Canada is set to welcome nearly one million immigrants over the next three years as the Liberal government embarks on the most ambitious immigration plan in recent history.
The multi-year strategy involves increases in the number of economic migrants, family reunifications and refugees from 300,000 this year; 310,000 in 2018; 330,000 in 2019; then 340,000 in 2020.
Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said the new targets will bring Canada’s immigration to nearly one per cent of the population by 2020. He revealed that five million Canadians are set to retire by 2035 thus requiring more people working to support seniors and retirees. As to the processing of applications, the government is working to reduce backlogs and speed up the processing in order to reunite families and speed up citizenship applications.
For her part, Ontario’s immigration minister Laura Albanese said in a statement that the province supports the introduction of multi-year levels plans to provide more predictability to the immigration system and inform program planning. The statement further said that Ontario supports growth in immigration levels, particularly in economic immigration categories to support the growing economy.
The Canadian Immigrant Settlement Sector Alliance presented a three-year plan to address demographic issues in the country. “Vision 2020” calls for increased numbers in the economic, family and refugee categories. Chris Friesen, the organization’s director of settlement services, said it’s time for a white paper or royal commission on immigration to develop a comprehensive approach to future immigration.
