Canada shared the number of Newcampaigners adopted in 2020

The government has released new figures that show the country took in only 184,370 new permanent residents in 2020 as the flow of new arrivals declined due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This is the lowest level of immigration to Canada since 1998, a year in which the country welcomed just over 174,000 immigrants.

In March 2020, Canada's Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced Canada's aspiration to welcome 341,000 Newcampers. This number is in line with the 2019 level. However, just days later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada was forced to close its borders to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Data released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) show that immigration to the country declined around the same time that travel restrictions went into effect. Nevertheless, throughout 2020, Canada has maintained, and continues to maintain, a strong commitment to a high level of immigration to support economic recovery from the pandemic.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the IRCC and provinces and territories across the country have continued to process new and existing immigration applications. This is necessary to complete processing as many applications as possible so that those who are eligible for permanent or temporary status can receive it during the current travel restrictions. The second reason why the Government of Canada continues to process applications is because of the rapid recovery of the immigration system, and because of the country's recovery from the pandemic.

Record number of immigrants

In late October 2020, the immigration minister announced the most ambitious immigration targets in Canadian history. Under a new immigration plan for 2021-2023, Canada aims to admit at least 401,000 Newcampaigners a year.

In a recent TV interview, Mendicino said he was confident the goals were realistic even during the pandemic. First, the IRCC invites a large number of applicants who are living in Canada right now to apply for immigration. They can apply for permanent residency through the Express Entry system. Provinces and territories use a similar approach through provincial programs.

In addition, travel restrictions contain a number of exemptions that allow certain individuals, such as close family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, to immigrate to Canada during a pandemic.

Level of immigration in previous years

Canada welcomed more than 300 000 new immigrants each year in the years leading up to the pandemic. The country's immigration rate was about 0.9%, three times the per capita rate of new immigrants in the United States.

Canada's immigration rate fell to 0.5% last year as the country welcomed fewer than 200,000 immigrants.

Looking ahead, immigration to Canada is likely to exceed 200,000 in 2021 as the immigration department was able to adapt to the pandemic. The main reason immigration failed to break the 200,000 new arrivals barrier last year was because most immigration departments were closed. And up to a certain point, it was not possible to go through some of the steps of immigration online.

As Mendicino pointed out in a recent TV interview, the IRCC has since expanded its operations to include remote work and online application processing. These measures should help avoid unexpected disruptions in the recovery of immigration levels.

Despite the move online and the development of new measures, the pandemic will continue to impact immigration targets. Canada can be expected to admit 401,000 immigrants this year once COVID-19 is localized worldwide.

In the meantime, Canada will continue to issue new immigration invitations. For example, the day before yesterday there was an Express Entry drawing for provincial program candidates, and yesterday Saskatchewan sent record number of invitations.