Canada Welcoming More Than a Million Newcomers Over the Next Two Years

The Canadian government has announced the country will accept hundreds of thousands of new immigrants between 2022 and 2024.

The Canadian federal government has announced its latest plans to welcome newcomers to Canada — and the plans are ambitious! In 2021, Canada minted 405,000 new permanent residents; the largest number in a single year. Building on that success, Canada will welcome hundreds of thousands of new permanent residents over the next couple of years.

Canada's most ambitious immigration plan

The plan, announced in February 2022, aims to maintain an influx of permanent residents at around 1% of the total Canadian population. Here are the projected numbers:

• 2022: 431,000 new permanent residents
• 2023: 447,000 new permanent residents
• 2024: 451,000 new permanent residents

These figures represent Canada's biggest-ever immigration push. The government's focus is on long-term economic growth: with 5 million Canadians set to retire by 2030, Canada has a desperate need for skilled, educated newcomers. Even now, almost 100% of labour growth in Canada is powered by new immigrants!

Empowering French speakers across the country

Part of the announcement is a renewed effort to support French language speakers outside the province of Quebec. The new target is 4.4% of French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec by next year.

Manitoba is one province jumping on board, launching a new immigration advisory council to improve outcomes for newcomers and all Manitobans. Other provinces, including New Brunswick, which has a large minority of French speakers, are likely to follow suit.

The dreaded immigration backlog

Unfortunately, the good people who staff Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada offices are overwhelmed with applicants, making for a sizeable backlog of submissions that are yet to be processed.

To address the backlog, the government's announcement includes measures to modernize the system, which will lead to faster processing times — we hope!

Reuniting with family

If you've had to bid your family a tearful goodbye in the past, you know how important family reunification can be. The updated plan aims to maintain the 12 month timeline for reuniting with spouses and children.

If you're aiming to secure permanent residency status for yourself or a loved one, this announcement is good news. With millions of newcomers joining our Canadian family over the next few years, the opportunities to become a citizen can only grow. To keep the country moving, Canada needs intelligent, hard-working, and creative newcomers — newcomers like you!