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The plan is to welcome 411,000 permanent residents in 2022 and 421,000 in 2023 which will then add up to over 1,200,000 people in three years with the 2021 total included.
In 2019, Canada welcomed over 341,000 permanent residents and in 2020, that number dropped to just over 184,500 new permanent residents.
Not only are people moving to Canada but people here are moving within the country as well.
Just between January and June 2021, over 200,000 people ditched their province or territory for somewhere else in the True North. More people left Ontario than any other place in the country during that time!
